Neutral Phosphorus Research Articles

224 Yield and nutritive values of a polycrop and annual cereal monoculture used in winter swath grazing

Abstract This 3-yr study evaluated a comparative biomass yield and nutritive values of 2 forage systems: 1) a cereal monoculture (CDC-SO1 oats) and 2) a polycrops (PC) consisting of oat, brassicas (turnip and rape) and forage pea (4010) harvested at the hard dough (HD) stage for winter swath grazing purpose. A 12-ha field was divided into six, 2-ha paddocks, where each paddock was randomly assigned to 1 of 2 replicated (n = 3) forage systems. Forages were seeded in June and sampled for biomass yield and nutritive value at the soft dough (SD) and HD stages of oats. The seeding rate of oat monoculture (OM) was 157 kg/ha, while the PC was 45 kg/ha (oat), 11 kg/ha (forage pea) and 6 kg/ha (brassica). Forage samples were collected from a 0.6 m2 area at 24 pre-selected GPS points (4 per paddock), weighed and then oven-dried to a constant weight to determine DM yield. Data were analyzed using the PROC MIXED procedure of SAS and included treatment effects and treatments × stage interactions. Year was treated as a random effect due to climatic variations across years. For OM, there was a significant difference (P = 0.03) in biomass yield between SD (7,762.7 ± 1,217.9 kg/ha) and HD (8,902.8 ± 1,217.9 kg/ha) stages, while PC biomass yield did not differ (P = 0.94) between SD (5,922.4 ± 1,217.9 kg/ha) and HD (6,163.1±1,217.9 kg/ha) stages. The biomass yields between the two forage systems were different (P < 0.05) at the SD and HD stages. Crude protein (CP) concentration did not differ (P > 0.05) between the OM and PC at SD (10.4 vs 10.3%) and HD (8.9 vs 9.6%) stages. At the SD stage, significant differences (P < 0.05) between OM and the PC were observed for neutral detergent fiber (NDF, 50.9 vs 44.1%), calcium (0.2 vs 0.5%), phosphorus (0.2 vs 0.3%), and RFV-relative feed value (120.3 vs 142.2). Similarly, the starch (20.9 vs 16.5%), calcium (0.2 vs 0.5%), and phosphorus (0.2 vs 0.3%) values for OM and PC, respectively, also differed (P < 0.05) at the HD stage. Differences (P < 0.05) were observed between the SD and HD stages of OM for acid detergent fiber (ADF, 30.1 vs 27.0%), total digestible nutrient (TDN, 65.4 vs 67.9%), and starch (14.9 vs 20.9%) content, respectively. Study results suggest that swathing OM at the HD stage would be beneficial in terms of greater biomass yield without compromising quality, while PC can be harvested at either SD or HD stages based on the annual cereal component. Also, the lack of significant difference in the RFV, CP and TDN values between the PC and OM at the HD stage suggests that PC could be a viable alternative forage system for winter swath grazing.

Comparison of the quality of soybean meal and oil by soybean production origin

AbstractPrevious reports indicate variable soybean quality parameters exported from different geographic regions. This review compares soybean and soybean co‐products grown under diverse environmental conditions. While numerous studies have been conducted on whole soybean and soybean meal (SBM) composition by origin, similar analysis of soybean oil is lacking. This review has two objectives: 1) summarize soybean and SBM quality by origin using a meta‐analysis approach, and 2) analyze collected crude degummed soybean oil samples that originate from the US, Brazil and Argentina for key quality attributes. Soybeans from Brazil have higher levels of protein (P < 0.05) than US soybeans, but US soybeans have lower heat damage (P < 0.05) and total damage (P < 0.05) than soybeans from Brazil. US and Brazil SBM have higher crude protein (CP) (P < 0.05) than SBM from Argentina. At equal CP content, US SBM had less fiber (P < 0.0001), more sucrose (P < 0.0001) and lysine (P < 0.0001) and better protein quality than South American SBMs. Methionine, threonine, and cysteine levels were similar in soybean protein from US and Argentina and higher than that in soybean protein from Brazil. Crude degummed soybean oil from Brazil had more (P < 0.05) free fatty acids, neutral oil loss, phosphorus, calcium and magnesium than crude degummed soybean oil from the US or Argentina. Our analysis suggests that environmental conditions under which soybeans are grown, stored, and handled can have a large impact on chemical composition and nutrient quality of soybean meal and soybean oil.

Effects of the 1RS.1BL wheat-rye translocationon kernel and bran content of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

In this study, the effects of rye translocation on some quality properties and mineral content of whole wheat kernel and bran were investigated.The plant material consisted of 147 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) and five control cultivars, including the parent. The genotypes were grown in Turkey at two different locations for two consecutive years. In the study, lines with and without rye translocation were determined by SDS-PAGE and PCR analysis, and the glutenin subunits of the lines at Glu-A1, Glu-B1, Glu-A3 and Glu-B3 loci were also analyzed. The protein, starch, fat, ash, dry matter, acid detergent insoluble fiber (ADF), neutral detergent insoluble fiber (NDF), potassium (K), phosphorus (P) and magnesium (Mg) contents of kernels and bran of the RILs were determined. Statistically significant differences were found between the genotypes in terms of all the examined characteristics except the amount of dry matter. The RILs carrying translocation 1RS.1BLhad a higher average ADF, NDF, protein content, ash content, K, Mg, and P contents of kernels, as well as a higher average ADF, NDF, ash, and K bran contents than the RILs without thetranslocation. The bran of the RILs without thetranslocationhad higher values in terms of fat, starch, and phosphorus content. The results indicate that wheat- rye translocation1RS.1BL has a significant effect on both whole wheat kernel and bran content, and can be used to enrich the content of wheat bran.

Capim marandu sob diferimento em monocultivo e sistema silvipastoril: composição bromatológica e mineral

Abstract This study aimed to evaluate the chemical and mineral characteristics of Marandu grass under stockpiling in monoculture (MC) and a silvopastoral system (SPS) with 12- (SPS12) and 18-m (SPS18) spacing between tree rows. The experimental design consisted of randomized blocks, in which each system was allocated individually. Each treatment was formed in the center of each plot in a 3 × 4 factorial arrangement consisting of three systems (MC and SPS12 and SPS18 between the tree rows) and four stockpiling periods (60, 90, 120, and 150 days), totaling 12 treatments with three replications. No interaction effect was observed between the factors (p>0.05) for crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), or magnesium (Mg). The CP content decreased with increasing stockpiling days but met the suggested requirement for ruminants up to 75 days. The NDF and ADF concentrations increased, while P and K contents decreased with increasing stockpiling days. Magnesium and Ca concentrations did not differ with stockpiling days. However, a difference was observed only for Mg relative to the evaluated systems, which was higher in MC and SPS12, differing from SPS18. The spacing adopted in the SPS of 12 and 18 m does not negatively influence the nutritional value of the forage plant. The 75-day stockpiling period from March favored the concentration of macronutrients and CP content in Marandu grass in both MC and SPS.

GRAIN - BRAN QUALITY PARAMETERS and AGRONOMIC TRAITS of BREAD WHEAT CULTIVARS

Wheat (Triticum avestivum L.) has a wide adaptation limit and it is used as an important source of essential nutrients for both humans and animals. Wheat bran is also a by-product of the milling of wheat grain. It has a unique nutritional composition due to the amount and quality of proteins, mineral content and B complex vitamins content and dietary fiber content. One of the aims of this study was to determine the grain yield, yield components and quality traits of 36 wheat cultivars between 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. The other aim was to determine the nutritional properties of the bran obtained from these cultivars. Plant height, spike length, number of spikelets per spike, number of grains per spike, grain yield, thousand grain weight, test weight, wet gluten and sedimentation value traits were determined only in the whole grain, while ash content, protein content, starch content, fat content, acid detergent fiber, neutral detergent fiber, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium traits were determined both in the whole grain and in the bran. It is expected that the data obtained in this study will be reported in the literature, evaluated in terms of product quality and taken into account in breeding programs.

BROMATOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENT DAIRY CATTLE CONCENTRATE COMMERCIALIZED IN THE SÃO PATRÍCIO VALLEY

The Brazilian Legislation guarantee minimum levels of nutrients to animal feed and these information on the label are used to take purchase decisions to get dairy cattle concentrate feed. It is necessary that the declared values on the labels being more precise as possible. The bromatological analysis allows to verify the real nutrition values and help us in the purchase of the products that attending to the needs of dairy cattle. The objective of this work was to evaluate the centesimal composition of three different commercial dairy cow concentrate and to compare these values with declared on the labels. Physical chemical analysis were carried out to determine the acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), dry matter (DM), total protein (TP), total fiber (TF), minerals (M), fat (F), Calcium (Ca) and Phosphorus (P). The observed values (OV) were compare to the declared label values (DV) by the maker. Following the legislation, it was created a classification criteria to the adequation of the labels: to conform label (C) - samples that presented label values different from those obtained by laboratorial analysis. The maximum and minimum values from the laboratorial analysis were compared to the values permitted by the Brazilian Agriculture Ministry. The results were submitted to ANOVA and Tukey Test at 5% of significance to verify the interactions between the averages. The dairy cow concentrate studied at Vale de São Patrício were considered as good quality and they attending to Brazilian legislation parameters. Through the laboratorial analysis we could verify there was no difference between the samples A, B and C to humidity, dry matter, total protein, fat, minerals, Calcium and Phosphorus levels. Although this, it was observed that the relation between the declared label values and the results from laboratorial analysis differed to some nutritional components of the studied commercial concentrates like humidity.
 Keywords: Bromatological analysis, dairy cattle, nutrition, nutrients, labeling.

Predicting Nutritional Quality of Dual-Purpose Cowpea Using NIRS and the Impacts of Crop Management

Cowpea fodder has been one of the favored livestock forages for centuries in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Senegal. However, little research has been conducted on quantifying the nutritional quality of cowpea fodder because of the costly wet chemistry analysis. The main objective of this study was to develop predictive equations for a sustainable quantification of the nutritional quality of dual-purpose cowpea fodder using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and to investigate the influence of cropping system, fertilizer, genotype, and their interaction on biomass yield and cowpea forage nutritional value. In this study, 120 samples from a dual-purpose cowpea variety trial were used to develop NIRS equations to estimate forage quality parameters including concentrations of crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and iron (Fe). Partial least squares (PLS) regression generated prediction equations using NIRS wavelength measurements, and reference wet chemistry analysis from calibration samples were developed. The PLS prediction equations for the different forage quality parameters had an R2 of calibration 0.94, 0.93, 0.88, 0.63, 0.69, 0.87, and 0.94 for CP, ADF, NDF, Ca, P, K, and Fe, respectively. Using these prediction equations, correlation of the predicted values of the calibration subset and the prediction test subset resulted in significant positive relationships, with R2 of 0.83, 0.74, 0.70, 0.63, 0.59, 0.75, and 0.83 for CP, ADF, NDF, Ca, P, K, and Fe, respectively. The corresponding RMSE of these relationships was 0.91, 2.68, 3.45, 0.23, 0.06, 0.11, and 100 for CP, ADF, NDF, Ca, P, K, and Fe, respectively. The range and mean concentrations of the calibration subset overlapped with that of the prediction subset for all parameters evaluated. Cross-validation procedures indicated good correlations between wet chemistry analysis and NIRS forage quality estimates. Results of the second experiment showed that the cropping system had no significant effect on cowpea forage yield and nutritive value. However, cowpea variety and fertilizer, both individually and their interaction, had a significant effect on fodder yield and cowpea forage quality. We conclude that the NIRS calibration equations developed can be used to accurately predict the cowpea forage quality parameters evaluated in this study.

The effects of structural variations in neutral phosphorus extractants on UO22+ extraction behavior and radiation stability: Experimental and theoretical insights

In the present work, the effects of four neutral phosphorus extractants (TBP, TAP, THP, TEHP) with different molecular structures on the extraction behaviors towards U(Ⅵ) and radiation stability were systematically studied. The results of the batch extraction and the γ-radiolysis experiments manifested that the extraction performance and radiation stability of the four extractants followed the order of TEHP > THP > TAP > TBP. Moreover, DFT calculations and Multiwfn software were utilized to analyze the properties of the extractants. The electrostatic potentials (ESP) and frontier molecular orbital of extractants indicated that the nucleophilic ability was ranked as TEHP > THP > TAP > TBP. The analyses of quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) and Wiberg indices (WBIs) revealed that the UO22+ ions exhibited stronger complexation ability with O atoms in TEHP compared to the other three extractants. The bonds between UO22+ ions and extractants were primarily ionic in nature. From the energetic perspective, the thermodynamic energy demonstrated that the Gibbs free energy of TEHP in aqueous solution was the most negative, implying that it should be easier to combine with UO22+. This work elucidates that the increase of alkyl chain length and the presence of branched chains can enhance the extraction performance and radiation stability of neutral phosphorus extractants. It not only lays the theoretical foundation for designing novel organic phosphorous extractants with superior extraction performance and high radiation stability, but also provides scientific basis for the extraction process of uranium in spent nuclear fuel reprocessing.

Separation of neptunium and plutonium with neutral phosphorus ligands: A theoretical perspective

Effective treatment of the transuranic neptunium and plutonium from nuclear waste is of great importance and remains a challenge for developing advanced nuclear fuel cycles. Currently, novel ligands for efficient separation of actinides need to be designed urgently. Neutral extractants containing phosphorus have shown great potential for actinides separation. In this paper, we systematically explored the extraction and separation performances of neptunium(IV,V,VI) and plutonium(IV) by three phosphorus derivatives, di(1-methyl-heptyl) methyl phosphonate (P350), tri-iso-amyl phosphate (TiAP), and tributyl phosphate (TBP) by density functional theory (DFT). The outcomes showed that these neutral phosphorus reagents act as monodentate ligands through the PO group for all the extraction complexes. According to bonding nature analysis, the P350 ligand has the strongest complexing ability to the studied actinide cations. In addition, these ligands show a preference to coordination with Pu4+ and NpO22+ over Np4+ and NpO2+, respectively. As expected, the thermodynamic analysis demonstrated the potential application of these neutral extractants in Np and Pu separation, among which the P350 ligand is more promising than TBP and TiAP in acid solution system. This work can help to further understand the separation mechanism of Np/Pu with neutral phosphorus reagents and provide insight into the development of highly efficient extractants in recovery of Np and Pu.

Useful synthetic pathways to original, stable tunable neutral and anionic phosphorus dendrimers: new opportunities to expand dendrimer space

High yield multistep synthesis of stable and diversely functionalized phosphorus dendrimers is reported.

Solid-state fermentation improves the quality of chrysanthemum waste as an alternative feed ingredient

Chrysanthemum waste (CW) is an agricultural and industrial by-product produced during chrysanthemum harvesting, drying, preservation, and deep processing. Although it is nutritious, most CW is discarded, wasting resources and contributing to serious environmental problems. This work explored a solid-state fermentation (SSF) strategy to improve CW quality for use as an alternative feed ingredient. Orthogonal experiment showed that the optimal conditions for fermented chrysanthemum waste (FCW) were: CW to cornmeal mass ratio of 9:1, Pediococcus cellaris + Candida tropicalis + Bacillus amyloliquefaciens proportions of 2:2:1, inoculation amount of 6%, and fermentation time of 10 d. Compared with the control group, FCW significantly increased the contents of crude protein, ether extract, crude fiber, acid detergent fiber, neutral detergent fiber, ash, calcium, phosphorus, and total flavonoids (p < 0.01), and significantly decreased pH and saponin content (p < 0.01). SSF improved the free and hydrolyzed amino acid profiles of FCW, increased the content of flavor amino acids, and improved the amino acid composition of FCW protein. Overall, SSF improved CW nutritional quality. FCW shows potential use as a feed ingredient, and SSF helps reduce the waste of chrysanthemum processing.

Yield and quality properties of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and their influencing factors in China

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is the most valuable perennial forage crop, and assessing its yield and quality properties is essential to evaluate forage value of livestock production. However, regional patterns and controlling factors of the yield and quality of alfalfa have not been well documented. In this study, using a dataset of 7166 observations from 301 sites across the country collected from 334 publications, we explored the relationships between the yield and quality properties of alfalfa in China and the effects of environmental factors and management practices on them. The average dry matter yield of alfalfa was 11.18 ± 6.69 Mg ha-1, with average crude protein, ether extract, crude fiber, acid detergent fiber, neutral detergent fiber, crude ash, nitrogen-free extract, calcium, phosphorus and relative feed values of 19.05 ± 2.87%, 2.62 ± 0.97%, 27.16 ± 5.21%, 31.29 ± 5.58%, 40.48 ± 6.34%, 9.49 ± 1.59%, 38.67 ± 7.49%, 1.68 ± 0.55%, 0.25 ± 0.12%, and 151 ± 31.94, respectively. Alfalfa quality decreased with increasing yield. Geographically, alfalfa had higher yield and crude protein content in South China than in other regions. Quality was positively correlated with both precipitation and temperature, while yield showed a positive relationship with temperature but no significant relationship with precipitation. High soil nutrient availability (e. g., soil available nitrogen, SAN; soil available phosphorus, SAP; soil available potassium, SAK) improved the yield, while high SAN and SAP contents increased the crude protein content. The alfalfa yield increased and the quality decreased with advancing maturity and age, whereas increasing the number of harvests may benefit the quality. This study documents comprehensive information on the yield and quality of alfalfa and provides insights for policy makers for the effective management and sustainable development of alfalfa production.

The Impact of Enhancing Diet Quality or Dietary Supplementation of Flavor and Multi-Enzymes on Primiparous Lactating Sows.

Simple SummaryInsufficient energy and nutrient ingestion of primiparous lactating sows causes excess body weight loss and oxidative stress and compromises piglet growth. Two strategies to enhance the daily intake of dietary energy and nutrients were compared with a standard lactation diet to understand the potential modes of action. We found that feeding on either high-quality or flavor plus multi-enzyme diets both improved sow feed digestibility and consequently increased the growth of piglets. In addition, the flavor plus multi-enzyme diet also improved the antioxidant capacity and health of sows. The data suggest that dietary supplementation with flavor and multi-enzymes may be more promising than a high-quality diet from a health and economic perspective like enhancing utilization of cereal byproducts and thus reducing expenditure of corn and soybeans.This study was aimed to explore how a high-quality diet or a flavor plus multi-enzyme diet affects the feed intake, nutrient digestibility and antioxidation capacity of lactating sows and the growth of their progeny. Thirty primiparous sows were randomly assigned to three treatments from d 2 of lactation until weaning (d 21): control (CON), with a basal diet; high quality (HQ), with 200 kcal/kg higher net energy than CON; or the CON diet supplemented with 500 mg/kg flavor and 100 mg/kg multi-enzymes (F + E). Sows fed with the HQ or F + E diets improved piglets’ live weight (p < 0.05) and average daily weight gain (p < 0.10), litter weight gain (p < 0.10) and piglet growth to milk yield ratio (p < 0.10). Compared with CON, the HQ and F + E groups increased the digestibility of ether extract, ash, neutral detergent fiber, crude fiber and phosphorus (p < 0.10), and the HQ group also increased dry matter, gross energy, crude protein, acid detergent fiber and energy intake (p < 0.05). Compared with CON, the F + E group decreased serum urea nitrogen and aspartate aminotransferase (p < 0.05) and enhanced superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase, but it decreased malondialdehyde in milk supernatant (p < 0.05).

Primary hyperoxaluria type 1: novel therapies at a glance.

ABSTRACTPrimary hyperoxaluria type 1 (PH1) is a rare and severe autosomal recessive disease of oxalate metabolism, resulting from a mutation in the AGXT gene that encodes the hepatic peroxisomal enzyme alanine–glyoxylate aminotransferase (AGT). Until recently, treatment of PH1 was supportive, consisting of intensive hyperhydration, use of crystallization inhibitors (citrate and neutral phosphorus), in a subset of responsive PH1 patients’ pharmacologic doses of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), and kidney and liver transplantation when patients progressed to kidney failure. Treatment approaches have been similar for PH2 caused by mutations in hepatic glyoxylate reductase/hydroxypyruvate reductase (GR/HPR), although pyridoxine does not have any benefit in this group. PH3 is caused by mutations of mitochondrial 4-hydroxy-2-oxoglutarate aldolase (HOGA1) and was the most recently described. Kidney failure appears less common in PH3, although kidney stones occur as frequently as in PH1 and PH2. Oxalate metabolism in the liver is complex. Novel therapies based on RNA interference (RNAi) have recently emerged to modulate these pathways, designed to deplete substrate for enzymes upstream and decrease/avoid oxalate production. Two hepatic enzymes have been targeted to date in PH: glycolate oxidase (GO) with lumasiran and lactate dehydrogenase A (LDH-A) with nedosiran. Lumasiran was approved for the treatment of PH1 in 2020 by both the European Medicines Agency and the Food and Drug Administration, whilst clinical trials with nedosiran are ongoing. Results with the two RNAi therapies demonstrate a significant reduction of urinary oxalate excretion in PH1 patients, but long-term data on efficacy (preservation of kidney function, decreased stone events) and safety remain to be established. Nevertheless, the hepatically targeted RNAi approach represents a potential ‘game changer’ in the field of PH1, bringing hope to families and patients that they may be able to avoid liver and/or kidney transplantation in the future and suffer fewer stone events, perhaps with less strict therapeutic regimens. Pharmacological compounds directly inhibiting GO or LDH are also under development and could be of special interest in developing countries where RNAi therapies may not be readily available in the near future. Approaches to manipulate the intestinal microbiome with a goal to increase oxalate degradation or to stimulate secretion of oxalate into the intestine from plasma are also under development. Overall, we appear to be entering a new phase of PH treatment, with an array of promising approaches emerging that will need optimization and evaluation to establish long-term efficacy and safety.

The Effect of Plant Density and Supplementary Irrigation on Nutritional Value of Two Safflower (Carthamustincturius L.) Forage Crops

ABSTRACT Safflower (Carthamustinctorius L.) is an important forage. An experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of planting density and supplementary irrigation on quantitative and qualitative forage yield of two safflower cultivars as a split-factorial at the research farm of the Agricultural Faculty of Ilam University, Iran during 2015–2017. The main factor was irrigation at two levels (supplementary irrigation and dry-land) and sub–factors included density levels (20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 kgseed/ha) and cultivars (Goldasht and Faraman) in three replications. In both growing seasons, supplementary irrigation (SI) increased Ash, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), Phosphorus (P) and fresh forage yield (FFY), while rain-fed (RF) increased crude protein (CP), ethereal extract (EE) and potassium (K). Faraman had better FFY, Ash, EE and K in terms of these traits, while Goldasht was better than Faraman. Improving FFY through increasing in plant density per unit area was considered appropriate, so that the densities of 50 and 60 (kg/ha−1) in SI treatment in both cultivars were concluded as more effective, while in RF treatment for having better nutritional value (in terms of protein and fat content) lower density was observed as more appropriate and in order to have less NDF higher density was more suitable. Due to the two-year data of nutritional values and yields, it was concluded that the crop had the ability to adapt to and tolerate drought condition and increase yield in semi-arid regions. Also, it is suitable in terms of nutritional value and forage production in dry-land areas of experiment.

Comparative digestibility of energy, dry matter, and nutrients by gestating and lactating sows fed corn–soybean meal diets without or with full-fat or defatted rice bran

Twenty-four gestating sows and 24 lactating sows were randomly allotted to three diets with eight replicate sows per treatment in a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement. Different sows were used in gestation and lactation periods. The hypothesis was that digestibility of gross energy (GE), dry matter (DM), and nutrients in lactating sows is not different from that in gestating sows. A corn–soybean-meal diet and two full-fat-rice-bran or defatted rice bran diets were used. Results indicated that regardless of diet, lactating sows had greater (P &lt; 0.01) apparent total tract digestibility of GE, DM, neutral detergent fiber, organic matter, and phosphorus than gestating sows.

Configuration-interaction calculations on the 3s23pn configuration of neutral phosphorus and two of its ions

We perform valence, core-core, and core-valence nonrelativistic configuration-interaction (CI) calculations on the states belonging to the $3{s}^{2}3{p}^{n}$ configuration with $n=2$, 3, and 4, for ${\mathrm{P}}^{+}(^{3}P,^{1}D, ^{1}S$), $\mathrm{P}{(}^{4}{S}^{\ensuremath{\circ}},^{2}D^{\ensuremath{\circ}}, ^{2}P^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$), and ${\mathrm{P}}^{\ensuremath{-}}(^{3}P,^{1}D, ^{1}S$) species, respectively. Excitation energies, ionization potential, and electron affinities related to these states were calculated using orbital basis sets up to $\ensuremath{\ell}=12$ and corrected with relativistic contributions. We also carry out relativistic CI calculations for the fine structure splitting of the sublevels ${}^{3}{P}_{0,1,2}$ and ${}^{3}{P}_{2,1,0}$ in ${\mathrm{P}}^{+}$ and ${\mathrm{P}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$, respectively, and both ${}^{2}{D}_{3/2,5/2}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$ and ${}^{2}{P}_{1/2,3/2}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$ in P, using orbital basis sets up to $\ensuremath{\ell}=3$. Systematic studies on the convergence of both nonrelativistic and relativistic CI calculations for each electronic state show the energy contributions corresponding to each CI excitation level. Our results for the excitation energies, ionization potential, and electron affinity of the ${(3{s}^{2}3{p}^{3})}^{4}{S}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$ ground state, as well as fine structure splittings, are in very good agreement with the experiment and give reliability to the predicted electron affinities of the ${(3{s}^{2}3{p}^{3})}^{2}{D}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$ and $^{2}P^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$ excited states of 1135(1) meV and 1040(1) meV, respectively.

Extraction equilibrium of molybdenum(VI) and tungsten(VI) in aqueous solutions containing hydrogen peroxide by synergistic solvent extraction with TRPO and TBP

The separation of molybdenum from peroxotungstate solution with neutral phosphorus extractant such as trialkyl phosphine oxide (TRPO), tri-butyl phosphate (TBP) is often accompanied by extraction loss of tungsten, which greatly reduces the separation efficiency. To solve the above problems and optimize process, clarifying the reaction equilibrium of extraction is necessary. However, relevant research, especially the TRPO-TBP synergistic system, has not been reported. Here, based on the effect of extractant concentration and equilibrium pH on Mo and W extraction with three extraction systems (TRPO, TBP and TRPO-TBP), the Mo and W distribution equations in the two phases and the stoichiometry of chemical reactions were determined via slope analysis. The apparent extraction equilibrium constants and cumulative protonation constant of [Mo2O3(O2)4]2− were calculated by successive-approximation method. The order of the extraction equilibrium constants is as follows: logKMo-TRPO-H (5.8) > logKMo-TRPO-TBP-H (4.3) > logKMo-TRPO (3.8) > logKW-TRPO (3.7) > logKMo-TRPO-TBP (2.3). The synergistic mechanism of TBP for Mo and W extraction was revealed through Raman, FT-IR and 31P NMR spectroscopy, proposing a synergistic extraction compound TBP·[H2Mo2O3(O2)4·2H2O]·TRPO. The experimental results showed that keeping a higher equilibrium pH (2–2.5) can improve the separation efficiency of W and Mo, which verified the feasibility of optimization measure proposed based on equilibrium data. This study reveals the extraction mechanism of W and Mo in H+-H2O2/TRPO-TBP system, which can provide some reference for the optimization of separation process.

A preliminary study on change of mistletoe (Viscum albüm L.) silage quality according to collection time and host tree species

In this study, it was aimed to determine the silage quality of mistletoe (Viscum album L.) collected from wild pear (Pyrus amygdaliformis) and poplar trees (Populus canadensis) in January, July, August, and December. The fresh samples were chopped in 2 cm size and ensiled in 2 kg plastic bags then stored at 25 ± 2 °C conditions for 45 days. Silage samples were investigated for dry matter ratio, pH, crude protein ratio, crude ash ratio, condensed tannin, acid detergent fiber, neutral detergent fiber, lactic acid, acetic acid, butyric acid, malic acid, citric acid, succinic acid, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium contents. All quality traits of mistletoe silages were significantly different between host trees, collected times, and the interactions of host tree x collection time. It has been determined that mistletoe can be used as silage in terms of all the traits investigated. Besides, the silage of mistletoe collected from wild pear in December is better than other treatments. Mistletoe can be considered as an alternative roughage source due to its high content of crude protein, nutrient composition, easy digestibility, and organic acid content.

In vitro induction and characterisation of tetraploid drumstick tree (Moringa oleifera Lam.).

Artificial induction of polyploidy is widely used in breeding programmes to improve the agronomic traits. The drumstick tree (Moringa oleifera Lam.) has a range of potential commercial uses, as the vegetative organs have high nutritional, medicinal, and feed values. In the present study, in vitro tetraploidisation in drumstick tree was performed by treating leaf segments with colchicine and subsequently verifying the ploidy levels. For polyploidisation, explant survival and regeneration rates were affected more by exposure time than by colchicine concentration, and the highest polyploidisation efficiency was observed at 500 mg/L colchicine for 3 days, which yielded 21% tetraploids. The morphological characteristics and contents of seven fodder-related nutrients (crude protein, ether extract, ash, acid detergent fibre, neutral detergent fibre, calcium, and phosphorus) in the leaves and shoots were compared between tetraploid and diploid drumstick trees. The resulting tetraploids showed significantly enhanced leaf and stomatal size. In addition, the contents of seven fodder-related nutrients were higher, although to varying degrees, in tetraploids than in diploids. The results indicated that the tetraploid produced in this study exhibited superior agronomical traits and improved biomass yield than diploids, and may represent excellent raw materials for fodder to enhance biomass and nutrition.