Feeding Process Research Articles

Livestock Value Chain Mapping and Technology Needs Assessment in Samburu County, Kenya

A livestock value chain mapping and technology needs assessment exercise was carried out in Samburu County, emphasizing the beef, dairy and leather sectors and their associated needs in animal feeds, renewable energy, and engineering services. Livestock farming is central to Samburu County’s economy, supporting most of its residents. However, challenges like limited infrastructure, restricted market access, and technology shortfalls limit its full potential. The aim of the survey was to asses these value chains’ current conditions, assess technological requirements, and offer recommendations to bridge identified gaps. The findings show that the dairy sector remains underdeveloped, with only one cooperative, the Samburu Dairy Cooperative Society, involved in milk collection and distribution. Lack of modern cooling, processing facilities and policies restricts its growth. While the beef sector is more organized, it still requires advancements in slaughtering, meat inspection and marketing technologies to improve efficiency. Additionally, the leather sector’s potential remains largely untapped, with insufficient processing infrastructure causing high wastage of hides and skins. The survey also identified significant gaps in animal feed processing and high costs due to import reliance. Renewable energy, particularly solar, is promising, especially for milk cooling and meat preservation, yet more investment is needed. Addressing waste management through biogas systems and improved handling can mitigate environmental risks. Prioritizing infrastructure, technology upgrades and policy enhancements, especially in processing, cooling and renewable energy, will increase productivity and market access.

Continuous flow synthesis of di‐tert‐butyl peroxide in microreactors and kinetic study

AbstractDi‐tert‐butyl peroxide (DTBP) is a widely used organic peroxide. Its synthesis using tert‐butyl alcohol (TBA) and H2O2 via traditional batch processes has suffered from low space–time yield, uncontrollable product distribution, and safety issues. An efficient continuous‐flow microreaction system was proposed to enhance DTBP synthesis. Optimal reaction conditions were determined: a molar ratio of 1.5 (H2SO4/TBA) and 0.5 (H2O2/TBA), a reaction temperature of 50°C, and concentrations of 75 wt% H2SO4, 85 wt% TBA, and 50 wt% H2O2. A kinetic model was established, indicating that reducing local H2O2 concentration is key to increasing space‐time yield. Consequently, a novel two‐stage H2O2 feeding strategy was proposed, which improved the DTBP selectivity from 94.7% to 97.6% compared to the single‐stage feeding process. The maximum TBA conversion reached upto 98.7% within only 410 s, with a DTBP yield of 96.3%. With proper design and optimization, this microreaction system could be further applied to continuously synthesize other dialkyl peroxides.

Dynamic Modelling Analysis of <i>Vibrio </i>sp. and Plankton Abundance in Intensive Shrimp Pond

Vibrio sp. and plankton are important microorganisms in shrimp pond ecosystems. The research aims to predict the dynamics of Vibrio sp. and plankton abundance in intensive shrimp pond ecosystems based on causal model analysis. The research method used is an ex-pose facto causal design concept with quantitative descriptive data analysis using causal dynamic modeling. The results showed the water quality in the pond has a high correlation, except Vibrio sp. and alkalinity. In the pond ecosystem 24 genus of plankton from 6 classes. Chlorella sp. is the dominant plankton genus with an abundance of 1.00E+05-4.00E+05 cells/ml. Vibrio sp. abundance in ponds ranged from 1.38E+03 - 1.31E+05 CFU/ml. Based on the results of dynamic modelling, the growth pattern of Vibrio sp. lasted for 30 weeks which was divided into 4 growth phases. The conclusion of this study is that Vibrio sp. will dynamically experience a pure growth rate for 30 weeks with details of the initial growth phase (1-7 weeks), logarithmic growth phase (8-14 weeks), exponential phase (15-21 weeks), and growth declination phase (22-30 weeks). The growth phase of Vibrio sp. has a high degree of similarity to the growth pattern of plankton in the pond water ecosystem correlatively. The novelty of this research lies in the discovery of an estimation model for the abundance of Vibrio sp. and plankton during the shrimp farming cycle. This finding can serve as a fundamental reference for farmers to optimize feeding processes and conduct regular siphoning during the peak abundance of Vibrio sp. and plankton.

Vitamin E nanoparticles enhance performance and immune status of Nile tilapia

Vitamin E (VE) is an essential vitamin liposoluble antioxidant in aquatic animals that is usually lost during feed processing and digestion, whereas nano-chitosan, a polysaccharide, could protect VE. In this study, Nile tilapia (70.85 ± 0.2 g) was fed VE (100 mg/kg dry diet) and a chitosan protected-VE nanoparticle (NPs) with gradual percentages of recommended dose 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% for 4, 6, and 8 weeks. Growth parameters total weight gain (TG), daily weight gain (DWG), and relative growth rate (RGR) were significantly and positively correlated with VENPs additions. Regardless of the addition level, the feed conversion ratio (FCR) was significantly lower in the VENP groups. Lysozyme, serum antibacterial activity, and oxidative burst activity indicated the superiority of VENPs (VENPs75 and VENPs100) in enhancing the fish’s innate immunity compared to bulk VE and the control groups. Fish were experimentally challenged with pathogenic Aeromonas hydrophila; those received dietary showed a low mortality rate (MR%), about 40% compared with 70% in the control with lower re-isolation compared to the control and VE groups. VENPs could provide ascending relative protection level during the period of 4 to 8 weeks; RPL ranged from 33.3 to 42.86% (VENPs100), 16.67–42.86% (VENPs75), 0 to 28.57% (VENPs50), and 0 to 14.29% (VENPs25 and VE), respectively. Finally, this study recommended incorporating VENPs into the Nile tilapia diet at 50, 75, and 100 mg/ kg fish feed. Fish in the VENPs75 and VENPs100 groups were immune boosted, becoming less vulnerable to A. hydrophila infection.

Mathematical Modeling of the Processes of Mowing, Oriented Feeding, and Chopping of Stalk Forage by a Forage Harvester

The design and technological scheme of a small-sized forage harvester with a capture width of 1.35 m equipped with a device oriented along the length of the stems was developed in this study. As a result of theoretical studies, the process of the movement of mass into the chamber of the mowing rotor due to centrifugal forces was revealed. The speed of mass movement and the average size of crushed particles with the mowing rotor were determined. The oriented feeding process of stems in the chamber of the chopping rotor is mathematically described in this paper. An analytical expression is obtained for determining the average size of crushed particles by the forage harvester, that is, a mathematical model of the processes of mowing, oriented feeding, and the chopping of stem fodder by the forage harvester. Laboratory and field tests of a forage harvester equipped with a device oriented along the length of the stems were conducted. The combine harvester’s productivity was 6.14 t/h when mowing alfalfa. Special experiments were conducted to determine the average size of crushed particles after the mowing rotor. The average size of crushed particles with the mowing rotor was 147.4 mm, while the theoretical value was 144 mm. The difference between these values was only 2.31%. A special experiment was conducted on the combine without an orienting device to compare the quality indicators. The mass fractions of crushed particles of up to 50 mm in length when the combine was operating with and without an orienting device were 79.3 and 46.7, respectively. Accordingly, the average length of crushed particles was 33.79 mm and that without an orienting device was 77.07 mm. The theoretical value of the average length of crushed particles was 34.9 mm (i.e., the difference between the theoretical and actual value of the average size of the crushed particles was only 3.25%). All this proves that when the combine harvester was operated with an orienting device, there was a significant increase in the quality indicators of the chopped feed, and the reliability of the theoretical studies and the resulting mathematical model were determined.

Problems and prospects for livestock industry development in the context of digitalization of the agro-industrial complex in the region (based on the materials of the Republic of Bashkortostan of the Russian Federation)

The current state and prospects of livestock breeding development in the Republic of Bashkortostan in the conditions of active digitalization of the agro-industrial complex have been analyzed. Despite the desire to introduce innovative technologies, the process faces a number of obstacles that require a comprehensive solution for sustainable development of the industry. The key problems have been highlighted, such as lack of a unified digital platform, low level of digital competencies, financial constraints, lack of a unified strategy, and resistance to digital transformation. Prospects for livestock farming digitalization development in the region have been considered, such as smart livestock farms development through automated systems for climate control, feeding, milking, and animal health monitoring, use of sensors and the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence application for data analysis, yield forecasting, feeding and treatment processes optimization, development of a single digital platform for information exchange between farmers, veterinary services, fodder suppliers, and other participants, and development of a single digital platform for the exchange of information among farmers, veterinary services, feed suppliers, and other stakeholders. The important role of the state and the regions in digital livestock farming development has been emphasized, including financial support, legal framework implementation, and infrastructure and research development. Emphasis has been placed on the fact that livestock breeding digitalization in the Republic of Bashkortostan has great potential for increasing efficiency and competitiveness of the industry, but its implementation requires comprehensive measures aimed at overcoming existing problems and creating favorable conditions for new technologies implementation.

Multifeature extraction based MobileViTv3 model for fish feeding behavior recognition from video streaming

The recognition of fish feeding behavior based on machine vision is essential for optimizing fish feeding strategies and enhancing the efficiency of aquaculture. Building an efficient, multi-feature extraction model for fish feeding recognition, especially on mobile and edge devices, remains a significant challenge. In the paper, we propose a novel multi-feature extraction (MFE)-MobileViTv3 model, which improve MobileViTv3 with the MFE blocks. It can extract spatio-temporal features while obtaining the lightweight characteristic. The MFE block is designed by improving ActionNet, with the frequency channel attention (FCA) and multi-head self-attention (MHSA) mechanisms. It can fully extract spatio-temporal, motion, and channel features from video streaming, thereby further improving the feature extraction capabilities, which subsequently enhances the model's recognition accuracy. The experiments were carried out on an industrial aquaculture farm. We built a dataset of Micropterus salmoides, and then conducted the compare experiments. Compared with C3D, R3D, ResNet50, SlowFast, AlexNet, and MobileNetV3, our model can achieve a classification accuracy of 96.7 % for feeding intensity, with fewer parameters (0.96 M) and FLOPs (8.44G). The results show that the proposed model can effectively recognize fish feeding behavior with fewer parameters. Additionally, we introduce two evaluation metrics for the feeding process: Average Feeding Intensity and Strong Feeding Ratio. The metrics are conducive to the quantitative evaluation of the fish's vigor and health status.

Relationships Between Maternal Feeding Attitudes and Child Nutritional Problems.

Childhood nutrition is critical for development however maternal feeding attitudes may influence feeding practices and subsequent outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate mothers' attitudes toward their children's feeding process and its relationship with characteristics and children's nutritional problems. One hundred thirty-five mother-child couples who attended the Social Pediatrics Outpatient Clinic of a hospital participated in the study. Researchers administered a survey form during face-to-face interviews. The form included demographic details about mother-child couples and two surveys. The first survey asked about child nutritional problems, and the second one comprised the Mother's Attitudes Towards the Feeding Process Scale (MATFPS). MATFPS provides five factors that including negative affect during meal, attitudes about insufficient/unbalanced feeding, negative feeding strategies, forced feeding, and reaction to the viewpoints of others. There was a negative correlation between mothers' "negative affect during meal" factor score and children's BMI (p < 0.05). The mean MATFPS scores of the mothers whose children had nutritional problems were statistically higher than others (p < 0.05). In conclusion, to ensure healthy nutrition for children, mothers may benefit from education to develop positive attitudes and proper feeding practices.

Accumulation of Toxic Elements in Fish from Ohrid Lake Under the Influence of Anthropogenic Activities

Abstract Water ecosystems are under intense anthropogenic influence, which leads to an increased presence of pollutants, including a large number of toxic substances, primarily heavy metals, which requires constant monitoring. Fish are one of the most indicative factors for assessing water pollution with harmful elements, and this is important not only for environmental protection but also for the assessment of meat quality and the potential risk to the human population. The main goal of this research was to analyze the level of accumulation of heavy metals and metalloids, such as arsenic (As), iron (Fe), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) in the muscle tissue of commercially important fish species from Ohrid Lake, to compare their concentrations in different fish species, to apply the index of heavy metal pollution in the assessment of water pollution, and to make a comparison of the concentrations of accumulated heavy metals and metalloids in the muscle tissue of the examined fish species with the maximal permitted concentrations prescribed by the legal regulations. The research area was in Ohrid Lake, Macedonia. The most important commercial fish species from Ohrid Lake, i.e. common carp, Ohrid trout, and barbel, were sampled for analysis. Statistical analysis of the data showed significant differences (P &lt; 0.05) and significant variations in iron, chromium, copper, and zinc levels between different fish species and sampling months, highlighting the importance of considering species-specific factors such as feeding, habitat preferences, and metabolic processes in understanding the patterns of element accumulation, but also the temporal dynamics of element accumulation in fish. Based on the data on the concentrations of toxic elements (Fe, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn) in common carp, Ohrid trout, and barbel during the examined months (May, September, December, February), it can be concluded that the obtained values are below the maximum allowed concentrations prescribed on the basis of Commission Regulation (EU) No 1881/2006. This means that the fish species analyzed are safe for consumption and comply with regulatory guidelines, thus ensuring the protection of consumer health.

Conceptual Validation of High-Precision Fish Feeding Behavior Recognition Using Semantic Segmentation and Real-Time Temporal Variance Analysis for Aquaculture.

Aquaculture plays an important role in the global economy. However, unscientific feeding methods often lead to problems such as feed waste and water pollution. This study aims to address this issue by accurately recognizing fish feeding behaviors to provide automatic bait casting machines with scientific feeding strategies, thereby reducing farming costs. We propose a fish feeding behavior recognition method based on semantic segmentation, which overcomes the limitations of existing methods in dealing with complex backgrounds, water splash interference, fish target overlapping, and real-time performance. In this method, we first accurately segment fish targets in the images using a semantic segmentation model. Then, these segmented images are input into our proposed fish feeding behavior recognition model. By analyzing the aggregation characteristics during the feeding process, we can identify fish feeding behaviors. Experiments show that the proposed method has excellent robustness and real-time performance, and it performs well in the case of complex water background and occlusion of fish targets. We provide the aquaculture industry with an efficient and reliable method for recognizing fish feeding behavior, offering new scientific support for intelligent aquaculture and delivering powerful solutions to improve aquaculture management and production efficiency. Although the algorithm proposed in this study has shown good performance in fish feeding behavior recognition, it requires certain lighting conditions and fish density, which may affect its adaptability in different environments. Future research could explore integrating multimodal data, such as sound information, to assist in judgment, thereby enhancing the robustness of the model and promoting the development of intelligent aquaculture.

Effect of Feeding Process Stimulation on Oral Preparedness Readiness in Premature Infants

BACKGROUND: Most preterm infants do not have proper sucking, swallowing, and breathing coordination which caused delay in oral feeding readiness. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to analyze the influence of feeding stimulation on the readiness of premature infant’s oral feeding. METHOD: This study was a true experimental study that involved 44 preterm infants born between 32-34 weeks of gestational age, devided in two groups. Twenty two infants in the intervention group received positioning (mid-line control symmetric) and oral feeding stimulation, while the control group received only positioning intervention. Oral stimulation was given 8 times a day for 7 days, before starting the oral feeding program. Oral feeding readiness was measured by using a modified early feeding scale (EFS) instrument on the first and the seventh days. Data analysis using t-test dependent, independent t-test, and Mc Nemar test. RESULT: The results showed that there was a significant effect of the intervention on EFS score (p &lt;0.001) and also on preterm infant’s oral feeding readiness (p = 0.002). The results also showed that there was an effect of intervention on the length of stay (p=0.001). CONCLUSION: Early oral feeding stimulation improves the infant’s oral feeding readiness and shortens the infant’s length of stay. Researchers recommend stimulation of the feeding process as an independent nursing intervention in caring for premature infants.

Improvement of the Foaming Agent Feeding Process to an Electric Arc Furnace by Analyzing the Sound Generated by an Electric Arc and the Coefficient of Variation of Active Power Consumption.

Electric arc furnaces are commonly used in foamed slag technology for the production of steel from steel scrap through an electric process. The effects of using this technology include increased efficiency, reduced consumption of refractory materials, reduced energy consumption, reduced electrode wear, and improved arc stability. The world is constantly looking for solutions to optimize the feeding of the foaming agent to the electric furnace, including determining the moment of starting its feeding. The authors propose using two parameters to determine the optimal moment of introducing the foaming agent: the change in the sound level emitted by the arc furnace and the fluctuations in active power consumption. In order to determine the above parameters, tests were carried out on an industrial alternating UHP arc furnace with a capacity of 70 tons. The sound intensity level was determined at which the feeding of the foaming agent to the furnace's working space should begin. A moving coefficient of power consumption variation was developed and decision variables of the software for online foaming agent feeding were determined. As a result of implementing the developed solutions to the electric furnace control system and conducting comparative tests, savings were obtained in the form of reduced foaming agent consumption.

Probing the High-frequency Variability of NGC 5044: The Key to Active Galactic Nucleus Feedback

The active galactic nucleus (AGN) feeding and feedback process in the centers of galaxy clusters and groups is still not well understood. NGC 5044 is the ideal system in which to study AGN feedback. It hosts the largest known reservoir of cold gas in any cool-core galaxy group, and features several past epochs of AGN feedback imprinted as cavities in the X-ray-bright intragroup medium, as well as parsec-scale jets. We present Submillimeter Array, Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array, James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array high-frequency observations of NGC 5044 to assess the time variability of the millimeter-wave band emission from the accretion disk, and quantify the spectral energy distribution (SED) from the radio to submillimeter band. The SED is well described by an advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF) model and self-absorbed jet emission from an aging plasma with τ ∼ 1 kyr. We find a characteristic variability timescale of 150 days, which constrains the ADAF emission region to about 0.1 pc, and the magnetic field to ∼4.7 mG in the jets and 870 G in the accretion disk. Longer monitoring/sampling will allow to understand if the underlying process is truly periodic in nature.

Proteases and keratinases from Bacillus zhangzhouensis MH1: Practical use in detergent, leather, and waste management processes

Microbial proteases and keratinases find extensive application in both the detergent and leather industries, as well as in poultry waste management. In this study, a multifunctional strain MH1 exhibiting proteolytic and keratinolytic activities was newly isolated and identified as Bacillus zhangzhouensis. To improve its stability, the proteolytic extract was spray-dried and the stability was assessed during two years of storage. The enzyme preparation was fully stable up to 20 months of conservation at 4 °C even in the absence of any protective agent, while the enzymatic half-life at room temperature was twenty months using maltodextrin as a protector additive. MH1 was a feather-decomposing strain producing keratinases (95 U/ml) on feather medium. Therefore, the study evaluated the use of these enzymes in the detergent, tannery, and feed processes. Results showed that the sprayed proteases showed high compatibility with commercial liquid and solid detergents and efficiently removed bloodstains at low wash temperatures. They also revealed significant dehairing activity of cow skin without surface damage. While keratinases effectively transformed chicken feathers into keratin hydrolysate with strong antioxidant activity. Therefore, these enzymes could be a green alternative to hazardous chemicals utilized for detergent, leather, and biodegradation of keratinous waste.

Insights into carbon and nitrogen footprints of large-scale intensive pig production with different feedstuffs in China

Through the whole process of large-scale pig production, feed production puts great environmental pressure in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and nitrogen (N) emission. Additionally, different feedstuffs will have different results. While previous studies seldom analyzed carbon footprint and nitrogen footprint from feed components or diet choices. Thus, we selected China, the largest producer and consumer of pork in the world, to analyze both nitrogen footprint and carbon footprint through the life cycle of pig production with different feed components. We used life-cycle environmental footprint and scenario analysis to compare carbon footprints, nitrogen footprints, and feed prices of large-scale pig production with different feedstuffs in China. The life cycle of the pig production includes feed crop cultivation, feed processing, pig raising, and manure management. The functional unit is the weight of 1 kg of live pig. The results showed that the carbon footprints, nitrogen footprints, and feed prices ranged from 1.67 kg CO2-eq FU−1 to 1.70 kg CO2-eq FU−1, 35.3 g Nr FU−1 to 38.9 g Nr FU−1, and 1.42 CNY kg −1 to 2.15 CNY kg −1, respectively. Feed crop production and manure management contributed the largest carbon footprint (54%) and the largest nitrogen footprint (64%), respectively. The four scenarios exhibited various results. Scenario 3 (S3), substituting soybean meal in the original feed with distillers dried grains with soluble (DDGS), presented a more favorable outcome with respect to carbon and nitrogen footprints as well as feed prices. This was mainly attributed to feed crop cultivation, manure management, crude protein contents of feeds, and prices of the feed crops. Concerning the uneven feed crop production, number of pig farrowed, feed consumption, and inter-provincial transportation across China, we conducted the spatial analysis under the optimal S3. It revealed that the northern provinces in China exhibited both higher carbon and nitrogen footprints than the southern provinces, due to the northern regions cultivating the crop feed. Finally, we proposed recommendations from perspectives of cultivation practice, feed adjustment, manure management, and strategic zoning. The study not only highlighted the importance of environmental footprint for analyzing environmental impacts of pig production, but also provided the implications for enhancing the sector’s environmental sustainability from perspective of feed adjustment.

Introduction of Forage Feed Processing Technology for Cows in the Damang Saiyo Farmer Group

The Damang Saiyo Farmer Group is one of the farmer groups located in Batu Balang Village, Harau District, Lima Puluh Kota Regency. This group is quite active, especially in the agricultural sector. Most of the group members are active in agriculture, such as planting rice and gardening. However, there are also group members who raise livestock such as cows. Raising cattle for group members is a side activity and as family savings. Supporting natural resources such as empty land, fertile soil and easy access to green fodder in the form of grass and agricultural waste are supporting factors for raising cattle. The problems found in the Damang Saiyo Farmer Group are the lack of community knowledge about green fodder and never having processed green fodder from agricultural waste such as straw. So far, straw has not been optimally utilized as cattle feed.

Exploring the Nexus of Feeding and Processing: Implications for Meat Quality and Sensory Perception.

The intrinsic quality of meat is directly related to muscle and fat tissues. Factors such as the rate and extent of anaerobic glycolysis affect muscle pH, influencing the meat's color, water holding, and texture. Postmortem anomalies can result in deviations from this intrinsic quality. The animals' diet plays a crucial role in meat quality. Specific nutrients, such as proteins, vitamins, and minerals, affect meat's texture, flavor, and juiciness. Feeds rich in omega-3 fatty acids can improve the sensorial quality of meat. Meat processing and methods such as aging, marinating, and cooking affect the texture, flavor, and juiciness, which can be evaluated by specific equipment or trained or untrained consumers. This comprehensive review investigates the relationship between animal feeding practices and meat processing techniques and their combined impact on meat quality and sensory perception. By synthesizing recent research, we explore how various feeding protocols (including diet composition and feed additives) and processing methods shape meat products' nutritional value, texture, flavor profile, and overall consumer appeal. Understanding this nexus is crucial for optimizing meat quality while ensuring sustainability and safety in the food supply chain.

Productivity and grain quality of hulled and hulles oat varieties in the middle Volga Region

Along with hulled oats, hulles oats are increasingly used in the processing industries, both for feed and food purposes without preliminary hulling. In the Middle Volga region, in the conditions of a sharply continental climate, the cultivation of oats for feed and food purposes is difficult, therefore, breeding of highly productive oat varieties with grain quality for a specific area of use is promising. The purpose of the current study was to estimate productivity and grain quality of hulled and hulles oat varieties in the Middle Volga region. There has been found that during the years of study, hulled oat varieties produced the highest grain yield of 29.2 hwt/ha (a mean value among the varieties). The maximum grain yield was obtained in 2022 with 41.6–42.4 hwt/ha due to productive tillering (r = +0.72 at p &lt; 0.05) and 1000-grain weight (r = +0.82 at p &lt; 0.05). The variety ‘Sapsan’ was the best one in the group of hulled varieties with the best indicators of protein 14.6 %, starch 40.2 %, oil 5.3 % and grain nature weight 470 g/l with the lowest value of grain husk content; these oat varieties are preferable to grow for the production of feed and feed mixtures. In the group of hulles varieties, the mean productivity among the varieties varied at the level of the standard variety ‘Persheron’ and was 16.8 hwt/ha. The largest productivity was formed by the varieties in 2023 with 24.6-24.7 hwt/ha and it was due to productive tillering (r = +0.68 at p &lt; 0.05) and grain weight per ear (r = +0.80 at p &lt; 0.05). Hulles oat varieties with a high content of protein 18.7 %, starch 53.0 %, oil 6.4 %, low amylolytic activity of grain 323 s and grain nature weight 597 g/l, corresponding to the requirements of GOST 28673-2019 are suitable for food purposes (groats production, functional products, bakery).

A novel chemokine binding protein 1-like gene is vital for the blood pool development and engorgement of the hard tick Haemaphysalis longicornis

Tick saliva modulates host responses during a blood feeding process. We identified a novel chemokine binding protein 1-like (HLCBP1-like) gene from the salivary glands of the Asian longhorned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis. The HLCBP1-like protein, lacking a well-defined conserved domain, showed structural similarity to evasin, a chemokine binding protein from the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus. A preliminary knockdown study of HLCBP1-like revealed that ticks with reduced expression of this gene, halted feeding in the early feeding phase, and did not fully-engorge, unlike the control dsRNA (malE) injected ticks. Also, knockdown ticks induced cellular immune responses in the host skin, similar to control dsmalE-injected ticks, but did not show hemorrhage. These findings suggest that HLCBP1-like may play a modulatory role in the slow feeding phase.

DMS behaviors in pen culture of Sinonovacula constricta in Longhai, China

Dimethyl sulfide (DMS) released by the ocean has received widespread attention due to its role in aerosol formation and impact on global climate change. Research on DMS mainly focuses on coastal and open ocean environments, with limited studies addressing the influence of aquaculture activities on the production and release of marine DMS. Thus, we investigated whether fertilization for algae cultivation and the feeding process in pen culture of Sinonovacula constricta significantly contribute to DMS release. We found notable diurnal variations in DMS concentrations during and after the culture period in the ponds. During the post-culture period, both the concentration and flux of DMS in the ponds were higher than those during the culture period. The average flux of DMS during the culture and post-culture period were only 0.1 ± 0.1 μmol/(m2·d) and 0.4 ± 0.3 μmol/(m2·d), respectively, indicating that aquaculture activities of Sinonovacula constricta may not produce or release substantial DMS when compared with those from the coastal aeras and open oceans.