Fermented Total Mixed Ration Alters Rumen Fermentation Parameters and Microbiota in Dairy Cows.

This study aimed to determine changes and interactions of ruminal microbiota and chemical parameters in dairy cows fed FTMR. Twelve multiparous Holstein dairy cows (Body weight = 616 ± 13.4 kg; day in milk = 106 ± 7.55 d; and parity = 2.31 ± 0.49; mean ± standard deviation) were divided randomly into two treatments depending on the day in milk, milk production, and parity. The two treatments were: (1) total mixed ration (TMR) and (2) FTMR. Illumina MiSeq sequencing was used to explore the changes in the ruminal microbiota. The results revealed that the bacterial and fungal diversity of the FTMR group were significantly higher than the TMR group. The predominant microbiota phyla in the bacteria and fungi showed significant differences between TMR and FTMR, as follows: Verrucomicrobia (p = 0.03) and Tenericutes (p = 0.01), Ascomycota (p = 0.04) and Basidiomycota (p = 0.04). The dominant bacterial genera in the bacteria, fungi, protozoan, and archaea that showed significant differences between TMR and FTMR were Unclassified_Bacteroidales (p = 0.02), Unclassified_RFP12 (p = 0.03), Candida (p = 0.0005), Bullera (p = 0.002), Cryptococcus (p = 0.007), and Ostracodinium (p = 0.01). LefSe analysis was performed to reveal the biomarker genera of the rumen microbiota community (bacteria, fungi, protozoan, and archaea) in the TMR and FTMR were the genera Shuttleworthia, Ruminococcus, Cryptococcus, Mycosphaerella, Bullera, Candida, and Ostracodinium. NH3-N concentration (p < 0.0001), total VFA concentration (p = 0.003), and molar proportion in total VFA of acetate (p = 0.01) were higher for the cows fed FTMR compared with the cows fed the TMR. Several bacterial genera showed significant correlations with rumen fermentation parameters. The genus Unclassified_Bacteroidales and Bullera were positively correlated with total volatile fatty acids (VFA) and acetate, whereas Candida and Ostracodinium showed negative correlations. Meanwhile, propionate was positively correlated with Candida and negatively correlated with Bullera. The PICRUSt functional profile prediction indicated that the xenobiotics biodegradation and metabolism, the lipid, amino acid, terpenoids, and polyketides metabolisms of the FTMR group were significantly higher than that of the TMR group. The results imply that FTMR can increase lipid and amino acid metabolism, and modulate the rumen microbiome and improve ruminal fermentation.

Dynamics of pulsating solitons derived from asymmetrical dispersive waves.

Pulsating soliton (PS) as a local structure of nonlinear systems has induced substantial interest in nonlinear photonics and ultrafast lasers. However, the interaction mechanism between PSs has not been fully studied. Here, the vital role of the asymmetric dispersive wave (DW) in PSs interaction is investigated for the first time. Based on the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation (CQGLE), we find that the asynchronous pulsating soliton molecule (PSM) composed of strong PSs and weak PSs will produce frequency shift due to the asymmetric DW, and the state of the PS can be transferred through the DW during the collision between PSs and PSM. Moreover, we firstly characterize the PS with asymmetric DW in experiment, and observe the drift of PSM, which agree with our simulation that the asymmetric DW can cause the frequency shift of PSMs. Our results provide new insights into the multi soliton interaction of nonlinear systems.

Facile preparation of N-doped activated carbon produced from rice husk for CO2 capture.

Activated carbons (AC) were prepared by carbonization and KOH activation using rice husk as feedstock. The effects of impregnation ratios and activation temperatures on the properties of AC were investigated. Under optimum conditions, BET surface area, total pore volume and micropore volume of AC are as high as 1495.52 m2/g, 0.786 cm3/g and 0.447 cm3/g, respectively. Surface modification with chitosan as nitrogen source was performed simultaneously during KOH activation process. XPS and FT-IR analyses show that N-species was successfully incorporate into AC. Compared with AC-5 (general AC), CAC-5 (modified AC) exhibits better CO2 adsorption performance, reaching 5.83 mmol/g at 273 K and 1 bar, which can be attributed to the formation of the CO2-philic active sites on AC surface by N-species. The linear correlations between CO2 uptake, micropore volume within specific size section and N-content was investigated. The isosteric heat of CO2 adsorption for CAC-5 (average 30.21 kJ/mol) is much higher than that of AC-5 (average 14.48 kJ/mol). The adsorption behavior of CAC-5 can be well described by Freundlich model. The high IAST selectivity factor for N-doped ACs indicates their excellent adsorption selectivity for CO2 over N2. Both physisorption and chemisorption are present in CO2 adsorption process of N-doped ACs.

Insight to hydrophobic SiO2 encapsulated SiO2 gel: Preparation and application in fire extinguishing.

Micron-sized hydrophobic SiO2 encapsulated SiO2 gel (HSESG) was prepared successfully by using SiO2 gel as the solid core and hydrophobic nano-SiO2 particle as the shell under high-speed shear stirring. The flowability, stability, particle size distribution, bulk density and water repellency of the powder were measured separately, and it was concluded that this type of product can exhibit smaller static angle, larger flow rate and lower bulk density. After the formation of a stable spatial network of SiO2 gel in its interior, relevant fire extinguishing experiments were carried out and HSESG exhibits higher efficiency in suppressing wood stack fires than that of ordinary dry water (DW) and ABC dry powder. As a high-efficiency fire-extinguishing material, it also exhibits excellent environmental friendliness and non-toxicity, which will make it have the potential to develop a new application market.