Effect of stimbiotic on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, oocyst shedding, blood profiles, and intestinal microbiota in necrotic enteritis-challenged broiler.

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of stimbiotic (STB) in broilers with necrotic enteritis (NE). A total of 180 one-day-old Arbor Acres (initial body weight of 34.81 ± 1.04 g) were used in this experiment for 32 days. All broilers were randomly allocated into six treatments, and each experimental group had 10 replicate cages with three broilers per cage. The experiment was conducted in a 2 × 3 factorial design consisting of two levels of challenge (challenge and non-challenge) and three levels of STB (0, 0.05, and 0.1%). The NE challenge significantly decreased (P < 0.05) growth performance, heterophil levels in blood, and intestinal lesion scores compared to the non-challenge group. Supplementation of 0.05% STB significantly decreased (P < 0.05) feed conversion ratio and the number of oocysts per gram of feces compared to the supplementation of 0 and 0.1% STB. At the genus level, the supplementation of 0.05% STB significantly decreased (P < 0.05) the abundance of Enterobacterales compared to the other groups on d 32. In conclusion, supplementation with 0.05% STB in a diet could positively regulate the fecal microflora and alleviate the decline in growth performance and nutrient digestibility caused by NE.

CsAr, CsXe, and RbXe B2Σ1/2+ Interatomic Potentials Determined from Absorption Spectra and Calculations of Franck-Condon Factors for Free-Free Optical Transitions of Atomic Collision Pairs.

Interatomic potentials for the B2Σ1/2+ states of CsAr, CsXe, and RbXe have been determined through comparisons of experimental B ← X absorption spectra for alkali vapor-rare gas mixtures with calculations of the Franck-Condon factors (FCFs) associated with free-free transitions of thermal atomic pairs. Simulations of optical transitions of alkali-rare gas atomic pairs between the thermal and vibrational continua of the X2Σ1/2+ and B2Σ1/2+ states of the molecule, responsible for the blue satellites of the Cs and Rb D2 resonance lines in a rare gas background, require the incorporation of ground-state J values above ∼400 into the FCF calculations and proper normalization of the free-particle wave functions. Absorption spectra computed on the basis of several X and B state interatomic potentials available in the literature were found to be sensitive to the height of the B2Σ1/2+ state barrier, as well as the X2Σ1/2+ state repulsive wall contour and the location of the van der Waals minimum. Other spectral simulations entailed iterative modifications to a selected B2Σ1/2+ interatomic potential, again coupled with comparison to experimental B ← X spectra. Comparisons of calculated spectra with experiment yield a CsXe B2Σ1/2+ potential, for example, exhibiting a barrier height of 76 cm-1 at 5.2 Å and yet is nearly flat at smaller values of internuclear separation (R). The latter contrasts with previous theoretical calculations of VB(R) in the vicinity of the barrier maximum. For the CsAr molecule, the B2Σ1/2+ barrier height was found to be 221 cm-1, which is within 3% of the value determined from pseudopotential calculations incorporating the spin-orbit effect. Reproducing Cs-rare gas experimental absorption spectra also requires the existence of a broad, shallow potential well lying beyond the B2Σ1/2+ barrier that, for CsAr, has a dissociation energy (De ∼ 24 cm-1) a factor of 3 larger than values predicted by theory. Similar results are obtained for the RbXe and CsXe complexes.

Evaluation of encrustation of double J stents with artificial urine.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the formation of encrustation on double J stents (DJSs) using artificial urine. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, a static urinary system containing artificial urine was created, and a total of 45 DJSs were used to evaluate the formation of encrustation. Three groups of 15 DJSs were tested for 4, 8, or 14 weeks. The formation of encrustation on the DJSs over the weeks was analyzed using methods including X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), inductively coupled plasma spectrophotometer (ICP), and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Statistical analysis and the uncertainty test were used for data analysis using R language. RESULTS: The ICP analyzed the weight of the calcium and magnesium, which are the major components of urinary stones and encrustation, and showed that it was the heaviest at 14 weeks. Measurement of the area of encrustation on the outer surface of the DJSs revealed that the encrustation area at the bottom of the stent was greater than that at the top of the stent, regardless of the experimental period (proximal part: ≤ 41,099 µm2, distal part: ≤ 183,259 µm2). Encrustation occurred around the side holes of DJSs and became bigger over time to fill up the side holes. CONCLUSION: Encrustation spots included the bottom zone of the DJS and around the side holes. These results indicate that the performance of DJSs would be improved by modifying the shape of DJSs located near the bladder and side holes.

Degree of conversion of light-polymerized composite resin in implant prosthesis screw access opening.

PURPOSE: The mechanical and physical properties of implant screw access opening deteriorate if composite resin is not polymerized properly. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the effect of using composite resin in implant access opening on the degree of conversion (DC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two prosthetic materials (Co-Cr and zirconia), two types of composite resin (low and high viscosity), two light-cured resin depths (2 and 3 mm), and two polymerization methods (max-mode 10 s and mid-mode 20 s: 16 and 22 J/cm2 , respectively) were considered (n = 192). The DC of the polymerized composite resin was measured through Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The top and bottom surfaces of the polymerized composite resin body were observed through scanning electron microscopy. Multiple linear regression analysis and analysis of variance were used to identify significant differences in DC (α = 0.05). RESULTS: The DC was lower when the low-viscosity composite resin (ß = -0.431), light-polymerized resin depth of 2 mm (ß = -0.430), zirconia prosthesis (ß = -0.191), and mid-mode polymerization method (ß = -0.164) were used. The resin type, depth of resin to be light-cured, prosthesis material, and polymerization method had an effect on the DC. CONCLUSIONS: Low-viscosity composite resin should be polymerized at a low irradiance and long polymerization time (such that the light-cured resin depth does not exceed 2 mm) to ensure proper composite resin polymerization in implant screw access opening.

Distributed Energy IoT-Based Real-Time Virtual Energy Prosumer Business Model for Distributed Power Resource.

Smart energy technologies, services, and business models are being developed to reduce energy consumption and emissions of CO2 and greenhouse gases and to build a sustainable environment. Renewable energy is being actively developed throughout the world, and many intelligent service models related to renewable energy are being proposed. One of the representative service models is the energy prosumer. Through energy trading, the demand for renewable energy and distributed power is efficiently managed, and insufficient energy is covered through energy transaction. Moreover, various incentives can be provided, such as reduced electricity bills. However, despite such a smart service, the energy prosumer model is difficult to expand into a practical business model for application in real life. This is because the production price of renewable energy is higher than that of the actual grid, and it is difficult to accurately set the selling price, restricting the formation of the actual market between sellers and consumers. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a small-scale energy transaction model between a seller and a buyer on a peer-to-peer (P2P) basis. This model employs a virtual prosumer management system that utilizes the existing grid and realizes the power system in real time without using an energy storage system (ESS). Thus, the profits of sellers and consumers of energy transactions are maximized with an improved return on investment (ROI), and an intelligent demand management system can be established.

Reinforcement Learning-Based BEMS Architecture for Energy Usage Optimization.

Currently, many intelligent building energy management systems (BEMSs) are emerging for saving energy in new and existing buildings and realizing a sustainable society worldwide. However, installing an intelligent BEMS in existing buildings does not realize an innovative and advanced society because it only involves simple equipment replacement (i.e., replacement of old equipment or LED (Light Emitting Diode) lamps) and energy savings based on a stand-alone system. Therefore, artificial intelligence (AI) is applied to a BEMS to implement intelligent energy optimization based on the latest ICT (Information and Communications Technologies) technology. AI can analyze energy usage data, predict future energy requirements, and establish an appropriate energy saving policy. In this paper, we present a dynamic heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) scheduling method that collects, analyzes, and infers energy usage data to intelligently save energy in buildings based on reinforcement learning (RL). In this regard, a hotel is used as the testbed in this study. The proposed method collects, analyzes, and infers IoT data from a building to provide an energy saving policy to realize a futuristic HVAC (heating system) system based on RL. Through this process, a purpose-oriented energy saving methodology to achieve energy saving goals is proposed.

Evaluation of a new matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry system for the identification of yeast isolation.

BACKGROUND: Currently, three commercial in vitro diagnostic matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) systems are widely used in clinical laboratories. The ASTA MicroIDSys system (ASTA Inc, South Korea) is a newly developed MALDI-TOF MS system used for the identification of pathogenic microorganisms. In the present study, we assessed the performance of the ASTA MALDI-TOF MS system for the identification of pathogenic yeast from clinical samples. METHODS: We tested 284 clinical yeast isolates from various clinical specimens using ASTA MALDI-TOF MS, and the results were compared with those using molecular sequencing of the ITS or D1-D2 regions of rDNA and biochemical assays. RESULTS: A total of 284 isolates were tested and found to be distributed across 14 species including Candida albicans (n = 100) and other yeast species (n = 184). ASTA MALDI-TOF MS correctly identified 95.1% (270/284) of the yeast species compared to molecular sequencing. Among them, 262 isolates showed acceptable MALDI-TOF MS scores (≥140), and 98.1% (257/262) isolates were identified correctly. In addition, among 22 isolates with a MALDI-TOF MS score <140, 59.1% (13/22) of the isolates showed concordance with molecular typing at the species level. Clustering analysis revealed the effectiveness of the new MALDI-TOF MS system for the identification of yeast species. CONCLUSIONS: ASTA MALDI-TOF MS showed high accuracy in the identification of yeast species; it involves facile sample preparation and extraction procedures. ASTA MALDI-TOF MS is expected to be useful for yeast identification in clinical microbiology laboratories due to its reliability and cost-effectiveness.

IoT-based smart garbage system for efficient food waste management.

Owing to a paradigm shift toward Internet of Things (IoT), researches into IoT services have been conducted in a wide range of fields. As a major application field of IoT, waste management has become one such issue. The absence of efficient waste management has caused serious environmental problems and cost issues. Therefore, in this paper, an IoT-based smart garbage system (SGS) is proposed to reduce the amount of food waste. In an SGS, battery-based smart garbage bins (SGBs) exchange information with each other using wireless mesh networks, and a router and server collect and analyze the information for service provisioning. Furthermore, the SGS includes various IoT techniques considering user convenience and increases the battery lifetime through two types of energy-efficient operations of the SGBs: stand-alone operation and cooperation-based operation. The proposed SGS had been operated as a pilot project in Gangnam district, Seoul, Republic of Korea, for a one-year period. The experiment showed that the average amount of food waste could be reduced by 33%.

Controlled trifluoromethylation reactions of alkynes through visible-light photoredox catalysis.

The control of a reaction that can form multiple products is a highly attractive and challenging concept in synthetic chemistry. A set of valuable CF3 -containing molecules, namely trifluoromethylated alkenyl iodides, alkenes, and alkynes, were selectively generated from alkynes and CF3 I by environmentally benign and efficient visible-light photoredox catalysis. Subtle differences in the combination of catalyst, base, and solvent enabled the control of reactivity and selectivity for the reaction between an alkyne and CF3 I.

Double-Sided Pressure-Sensitive Adhesive Materials under Human-Centric Extreme Environments.

Maintaining the adhesion strength of flexible pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) is crucial for advanced applications, such as health monitoring. Sustainable mounting is critical for wearable sensor devices, especially under challenging surroundings such as low and high temperatures (e.g., polar regions or deserts), underwater and sweat environments (physical activity), and cyclical shear complex stresses. In this article, we consider the adhesive, mechanical, and optical properties of medical-grade double-sided PSAs by simulating extreme human-centric environments. Diverse temperature conditions, water and humidity exposures, and cyclical loads were selected and tested over long intervals, up to 28 days. We observed that high temperatures increased the shear adhesion strength due to the pore closing and expanding contact area between the adhesive layer and substrate. Conversely, low temperatures caused the adhesive layers to harden and reduce the adhesive strength. Immersion in salty and weakly acidic water and excessive humidity reduced adhesion as water interfered with the interfacial interactions. PSA films showed either adhesive or cohesive failure under extreme mechanical stresses and cyclical loading, which is also affected by the presence of various polar solvents. We demonstrated that the variable adhesive performance, mechanical properties, and optical transparency of pressure-sensitive materials can be directly related to changes in their morphologies, surface roughness, swelling state, and alternation of the mechanical contact area, helping to establish the broader rules of design for wearable human health monitoring sensors for the long-term application of wearable devices, sensors, and electrodes.

Effects of Stocking Density and Illuminance in Lairage of Fattening Pigs in Different Temperatures.

This study investigated the effects of lairage conditions on the welfare and meat quality of pigs during lairage periods. A total of 3070 finishing pigs were assigned to one of six groups arranged in two trials in a 2 × 3 factorial design according to the illuminance (under 40 lux (LX), over 40 lux (HX)) and stocking density (low density (LD), higher than 0.83 m2/100 kg; normal density (ND), 0.50-0.83 m2/100 kg; high density (HD), lower than 0.50 m2/100 kg) with high temperature (HT), higher than 24 °C; low temperature (LT), lower than 10 °C. Pigs stocked with HD showed lower aggression behavior and overlap behavior than those stocked with LD at LT. Pigs stocked with HD showed higher standing, sitting, and aggression behavior than those stocked with LD at HT. Pigs stocked with HD showed higher pH than those stocked with LD at LT. At HT, pigs stocked with LD showed higher pH, WHC, DL, and CL than those stocked with HD. At LT, pigs stocked with LD showed higher cortisol levels than those stocked with HD. However, pigs stocked with LD showed lower cortisol levels than those stocked with HD at HT. Based on the obtained results, stocking of too-high (lower than 0.50 m2/100 kg) density at HT and stocking of too-low (higher than 0.83 m2/100 kg) density at LT are generally not good for meat quality and animal welfare.

Effects of single and complex probiotics in growing-finishing pigs and swine compost.

This study was conducted to supplement single and complex probiotics to investigate the effect on growing-finishing pigs and compost. In experiment 1, the 64 crossbred ([Landrace × Yorkshire] × Duroc) pigs with an initial body weight of 18.75 ± 0.33 kg and a birth of 63 days were assigned to a completely randomized four treatment groups based on the initial body weight (4 pigs in a pen with 4 replicate pens for each treatment). For 13 weeks, the dietary treatments were provided: 1) Control (CON; basal diet), 2) T1 (CON + 0.2% Bacillus subtilis), 3) T2 (CON + 0.2% Saccharomyces cerevisiae), 4) T3 (CON + 0.2% Bacillus subtilis + 0.2% Saccharomyces cerevisiae). In experiment 2, the pig manure was obtained from Chungbuk National University (Cheongju, Korea) swine farm. For 12 weeks, the supplementary treatments were provided: 1) CON, non-additive compost; 2) T1, spray Bacillus subtilis 10 g per 3.306 m2; 3) T2, spray Bacillus subtilis 40 g per 3.306 m2; 4) T3, spray Saccharomyces cerevisiae 10 g per 3.306 m2; 5) T4: spray Saccharomyces cerevisiae 40 g per 3.306 m2; 6) T5, spray Bacillus subtilis 5 g + Saccharomyces cerevisiae 5 g per 3.306 m2; 7) T6, spray Saccharomyces subtilis 20 g + S. cerevisiae 20 g per 3.306 m2 and there were 6 replicates each treatment. In experiment 1, During the overall experimental period, T3 showed significantly improved (p < 0.05) feed conversion ratio and average daily gain compared to other groups. In average maturity score, T3 showed significantly higher (p < 0.05) than other groups. Supplementing complex probiotics group improved (p < 0.05) H2S emissions and fecal microflora compared to the non-supplementing group. In experiment 2, additive probiotics groups had no effect (p > 0.05) on moisture content than the non-additive group at 9 and 12 weeks. T6 showed a significantly improved (p < 0.05) average maturity score at all periods and ammonia emissions at 1 week and 4 weeks compared to other groups. In summary, supplementation complex probiotics induced positive effects on both pigs and compost.

Supplementation of protease and different nutrient density diets in growing-finishing pigs.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of protease supplementation and different nutrient density of diets in growing-finishing pigs. A total of one hundred-eight crossbred growing pigs ([Landrace × Yorkshire] × Duroc) with an initial body weight (BW; 18.74 ± 3.46 kg) were used for 15 weeks. Pigs were randomly assigned to six dietary treatments with 6 replicates of 3 pigs per pen in a 3 × 2 factorial through the following arrangement: Three groups of protease (1, Basal diets; 2, Protease A: 125 mg/kg protease derived from Streptomyces sps; 3, Protease B: 100 mg/kg protease derived from Bacillus licheniformis) at two different nutrient density diets (1, Basal requirement; 2, 0.94%-0.98% higher than requirement in dietary protein and 50 kcal/kg in energy). High nutrient (HN) diets showed higher average daily gain (ADG) (p < 0.05) and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of crude protein (CP) (p < .0001) compared to basal nutrient (BN) diets during growing periods. Supplementation of protease showed higher BW (p < 0.05) and ADG (p < 0.05) compared to non-supplementation of protease during growing periods. Also, supplementation of protease showed higher ATTD of CP (p < 0.01), ATTD of gross energy (p < 0.05) and decreased blood urea nitrogen (BUN) level (p = 0.001) compared to non-supplementation of protease during finishing periods. Pigs which fed the protease showed decreased ammonia (NH3) emissions (p < 0.05) during experiment periods and decreased hydrogen sulfide (H2S) emissions (p < 0.01) during finishing periods. Interactions between nutrient density and protease were observed, which decreased the feed conversion ratio (p < 0.05) in HN diets without protease compared to BN diets without protease during weeks 4 to 6. Also, interaction between nutrient density and protease was observed, which resulted in improved ATTD of CP (p < 0.01) in response to PTA supplementation with HN diets during the finishing period. In conclusion, supplementation of protease reduces NH3 in feces and BUN in whole blood by increasing the digestibility of CP and improves growth performance. Also, diets with high nutrient density improved growth performance and nutrient digestibility in growing periods.

Ultrasound harmonic generation and atomic layer deposition of multilayer, deep-UV mirrors and filters with microcavity plasma arrays.

Abstract: In honor of Professor Kurt Becker's pioneering contributions to microplasma physics and applications, we report the capabilities of arrays of microcavity plasmas in two emerging and disparate applications. The first of these is the generation of ultrasound radiation in the 20-240 kHz spectral range with microplasmas in either a static or jet configuration. When a 10×10 array of microplasma jets is driven by a 20-kHz sinusoidal voltage, for example, harmonics as high as m = 12 are detected and fractional harmonics are produced by controlling the spatial symmetry of the emitter array. The preferential emission of ultrasound in an inverted cone having an angle of ±45∘ with respect to the surface normal of the jet array's exit face is attributed to interference between spatially periodic, outward-propagating waves generated by the arrays. The spatial distribution of ultrasound generated by the arrays is analogous to the radiation patterns produced by Yagi-Uda phased array antennas at RF frequencies for which radiation is emitted broadside to arrays of parallel electric dipoles. Also, the nonperturbative envelope of the ultrasound harmonic spectrum resembles that for high-order harmonic generation at optical frequencies in rare gas plasmas and attests to the strong nonlinearity provided by the pulsed microplasmas in the sub-250-kHz region. Specifically, the relative intensities of the second and third harmonics exceed that for the fundamental, and a "plateau" region is observed extending from the 5th through the 8th harmonics. A strong plasma nonlinearity appears to be responsible for both the appearance of fractional harmonics and the nonperturbative nature of the acoustic harmonic spectrum. Multilayer metal-oxide optical filters designed to have peak transmission near 222 nm in the deep-UV region of the spectrum have been fabricated by microplasma-assisted atomic layer deposition. Alternating layers of ZrO2 and Al2O3, each having a thickness in the 20-50 nm range, were grown on quartz and silicon substrates by successively exposing the substrate to the Zr or Al precursor (tetrakis(dimethylamino) zirconium or trimethylaluminum, respectively) and the products of an oxygen microplasma while maintaining the substrate temperature at 300 K. Bandpass filters comprising 9 cycles of 30-nm-thick ZrO2/50-nm-thick Al2O3 film pairs transmit 80% at 235 nm but < 35% in the 250-280 nm interval. Such multilayer reflectors appear to be of significant value in several applications, including bandpass filters suppressing long wavelength (240-270 nm) radiation emitted by KrCl (222) lamps.

Effects of size and shape of the side holes of a double J stent on the ureter fluid flow after stenosis.

The effect of side holes morphology changes in double J stent (DJS) on encrustation was analyzed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). We analyzed DJS side holes with inner diameter of 1 mm and outer diameters of 1 (type A), 1.2 (type B) and 1.4 (type C) mm, respectively. Concentric stenosis with three intraureteral degree (0%, 12%, and 88%) was analyzed. The flow rate, shear stress and wall shear stress (WSS) distribution were investigated. Urine flow through SH1 before the ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) differed based on the ureteral stenosis degree. The sum of flow rates through the SHs increased with diameter. In the stented ureter with 12% stenosis, the flow rate through SH1 approximately doubled than that without ureteral stenosis, and the flow rate through SH1 was maximal for the type 'C' stent in both 12% and 88% ureteral stenosis. The mean shear stress in the SHs increased with the degree of stenosis. The WSS around the SHs was higher for type 'C' than types A and B. From the flow rates and shear stresses in and around the SHs, the larger SH diameter of the DJS from the UPJ to mid-ureter is expected to induce encrustation reduction, especially in patients with urinary lithiasis.

Effects of stimbiotic supplementation on gut health, immune response, and intestinal microbiota in weaned piglets challenged with E. coli.

In order to make piglet diets more effective, it is necessary to investigate effective methods for breaking down xylan in cereal. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of dietary stimbiotic (STB) supplementation on growth performance, intestinal morphology, immune response and intestinal microbiota in weaned piglets. A total of 24 (Duroc × Yorkshire × Landrace) weaned pigs (initial body weight of 8.01 ± 0.38 kg and 28 ± 3 d old), were assigned to 4 treatments with 6 replicates per treatment. Pigs were housed in individual pens for 17 days, including 5 days adaption period and 12 days after the first Escherichia coli (E. coli) challenge. The experiment was conducted in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments consisting of two levels of challenge (challenge and non-challenge) and two levels of STB (0 and 0.5 g/kg diet). Supplementations of STB 0.5 g/kg improved the gain to feed ratio (G:F) (P < 0.05) in piglets challenged with shiga toxigenic E. coli (STEC). STB supplementation decreased (P < 0.05) white blood cells, neutrophils, lymphocytes, and expression levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6. Supplementation of STB improved (P < 0.05) the lymphocytes and neutrophils in piglets challenged with STEC on 12 dpi. Supplementation of STB also improved (P < 0.05) the villus height to-crypt depth ratio of ileum in piglets challenged with STEC. Supplementation of STB increased (P < 0.05) the expression levels of claudin-1 of ileum. In genus level, supplementation of STB increased (P < 0.001) the abundance of Prevotella compared to non-supplementation of STB groups in pre-inoculation period. Also, supplementation of STB decreased (P < 0.05) the abundance of Faecalibacterium and Eubacterium_coprostanoligenes_group compared to non-supplementation of STB groups in post-inoculation period. In phylum level, supplementation of STB increased (P < 0.05) the abundance of Desulfobacterota and Fibrobacterota in pre-inoculation period. E. coli challenge increased the abundance of Fibrobacterota compared to non-challenged group in post-inoculation period. In conclusion, these findings indicated that STB supplementation could alleviate a decrease of the performance, immune response, and inflammatory response in piglets induced by the STEC challenge.

Effects of driving style and bedding in pigs transported to slaughterhouse in different temperatures.

Animal welfare during transport became an largely issue because of increasing demand for improved animal welfare standards. Most studies on the animal welfare during transportation have concentrated on the atmosphere and the temperature of the truck compartments. Thus, the objective of study was to collect and quantify three axis acceleration and determine the effect of bedding for transporting pigs from farm to slaughterhouse. A total of 2,840 crossbred fattening pigs with a live weight of approximately 115 kg were used. They were raised in the same commercial farms and transported to the same commercial slaughterhouse. A 3×2×2 completely randomized factorial design was used to investigate effects of rubber type bedding (bedding or non-bedding) and two levels of driving style (aggressive or normal) in three different time periods with different outside temperatures. Air temperature treatments were as follow: high temperature ([HT] higher than 24°C); low temperature ([LT] lower than 10°C); normal temperature ([NT] 10°C to 24°C). In our experiment, pigs transported under aggressive driving style showed lower (p < 0.05) pH and water holding capacity (WHC) than those transported under normal driving style. Pigs transported under normal driving style showed a lower percentage of drip loss (DL) (p < 0.05) than those transported with an aggressive driving style. Also, transported with bedding showed higher (p < 0.05) lying behavior but lower (p < 0.05) sitting behavior than those transported without bedding. Pigs transported under normal driving style showed lower (p < 0.05) cortisol level than those transported under aggressive driving style. In conclusion, aggressive driving style cause acute stress in pigs, while bedding helps alleviate acute stress in pigs during transportation in LT.

Fully Screen-Printed PI/PEG Blends Enabled Patternable Electrodes for Scalable Manufacturing of Skin-Conformal, Stretchable, Wearable Electronics.

Recent advances in soft materials and nano-microfabrication have enabled the development of flexible wearable electronics. At the same time, printing technologies have been demonstrated to be efficient and compatible with polymeric materials for manufacturing wearable electronics. However, wearable device manufacturing still counts on a costly, complex, multistep, and error-prone cleanroom process. Here, we present fully screen-printable, skin-conformal electrodes for low-cost and scalable manufacturing of wearable electronics. The screen printing of the polyimide (PI) layer enables facile, low-cost, scalable, high-throughput manufacturing. PI mixed with poly(ethylene glycol) exhibits a shear-thinning behavior, significantly improving the printability of PI. The premixed Ag/AgCl ink is then used for conductive layer printing. The serpentine pattern of the screen-printed electrode accommodates natural deformation under stretching (30%) and bending conditions (180°), which are verified by computational and experimental studies. Real-time wireless electrocardiogram monitoring is also successfully demonstrated using the printed electrodes with a flexible printed circuit. The algorithm developed in this study can calculate accurate heart rates, respiratory rates, and heart rate variability metrics for arrhythmia detection.

Effects of dietary supplementation of Pediococcus pentosaceus strains from kimchi in weaned piglet challenged with Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica.

Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Salmonella enterica (SE) infections in pigs are major source associated with enteric disease such as post weaning diarrhea. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Pediococcus pentosaceus in weaned piglets challenged with pathogen bacteria. In Experiment.1 90 weaned piglets with initial body weights of 8.53 ± 0.34 kg were assigned to 15 treatments for 2 weeks. The experiments were conducted two trials in a 2 × 5 factorial arrangement of treatments consisting of two levels of challenge (challenge and non-challenge) with E. coli and SE, respectively and five levels of probiotics (Control, Lactobacillus plantarum [LA], Pediococcus pentosaceus SMFM2016-WK1 [38W], Pediococcus acidilactici K [PK], Lactobacillus reuteri PF30 [PF30]). In Experiment.2 a total of 30 weaned pigs (initial body weight of 9.84 ± 0.85 kg) were used in 4 weeks experiment. Pigs were allocated to 5 groups in a randomized complete way with 2 pens per group and 3 pigs per pen. Supplementation of LA and 38W improved (p < 0.05) growth performance, intestinal pathogen bacteria count, fecal noxious odor and diarrhea incidence. In conclusion, supplementation of 38W strains isolated from white kimchi can act as probiotics by inhibiting E. coli and SE.

Micro mercury trapped ion clock prototypes with 10[Formula: see text] frequency stability in 1-liter packages.

Modern communication and navigation systems are increasingly relying on atomic clocks. As timing precision requirements increase, demands for lower SWaP (size, weight, and power) clocks rise. However, it has been challenging to break through the general trade-off trend between the clock stability performance and SWaP. Here we demonstrate micro mercury trapped ion clock (M2TIC) prototypes integrated with novel micro-fabricated technologies to simultaneously achieve high performance and low SWaP. The M2TIC prototypes could reach the [Formula: see text]-stability level in 1 day with a SWaP of 1.1 L, 1.2 kg, and under 6 W of power. This stability level is comparable to the widely used rack-mount Microchip 5071A cesium frequency standard. These standalone prototypes survived regular commercial shipping across the North American continent to a government laboratory, where their performance was independently tested. The M2TIC sets a new reference point for SWaP and performance and opens opportunities for high-performance clocks in terrestrial and space applications.