Effects of dietary supplementation of spices on forage degradability, ruminal fermentation, in vivo digestibility, growth performance and nitrogen balance in Black Bengal goat.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of spices on forage utilization and nitrogen (N) emission using in vitro and in vivo approach. A 6 × 5 factorial triplicate arrangement was used to assess the in vitro degradability of rice straw with control (without spices) and individual (40 mg/g rice straw) spices (cumin, coriander, clove, black cumin, turmeric) at five different incubation times. In vitro dry matter (DM) and organic matter (OM) degradability of rice straw were highest in presence of spices except for clove. Clove significantly reduced the total volatile fatty acids concentration, molar proportion of acetate and propionate ratio, but increased propionate production. Acetate and butyrate production were not affected by treatments. The ammonia-nitrogen concentration was lowest for clove and turmeric compared to other spices. Rumen pH was unchanged but gradually decreased over the incubation period. For in vivo study, 12 bucks with average live weight 7.65 ± 0.19 kg were assigned to a completely randomized design with three treatments and four replicates for a 28-day period. Bucks were fed a total mixed ration without (0 g/kg DM) or with (2.5, 7.5 g/kg DM) clove supplementation. DM intake, body weight and apparent total tract digestibility of crude protein (CP) and acid detergent fibre (ADF) were not affected by increasing dietary doses of clove but tended (p = .09) to increase DM and OM digestibility. The urinary N and urine urea N concentration of bucks decreased linearly with incremental doses of clove diet. In contrary, clove supplementation had positive effects on plasma urea N and retained N in bucks. We concluded that though some spices had positive effects on ruminal digestion and fermentation, the dosage level assessed in the current study (up to 7.5 g/kg DM clove) can be promoted as an effective dietary approach to mitigate N losses in bucks.

Quantum features of nonlinear coupler with competing nonlinearity.

In this work, we examine the quantum features of a multi-waveguide nonlinear coupler exploiting the second-and third-order nonlinearities. The considered system contains four identical channels, each with a single fundamental transverse mode. The essence of this type of nonlinear coupler is to examine the effect of two or more competing nonlinearities on the generated nonclassical features in this class of devices. Here, we consider the case of second harmonic generation, wherein the fundamental harmonic (FH) fields are up-converted in pairs to double-frequency second harmonic (SH) fields, which are then evanescently coupled with the fields from other Kerr nonlinear waveguides. Using the positive P representation of the phase space, the time-evolution of the density matrix could be mapped to the corresponding Fokker-Planck equation of a classical quasiprobability distribution. Using Langevin stochastic equation, an exact representation of the system in phase space led to the demonstration of sub-Poissonian property, squeezing, and entanglement. With more effective squeezing achieved in all channel waveguides, the present system with χ(2)-χ(3) interaction can be a more efficient alternative to other versions of nonlinear couplers such as the quantum optical dimer (QOD) and Kerr nonlinear coupler (KNC). Furthermore, such a structure offers more flexibility in coupled-mode interactions in the form of correlation between the modes in different waveguides. This provides a better mechanism for the generation of enhanced nonclassical effects.

Enhancing Photoluminescence Intensity and Spectral Bandwidth of Hybrid Nanofiber/Thin-Film Multilayer Tm3+-Doped SiO2-HfO2.

Multilayering of optical thin films is widely used for a range of purposes in photonic technology, but the development of nanofiber structures that can outperform thin films and nanoparticles in optical applications cannot simply be disregarded. Hybrid structures composed of Tm3+-doped SiO2-HfO2 in the form of nanofibers (NFs) and thin films (TFs) are deposited on a single substrate using the electrospinning and dip-coating methods, respectively. Ultrafine nanofiber strands with a diameter of 10-60 nm were fabricated in both single and multilayer samples. Enhanced photoluminescence emission intensity of about 10 times was attained at wavelengths of around 457, 512 and 634 nm under an excitation of 350 nm for NF-TF-NF* hybrid structures when compared with single-layered NF and TF structures. The arrangement of nanofibers and thin films in a multilayer structure influenced the luminescence intensity and spectral bandwidth. High transparency in the range of 75-95% transparency across the wavelength of 200-2000 nm was achieved, making it ideal for photonic application. Theoretical findings obtained through IMD software were compared with experimental results, and they were found to be in good agreement.

A novel heterocyclic compound improves working memory in the radial arm maze and modulates the dopamine receptor D1R in frontal cortex of the Sprague-Dawley rat.

A series of compounds have been shown to enhance cognitive function via the dopaminergic system and indeed the search for more active and less toxic compounds is continuing. It was therefore the aim of the study to synthetise and test a novel heterocyclic compound for cognitive enhancement in a paradigm for working memory. Specific and effective dopamine re-uptake inhibition DAT (IC50=4,1±0,8µM) made us test this compound in a radial arm maze (RAM) in the rat. CE-125 (4-((benzhydrylsulfinyl)methyl)-2-cyclopropylthiazole), was tested for dopamine (DAT), serotonin and norepinephrine re-uptake inhibition by a well-established system. The working memory index (WMI) was evaluated in male Sprague Dawley rats that were intraperitoneally injected with CE-125 (1 or 10mg/kg body weight). In order to evaluate basic neurotoxicity, the open field, elevated plus maze, rota rod studies and the forced swim test were carried out. Frontal cortex was taken at the last day of the RAM test and dopamine receptors D1R and D2R, DAT and phosphorylated DAT protein levels were determined. On the 10th day both doses were increasing the WMI as compared to the vehicle-treated group. In both, trained and treated groups, D1R levels were significantly reduced while D2R levels were unchanged. DAT levels were comparable between all groups while phosphorylated DAT levels were increased in the trained group treated with 1mg/kg body weight. CE-125 as a probably non-neurotoxic compound and specific reuptake inhibitor was shown to increase performance (WMI) and modulation of the dopaminergic system is proposed as a possible mechanism of action.

Flower synchrony, growth and yield enhancement of small type bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) through plant growth regulators and NPK fertilization.

Assessment of growth regulator and NPK fertilization effects are important tools for flower stimulation and yield improvement in cucurbits. This investigation demonstrates the comparative male-female flower induction and fruit yield of small sized bitter gourd treated with NPK fertilizers and plant growth regulators. Namely, two experiments having three replicates were conducted in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with NPK fertilization and plant growth regulators-GA3, NAA and Ethophon application on small sized bitter gourd-genotype BG5 at the research field of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU). In experiment 1, different doses of NPK fertilizers comprised of 10 treatments and in that of experiment 2, different levels of plant growth regulators indicated 10 treatments. The results indicated that application of different doses of NPK fertilizer and plant growth regulators significantly (< or = 0.05) influenced over the flower initiation and fruit setting. The application of N90-P45-K60 fertilizer along with Ethophon spraying resulted in the better yield of small sized bitter gourd.

Effect of Er substitution on ultrasonic anomaly in Dy(0.5-x)Er(x)Ba(0.5)CoO3 cobaltates.

Rare-earth cobaltates Dy0.5-xErxBa0.5CoO3 (x=0, 0.03 and 0.05) have been systematically investigated to elucidate the effect of Er substitution on elastic as well as magnetic and transport properties. DC electrical resistance and AC susceptibility measurements showed that the x=0 sample exhibited an insulating behavior and an anti-ferromagnetic (AFM) transition, TN at 198 K as well as ferromagnetic (FM) transition, TC at 260 K. Increasing of Er content suppressed the FM and AFM state suggestively due to the increase in size disorder arising from the size mismatch between A-site cations as shown from our calculation of variance σ(2). On the other hand, both absolute longitudinal and shear velocities and related elastic moduli measured at 210 K decreased with Er content in conjunction with the declining in the FM domain indicating a weakening in elastic properties. A longitudinal velocity anomaly characterized by a drop in velocity upon cooling before hardening with further cooling was observed for all samples. This abnormal elastic anomaly can be attributed due to the Jahn-Teller (JT) distortion of intermediate-spin Co(3+) ions. Analysis of the elastic anomaly using the mean-field theory suggested that it is related to the JT effect which transformed from dynamic to static type with decreasing temperature. The elastic anomaly shifted to lower temperature from 129 K (x=0) to 124 K (x=0.05) with Er substitution indicating a weakening of the static JT effect.