Improving livestock feed safety and infection prevention: Removal of bacterial contaminants from hay using cold water,bubbles and ultrasound

The ingestion of contaminated hay is detrimental to livestock wellbeing. In this study, the feasibility of using an ultrasonically activated stream (UAS) to clean bacterial contamination from hay was investigated. Hay samples were stained with SYTO-9 nucleic acid stain for the in-situ visualization of microbes on the surface using an episcopic differential interference contrast microscope coupled with epi-fluorescence. The total microbial load per sample was calculated by measuring the mean percentage area of SYTO-9 positive staining. The cleaning efficacy was evaluated by comparing the total microbial coverage before and after cleaning. The cleaning performance between an UAS and a non UAS were compared and results have shown that an exposure of 60 s to an UAS demonstrated an 87.94 ± 2.22% removal of the bacterial contaminants, exceeding that of non UAS (21.85 ± 13.63% removal). UAS is capable of removing bacterial contaminants without the use of antimicrobial agents, therefore its cleaning mechanism can potentially prevent infection and reduce antimicrobial resistance. The cleaning mechanism of UAS can be adapted for the development of a new hay cleaning strategy for effective removal of bacterial contaminant to improve feed safety.     

Monoclonal Antibody-Based Fluorescence Polarization Immunoassay for Furazolidone in Feed

A rapid, specific, and sensitive fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA) method was developed to detect residues of furazolidone, a forbidden drug in feed. An immuno-hapten was designed for monoclonal antibody preparation. Furthermore, seven novel tracers were synthesized and the “heterology tracer” could improve the sensitivity of FPIA significantly. An optimized FPIA method was established with a cross-reactivity of less than 0.1%, IC₅₀ of 5.5 ng/mL. The limits of detection (LOD) calculated from feed samples were 0.5–0.9 ng/mL. Recoveries of fortified samples at levels of 5, 20, and 50 ng/mL ranged from 79.0% to 85.0%. The coefficients of variation were less than 12%.     

Electroanalysis of D-Amino Acid Oxidase and Its Interaction with Hydrogen Peroxide

Abstract

We have first obtained the direct electrochemistry of D-amino acid oxidase with a polyethylenimine modified pyrolytic graphite electrode and the electrochemical response related to the catalytic reaction to the substrates. Further studies reveal that the enzyme may exhibit different substrate specificity. Taking D-serine as a model, we have also presented an electrochemical method to detect this amino acid and have studied the effect of hydrogen peroxide on the catalytic activity of this enzyme. It is found that hydrogen peroxide can lower the enzymatic activity of this enzyme.     

Chemistry and the worm: Caenorhabditis elegans as a platform for integrating chemical and biological research

This Review discusses the potential usefulness of the worm Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism for chemists interested in studying living systems. C. elegans, a 1 mm long roundworm, is a popular model organism in almost all areas of modern biology. The worm has several features that make it attractive for biology: it is small (<1000 cells), transparent, and genetically tractable. Despite its simplicity, the worm exhibits complex phenotypes associated with multicellularity: the worm has differentiated cells and organs, it ages and has a well-defined lifespan, and it is capable of learning and remembering. This Review argues that the balance between simplicity and complexity in the worm will make it a useful tool in determining the relationship between molecular-scale phenomena and organism-level phenomena, such as aging, behavior, cognition, and disease. Following an introduction to worm biology, the Review provides examples of current research with C. elegans that is chemically relevant. It also describes tools-biological, chemical, and physical-that are available to researchers studying the worm.     

The latest research progress on the prevention of storage pests by natural products: Species,mechanisms, and sources of inspiration

The quality of grains is influenced by storage pests, which are not only spoilers of stored grain, but also vectors of human and animal diseases. Chemical pesticides play an essential role in the cultivation and storage of cereals, however, due to the low degradability and residual toxicity of synthetic pesticides on the environment and non-target organisms, as well as the increasing resistance of target organisms to them, consideration should be given to the development of alternative pest control agents. Compounds isolated from natural sources have emerged as preferred targets for the development of novel insecticidal agents because of their eco-friendliness, safety, and effectiveness. In this review, we primarily focus on the natural product (NPs) control of storage pests. The effective monomer components of NPs and their anti-insect mechanisms were discussed, and natural sources of inspiration and models for insect repellents are described. This review aimed to provide guidelines for the exploitation and utilization of green and efficient natural insecticides.     

Analysis of ultrasonic velocity in refrigerants using artificial neural network

Several researchers have reported numerous measurements on ultrasonic velocity as a function of temperature and pressure using various experimental techniques. A large amount of experimental data is required in order to obtain accurate results for the chemical substances used. The present article explores the evaluation of ultrasonic velocity as a function of molecular weight, temperature and pressure using an artificial neural network (ANN) in six refrigerants. The network so developed predicts the ultrasonic velocity successfully. Statistical analysis of the results was performed using standard deviation (%) and relative average deviation. The correlation coefficient in our analysis was found to be 0.9999. The trained weights, obtained from ANN, are further employed to form equations to predict ultrasonic velocity at other temperatures and pressures.     

Estimation and interpolation of underwater low frequency ambient noise spectrum using artificial neural networks

In this work, estimation of ambient noise spectrum influenced by wind speed and wave height carried out for the frequency range of 500 Hz to 5 kHz using Feed forward Neural Network (FNN) is presented. Ocean ambient noise measurements were made in the shallow waters of Bay of Bengal using a portable data acquisition system with a high sensitivity hydrophone at a depth of 5 m from the surface.100 sets of data covering a rage of wind speeds from 2.5 m/s to 8.5 m/s with approximately 15 sets of data falling within 1 m/s over the range of wind speed were used for training the FNN. The parameter wave height which contributes to the noise producing mechanism is also used for training along with wind speed. The results revealed that the proposed method is useful in the estimation and interpolation of underwater noise spectrum level and hence in simulation for the considered frequency range. These were confirmed by calculating the Mean Squared Error (MSE) between the experimental data and the simulation. As the measurements of the underwater ambient noise level are very difficult in remote oceanic regions, where conditions are often inhospitable, these studies seem to be relevant.     

火焰原子吸收光谱法连续测定饲料中的铅和镉

火焰原子吸收法连续测定饲料中的铅和镉 ,方法灵敏、准确。无须富集、萃取 ,操作简便 ,铅和镉的回收率分别在 95 .0 %— 1 0 5 .0 %和 94 .0 %— 98.0 %之间 ,相对标准偏差分别在 0 .4 8%— 1 .4 0 %和 2 .5 6 %—3.5 0 %之间     

化学教育专业开设生物化学课程的教学改革研究

结合生物化学理论性强、内容抽象、知识更新快等特点, 对在师范类化学教育专业开设生物化学课程的必要性,以及教学内容和教学方法的改革进行了探讨。