Effects of maceration at mowing on digestibility and ruminal fermentation of timothy hay in steers

1994 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Chiquette ◽  
P. Savoie ◽  
A. Lirette

Eight ruminally fistulated steers (711 kg ± 72 kg) were used in a crossover experimental design to study the nutritional effects of macerating timothy grass (M) over the conventional conditioning process (C). Maceration was applied at mowing by conditioning the freshly cut forage through eight high-speed metallic grinding rolls with a shredding effect on leaves and stems. Animals were fed an all forage diet consisting of M or C. Feces were collected over a period of 6 d for total digestibility determination. On day 7 of each experimental period, ruminal fluid was sampled at 0, 1, 2, 4, 8 and 12 h after meals. On days 9–11, nylon bags were incubated in the rumen of each steer for 4, 8, 12, 24 and 48 h in order to determine forage dry matter (DM) degradation at the ruminal level. Maceration reduced the field drying time to reach baling moisture by 50% under Southeast Canadian climatic conditions. Results of forage digestibility at the ruminal level showed that the rate of forage DM disappearance was greater (P < 0.001) for M than for C. This greater ruminal digestibility of M was associated with numerically although not statistically greater ruminal concentrations of acetate, propionate and butyrate at all sampling times in steers fed M. However, butyrate concentration was higher (P < 0.05) in M fed animals than in C fed animals, at the 4 h sampling. Although M was better digested at the ruminal level, total digestibility of DM, organic matter, ADF and NDF was slightly less for M than for C (P < 0.05). Total digestibility of nitrogen was similar for both treatments. An increased passage rate of M might explain its decreased total digestibility. This last assumption still needs to be verified as well as the impact of this small decrease in digestibility on animal production. Key words: Maceration, digestibility, ruminal fermentation, steer, forage, grass

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. e04S ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Teresa P. Dentinho ◽  
Olga C. Moreira ◽  
Rui J. B. Bessa

Aim of study: To evaluate the impact of Cistus ladanifer L. (rockrose) tannins on ruminal degradability and fermentation characteristics and the use of polyethylene glycol (PEG), as feed additive, to mitigate the anti-nutritional effects of rockrose tannins.Material and methods: Aerial parts of rockrose plants were harvested in March, freeze dried and divided in 4 subsamples which were treated with 0, 25, 50 and 75 g of PEG/kg of dry matter (DM). The mixtures were analysed for chemical composition including total phenolics, total tannins and condensed tannins. In situ rumen organic matter (OM) and N rumen degradability was evaluated using three rumen-cannulated rams and ruminal fermentation pattern (volatile fatty acids (VFA), gas production) was evaluated in vitro using a Rumen Simulation Technique (RUSITEC) apparatus.Main results: In situ experiment indicated that the effective degradability of the OM and N increased linearly (p<0.05) with PEG inclusion due to an increase of the degradation rate (p<0.05). RUSITEC data indicated that substrate disappearance and gas and VFA production increased linearly (p<0.05) with PEG inclusion. Research highlights: Inclusion of PEG to C. ladanifer feed was effective to prevent the anti-nutritive effects of tannins. Thus, the use of PEG as feed additive can promote a better utilization of this shrub by ruminants.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Friederike Pfau ◽  
Martin Hünerberg ◽  
Karl-Heinz Südekum ◽  
Gerhard Breves ◽  
Marcus Clauss ◽  
...  

This study investigated the impact of carbohydrate source and fluid passage rate (dilution rate) on ruminal fermentation characteristics and microbial crude protein (MCP) formation. Three commonly used feeds (barley grain [BG], beet pulp [BP], and soybean hulls [SBH]), which differ considerably in their carbohydrate composition, were incubated together with a mixture of grass hay and rapeseed meal in two identical Rusitec apparatuses (each 6 vessels). Differences in fluid passage rate were simulated by infusing artificial saliva at two different rates (1.5% [low] and 3.0% [high] of fermenter volume per h). This resulted in six treatments (tested in 3 runs): BGhigh, BGlow, BPhigh, BPlow, SBHhigh and SBHlow. The system was adapted for 7 d, followed by 4 d of sampling. Production of MCP (mg/g degraded organic matter [dOM]; estimated by 15N analysis) was greater with high dilution rate (DL; p &lt; 0.001) and was higher for SBH compared to both BG and BP (p &lt; 0.001). High DL reduced OM degradability (OMD) compared to low DL (p &lt; 0.001), whereas incubation of BG resulted in higher OMD compared to SBH (p &lt; 0.002). Acetate:propionate ratio decreased in response to high DL (p &lt; 0.001). Total gas and methane production (both /d and /g dOM) were lower with high DL (p &lt; 0.001). In our study increasing liquid passage rate showed the potential to increase MCP and decrease methane production simultaneously. Results encourage further studies investigating these effects on the rumen microbial population.


2020 ◽  
pp. 50-64
Author(s):  
Kuladeep Kumar Sadevi ◽  
Avlokita Agrawal

With the rise in awareness of energy efficient buildings and adoption of mandatory energy conservation codes across the globe, significant change is being observed in the way the buildings are designed. With the launch of Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) in India, climate responsive designs and passive cooling techniques are being explored increasingly in building designs. Of all the building envelope components, roof surface has been identified as the most significant with respect to the heat gain due to the incident solar radiation on buildings, especially in tropical climatic conditions. Since ECBC specifies stringent U-Values for roof assembly, use of insulating materials is becoming popular. Along with insulation, the shading of the roof is also observed to be an important strategy for improving thermal performance of the building, especially in Warm and humid climatic conditions. This study intends to assess the impact of roof shading on building’s energy performance in comparison to that of exposed roof with insulation. A typical office building with specific geometry and schedules has been identified as base case model for this study. This building is simulated using energy modelling software ‘Design Builder’ with base case parameters as prescribed in ECBC. Further, the same building has been simulated parametrically adjusting the amount of roof insulation and roof shading simultaneously. The overall energy consumption and the envelope performance of the top floor are extracted for analysis. The results indicate that the roof shading is an effective passive cooling strategy for both naturally ventilated and air conditioned buildings in Warm and humid climates of India. It is also observed that a fully shaded roof outperforms the insulated roof as per ECBC prescription. Provision of shading over roof reduces the annual energy consumption of building in case of both insulated and uninsulated roofs. However, the impact is higher for uninsulated roofs (U-Value of 3.933 W/m2K), being 4.18% as compared to 0.59% for insulated roofs (U-Value of 0.33 W/m2K).While the general assumption is that roof insulation helps in reducing the energy consumption in tropical buildings, it is observed to be the other way when insulation is provided with roof shading. It is due to restricted heat loss during night.


2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Liu ◽  
M. P. F. Sutcliffe ◽  
W. R. Graham

Abstract In an effort to understand the dynamic hub forces on road vehicles, an advanced free-rolling tire-model is being developed in which the tread blocks and tire belt are modeled separately. This paper presents the interim results for the tread block modeling. The finite element code ABAQUS/Explicit is used to predict the contact forces on the tread blocks based on a linear viscoelastic material model. Special attention is paid to investigating the forces on the tread blocks during the impact and release motions. A pressure and slip-rate-dependent frictional law is applied in the analysis. A simplified numerical model is also proposed where the tread blocks are discretized into linear viscoelastic spring elements. The results from both models are validated via experiments in a high-speed rolling test rig and found to be in good agreement.


2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 303-314
Author(s):  
Yuna Park ◽  
Hyo-In Koh ◽  
University of Science and Technology, Transpo ◽  
University of Science and Technology, Transpo ◽  
University of Science and Technology, Transpo ◽  
...  

Railway noise is calculated to predict the impact of new or reconstructed railway tracks on nearby residential areas. The results are used to prepare adequate counter- measures, and the calculation results are directly related to the cost of the action plans. The calculated values were used to produce noise maps for each area of inter- est. The Schall 03 2012 is one of the most frequently used methods for the production of noise maps. The latest version was released in 2012 and uses various input para- meters associated with the latest rail vehicles and track systems in Germany. This version has not been sufficiently used in South Korea, and there is a lack of standard guidelines and a precise manual for Korean railway systems. Thus, it is not clear what input parameters will match specific local cases. This study investigates the modeling procedure for Korean railway systems and the differences between calcu- lated railway sound levels and measured values obtained using the Schall 03 2012 model. Depending on the location of sound receivers, the difference between the cal- culated and measured values was within approximately 4 dB for various train types. In the case of high-speed trains, the value was approximately 7 dB. A noise-reducing measure was also modeled. The noise reduction effect of a low-height noise barrier system was predicted and evaluated for operating railway sites within the frame- work of a national research project in Korea. The comparison of calculated and measured values showed differences within 2.5 dB.


Author(s):  
S.E. Rudov ◽  
◽  
V.Ya. Shapiro ◽  
O.I. Grigoreva ◽  
I.V. Grigorev ◽  
...  

In the Russian Federation logging operations are traditionally carried out in winter. This is due to the predominance of areas with swamped and water-logged (class III and IV) soils in the forest fund, where work of forestry equipment is difficult, and sometimes impossible in the warm season. The work of logging companies in the forests of the cryolithozone, characterized by a sharply continental climate, with severe frosts in winter, is hampered by the fact that forest machines are not recommended to operate at temperatures below –40 °C due to the high probability of breaking of metal structures and hydraulic system. At the same time, in the warm season, most of the cutting areas on cryosolic soils become difficult to pass for heavy forest machines. It turns out that the convenient period for logging in the forests of the cryolithozone is quite small. This results in the need of work in the so-called off-season period, when the air temperature becomes positive, and the thawing processes of the soil top layer begin. The same applies to the logging companies not operating in the conditions of cryosolic soils, for instance, in the Leningrad, Novgorod, Pskov, Vologda regions, etc. The observed climate warming has led to a significant reduction in the sustained period of winter logging. Frequent temperature transitions around 0 °C in winter, autumn and spring necessitate to work during the off-season too, while cutting areas thaw. In bad seasonal and climatic conditions, which primarily include off-season periods in general and permafrost in particular, it is very difficult to take into account in mathematical models features of soil freezing and thawing and their effect on the destruction nature. The article shows that the development of long-term predictive models of indicators of cyclic interaction between the skidding system and forest soil in adverse climatic conditions of off-season logging operations in order to improve their reliability requires rapid adjustment of the calculated parameters based on the actual experimental data at a given step of the cycles.


2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-397
Author(s):  
Chunyang Wang

This paper measures the spatial evolution of urban agglomerations to understand be er the impact of high-speed rail (HSR) construction, based on panel data from fi ve major urban agglomerations in China for the period 2004–2015. It is found that there are signi ficant regional diff erences of HSR impacts. The construction of HSR has promoted population and economic diff usion in two advanced urban agglomerations, namely the Yang e River Delta and Pearl River Delta, while promoting population and economic concentration in two relatively less advanced urban agglomerations, e.g. the middle reaches of the Yang e River and Chengdu–Chongqing. In terms of city size, HSR promotes the economic proliferation of large cities and the economic concentration of small and medium-sized cities along its routes. HSR networking has provided a new impetus for restructuring urban spatial systems. Every region should optimize the industrial division with strategic functions of urban agglomeration according to local conditions and accelerate the construction of inter-city intra-regional transport network to maximize the eff ects of high-speed rail across a large regional territory.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
L. A. Montoya ◽  
E. E. Rodríguez ◽  
H. J. Zúñiga ◽  
I. Mejía

Rotating systems components such as rotors, have dynamic characteristics that are of great importance to understand because they may cause failure of turbomachinery. Therefore, it is required to study a dynamic model to predict some vibration characteristics, in this case, the natural frequencies and mode shapes (both of free vibration) of a centrifugal compressor shaft. The peculiarity of the dynamic model proposed is that using frequency and displacements values obtained experimentally, it is possible to calculate the mass and stiffness distribution of the shaft, and then use these values to estimate the theoretical modal parameters. The natural frequencies and mode shapes of the shaft were obtained with experimental modal analysis by using the impact test. The results predicted by the model are in good agreement with the experimental test. The model is also flexible with other geometries and has a great time and computing performance, which can be evaluated with respect to other commercial software in the future.


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