Technical note: using an automated head chamber system to administer an external marker to estimate fecal output by grazing beef cattle

The objective of this experiment was to determine if titanium dioxide (TiO2) dosed through an automated head chamber system (GreenFeed; C-Lock Inc., Rapid City, SD USA) is an acceptable method to measure fecal output. The GreenFeed used on this experiment had a 2hopper bait dispensing system where hopper 1 contained alfalfa pellets marked with 1% titanium dioxide (TiO2) and hopper 2 contained unmarked alfalfa pellets. Eleven heifers (BW = 394 ± 18.7 kg) grazing a common pasture were stratified by BW and then randomized to either 1) dosed with TiO2-marked pellets by hand feeding (HFD; n = 6) or 2) dosed with TiO2-marked pellets by the GreenFeed (GFFD; n = 5) for 19 d. During the morning (0800), all heifers were offered a pelleted, high-CP supplement at 0.25% of BW in individual feeding stanchions. The HFD heifers also received 32 g of TiO2-marked pellets at morning feeding, whereas the GFFD heifers received 32 g of unmarked pellets. The GFFD heifers received a single aliquot (32 ± 1.6 g; mean ± SD) of marked pellets at their first visit to the GreenFeed each day with all subsequent 32-g aliquots providing unmarked pellets; HFD heifers received only unmarked pellets. Starting on d 15, fecal samples were collected via rectal grab at feeding and every 12 h for 5 d. A two-one sided t-test method was used to determine agreement and it was determined that the fecal output estimates by HFD and GFFD methods were similar (P = 0.04). There was a difference (P < 0.01; Bartlett’s test for homogenous variances) in variability between the dosing methods for HFD and GFFD (SD = 0.1 and 0.7, respectively). This difference in fecal output variability may have been due to variability of dosing times-of-day for the GFFD heifers (0615 ± 6.2 h) relative to the constant dosing time-of-day for HFD and constant 0800 and 2000 sampling times-of-day for all animals. This research has highlighted the potential for dosing cattle with an external marker through a GreenFeed configured with two (or more) feed hoppers because estimated fecal output means were similar; however, consideration of the increased variability of the fecal output estimates is needed for future experimental designs.

The Ussing Chamber System: Functioning and Determination of Intestinal Transepithelial Electrical Measurements and Intestinal Integrity in Broiler Chickens

Background: The epithelial barrier integrity reflects gut health in broiler chickens and impaired intestinal barrier is associated with production losses. So, the present report was undertaken to determine the transepithelial electrical measurements and intestinal integrity of intestinal tissues in broilers from retail shops in Bangalore, India using an Ussing chamber system. Methods: For the present study, commercial broiler chickens were purchased from registered retail meat shops, sacrificed and the intestinal tissues were collected. The transepithelial electrical voltage, short circuit current and transepithelial electrical resistance were measured in jejunum using a contemporary Ussing chamber system following methodologies as detailed in the manuscript. Result: The studied intestinal tissues exhibited transepithelial electrical movements across intestine and the integrity of intestinal tissues were maintained. The study also indicated the preservation of intestinal barrier integrity of broilers at the crucial destination of the live broiler chicken market which in turn ascertains the quality of the product offered to the customers.

Reglementierte Berufe: Einordnung der Länderempfehlungen der Europäischen Kommission zum Reformbedarf des Regulierungsrahmens in Deutschland

In its country-specific recommendations for Germany, the European Commission regularly calls for reform in the area of regulated professions. These reform demands focus in particular on the business-related services provided by lawyers, tax advisors, auditors, architects or civil engineers. In doing so, the Commission pursues the thesis that the protection of similar general interests in the case of the domestic regulatory approach with binding professional access rules and a mandatory chamber system is accompanied by a comparatively high regulatory intensity and unnecessarily restricts competition. The Commission bases this assumption on different direct and indirect regulatory and competition indicators. This paper provides an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of these indicators and concludes that these do not allow for a robust conclusion on below-average competition intensity in professional services in Germany.

Nitrogen Biogeochemistry in Lakes – Chemical and Biological Drivers and Developing Techniques to Explicitly Measure Concurrent Processes

A benthic chamber system was developed to measure all major nitrogen cycling processes in lakes. The system coupled advantages of flow-through systems common in core incubations with those of Nutrient loading ratios (Si:N and P:N) and community composition of herbivores (

Nitrogen Biogeochemistry in Lakes – Chemical and Biological Drivers and Developing Techniques to Explicitly Measure Concurrent Processes

A benthic chamber system was developed to measure all major nitrogen cycling processes in lakes. The system coupled advantages of flow-through systems common in core incubations with those of Nutrient loading ratios (Si:N and P:N) and community composition of herbivores (

The dynamics of dual-magma-chamber system during volcanic eruptions inferred from physical modeling

A magma plumbing system with dual magma chambers beneath active volcanoes is commonly observed through petrological and geophysical measurements. This paper developed a physical model for the dynamics of a dual-magma-chamber system during volcanic eruptions. The model consists of the plumbing system where two elastically deformable magma chambers are connected in series with non-deformable conduits. Based on this model, we obtained an analytical solution that describes temporal changes in pressures at the two chambers accompanied by the eruption. The analytical solution showed that the feature of the chamber pressure changes is mainly controlled by two non-dimensional numbers $$C'$$ C ′ and $$\Omega '$$ Ω ′ . Here, $$C'$$ C ′ is the ratio of the parameter controlling the magnitude of pressure change in the shallower chamber to that in the deeper chamber, and $$\Omega '$$ Ω ′ is the ratio of conduit’s conductivity (inverse of resistivity to magma flow) between the shallower chamber and the surface to that between the chambers. For smaller $$C'$$ C ′ and $$\Omega '$$ Ω ′ , the shallower chamber’s pressure is kept constant during the decrease in the pressure at the deeper chamber in the initial phase of the eruption. This corresponds to a deformation pattern commonly observed in some eruptions, in which the deflation of the deeper chamber was predominant. The estimation of $$C'$$ C ′ and $$\Omega '$$ Ω ′ based on the parameters related to magma properties and geometries of the chambers and the conduits revealed that the smaller $$C'$$ C ′ and $$\Omega '$$ Ω ′ conditions are satisfied under realistic magmatic and geological parameters. This indicates that the magma dynamics in the dual-chamber system generally cause the dominance of the deeper chamber’s deflation.