Geomin (Czechia)

Alec Hilton outlines the true value of MDR for dental professionals and their patients.

North of the city of Sundsvall, Sweden, GeoMind has designed a 600-meter-long rubble-mound structure founded on large diameter wet deep mixing columns. The work was initiated by an evaluation of competitive technical solutions with the aim of minimizing the technical and work environment risks, costs as well as time for construction. The soil comprised of silty, partly quick clay and sulphide clay. In addition to conventional soil investigations, the design included disturbed and undisturbed soil sampling to be able to optimize binder type and quantity with the aid from laboratory mixing and strength testing. The design resulted in a column pattern with mainly non-overlapping columns with the area coverage of roughly 90 % with a required average unconfined strength of 140 to 230 kPa in the columns. The governing failure modes were sliding and overall stability. The wet deep mixing columns were executed by Bauer Spezialtiefbau GmbH. Execution was carried out from a pontoon using large diameter, single shaft equipment. During execution, the stepwise wet grab and core sampling revealed a challenge to achieve sufficient homogeneity and strength in the silty sulphide clay pockets that were erratically encountered, mainly in the upper soil volume. Modification of the mixing tool, mixing process parameters as well as adding a double stroke sequence in the upper part to the mixing process resulted in significant improvement of the homogeneity as well as the undrained shear strength. Detailed testing of strength versus time was performed in the laboratory where seismic, unconfined and triaxial tests were performed. After sufficient curing, the rubble was constructed by subsequent filling from one side to the other.

Abstract Phytogenic feed additives that contain anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties may have potential to reduce inflammation and oxidation observed during bouts of heat stress. The trial objective was to determine the effects of a phytogenic feed additive on markers of stress in heifers subjected to diurnal heat stress (dHS). Eighteen Holstein and four Jersey heifers (5–6 months of age; d1 BW=205±9 kg) were assigned to two dietary treatments (n = 11) based on breed and age; 1) a basal TMR diet (CTL), 2) CTL supplemented with 0.25 g/head/d of a proprietary blend of phytogenics (PFA; BIOMIN America, Inc., Overland Park, KS). Heifers were housed individually and fed their respective treatments for 14d prior to dHS (d-14-1), subjected dHS (d1-7), and followed through a recovery period (d8-11). Weights were collected at d1 (baseline), d7 (end of dHS), and d11 (end of recovery). The temperature set point was assigned at 33°C from 0900 to 2100 h and allowed to equilibrate with outside temperature during night (24°C) for a total of 7d dHS. Total DMI (tDMI) and DMI from 0900 to 2100 h (hsDMI) were recorded daily. Serum was collected at d1, 2, 7 and 11 to determine effect of treatment on markers of oxidation, inflammation, and stress. Treatment effects were analyzed using PROC MIXED in SAS with treatment and time as fixed effects and heifer as a random effect. Temperature humidity index during dHS was greater during the day (84.5) versus night (73.3). There were no treatment differences (P>0.05) in d 0–11 on ADG, ADFI, or GF between treatments. However, PFA numerically increased hsDMI, reduced (P< 0.05) haptoglobin and tended to reduce (P< 0.10) lipopolysaccharide binding protein compared with CTL. Overall, dietary PFA may be a potential strategy to mitigate the stresses that heifers experience during dHS.

Abstract The aim was to evaluate the effect of changing from forage to a high grain diet on chewing, feed sorting and lying behavior of cows supplemented with or without a phytogenic feed additive. Nine cows were blocked in two groups and used in a change-over design. Each experimental run consisted of one week of forage feeding, one week of diet transition, and four weeks of high grain feeding (65% concentrate). During the washout period of 10 weeks between the two runs, cows grazed on pasture. Cows were fed either a control diet (CON) or a diet with a phytogenic additive (PHY) based on menthol, thymol and eugenol. Data on chewing, feed sorting and lying behavior were analyzed using SAS with week of feeding and supplementation as fixed effects, and cow as random effect. Data across weeks from the same cow were processed using a first order variance-covariance structure matrix taking into account that the covariance decays with time. We found a reduction (P < 0.01) in rumination time by 53% with diet change. Within the high grain feeding, rumination reached lowest value in the second week (160 min/d). The high grain diet increased (P < 0.01) selection for long size particles by 20%. Although lying time was not affected immediately after diet change, it increased (P < 0.01) by 8% from the second week of high grain consumption. In the fourth week of grain feeding, there was a tendency for PHY to increase rumination (P = 0.07) and total chewing time (P = 0.10), but with no effect on sorting for fiber or lying time. The high grain diet decreased chewing and standing time, and increased sorting for fibrous ingredients especially after one week of feeding. The phytogenic feed additive may contribute to stimulate chewing in long term supplementation.

Affordable and practical tools for farmers and food processors along the chain are required to efficiently reduce the risk of mycotoxin contamination of crops, feeds and foods. Developing new tools and enhancing existing ones was the mission of MyToolBox—a four-year EU-project that included important Chinese partners and joint research efforts. To identify future directions in mycotoxin research and management in China and their role in China–EU relations, a unique stakeholder workshop including group discussions was organized in Beijing. Six related topics: biocontrol, forecasting, sampling and analysis, silo management, detoxification, and the development of safe use options for contaminated materials were covered. The discussions clearly identified a critical need for smart, integrated strategies to address mycotoxin issues to attain safer food and feed, and to minimize losses and export rejections. Managing data on when, where and the size of mycotoxin contamination events and identifying the institution(s) to manage them are complex issues in China. Studies of microbes and novel, genetically-altered enzymes to limit pre-harvest contamination and to manage post-harvest product detoxification and alternate uses of contaminated materials are in the early stages in China. Further efforts are needed to increase the visibility of mycotoxin problems beyond the scientific and research communities.

Abstract Mycotoxins are harmful secondary fungal metabolites that are detrimental to animal health and productivity. This study investigated occurrence and contamination levels of mycotoxins in the 2018 US corn harvest including corn grain, corn silage and corn by-product feed ingredients (distillers dried grains, gluten feed, etc.). Corn and corn silage samples marked as 2018 harvest from feed mills, livestock producers, and integrators and corn DDGS and other by-products from mid-August 2018 through January 2019 were screened via the LC-MS/MS technique for the presence of six major mycotoxin groups: aflatoxins, type A trichothecenes, type B trichothecenes (B-Trich), fumonisins (FUM), zearalenone (ZEN) and ochratoxin. Parameters of the main toxins found were compared to the two prior harvest years using the Kruskal-Wallis Test (Prism7, GraphPad, La Jolla, CA) and are presented in Table 1. Mean toxin count per sample in corn grain increased in 2018 versus 2017, returning to over two toxins per sample as in 2016. Mean B-Trich level (ppb) is elevated in 2018 from 2017. Although ZEN contamination does not differ from prior years, prevalence increased to 45% from 25% in 2017. Co-contamination in corn by-product feeds is steady, averaging nearly three toxins per sample. Mean B-Trich is higher than the 2017 crop, while FUM contamination is similar to 2017. ZEN levels in 2018 by-products are the highest seen in the past three years. Corn silage has increased in mean toxin count per sample and contamination levels of B-Trich and ZEN in 2018 versus 2017. Prevalence of B-trich has remained constant from year to year, while both ZEN and FUM prevalence have increased from 2017 to 2018. Preliminary results of the 2018 corn-based feed ingredients survey suggest mycotoxin occurrence and contamination levels are approaching those observed in the challenging 2016 crop with continued concerns for co-contamination.

Zearalenone (ZEN)-degrading enzymes are a promising strategy to counteract the negative effects of this mycotoxin in livestock. The reaction products of such enzymes need to be thoroughly characterized before technological application as a feed additive can be envisaged. Here, we evaluated the estrogenic activity of the metabolites hydrolyzed zearalenone (HZEN) and decarboxylated hydrolyzed zearalenone (DHZEN) formed by hydrolysis of ZEN by the zearalenone-lactonase Zhd101p. ZEN, HZEN, and DHZEN were tested in two in vitro models, the MCF-7 cell proliferation assay (0.01–500 nM) and an estrogen-sensitive yeast bioassay (1–10,000 nM). In addition, we compared the impact of dietary ZEN (4.58 mg/kg) and equimolar dietary concentrations of HZEN and DHZEN on reproductive tract morphology as well as uterine mRNA and microRNA expression in female piglets (n = 6, four weeks exposure). While ZEN increased cell proliferation and reporter gene transcription, neither HZEN nor DHZEN elicited an estrogenic response, suggesting that these metabolites are at least 50–10,000 times less estrogenic than ZEN in vitro. In piglets, HZEN and DHZEN did not increase vulva size or uterus weight. Moreover, RNA transcripts altered upon ZEN treatment (EBAG9, miR-135a-5p, miR-187-3p and miR-204-5p) were unaffected by HZEN and DHZEN. Our study shows that both metabolites exhibit markedly reduced estrogenicity in vitro and in vivo, and thus provides an important basis for further evaluation of ZEN-degrading enzymes.

Abstract Sow longevity plays an important role on the profitability of any sow operation in economically and efficiently producing pigs. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of a synbiotic (Biomin® PS, BIOMIN America Inc.) containing multi-strain live probiotic strains (Enterococcus faecium, Pediococcus acidilactici, Bifidobacterium animalis, and Lactobacillus reuteri) and a prebiotic (fructo-oligosaccharaide) on sow reproductive performance. A total of 24 sows (4th and 5th parity) were divided evenly into 2 groups and fed either a control diet or a synbiotic diet during the gestation (starting on d 35 of gestation) at 1 kg/MT and lactation until weaning of piglets at 0.5 kg/MT. Daily sow feed intake was also measured during the lactation period. Sow BW was recorded pre-farrow (d 110 of gestation) and at weaning (d 21 of lactation). Piglet BW was recorded after cross-foster and on d 21 of lactation. Data were analysed using MIXED model in SAS. No significant difference was observed in sow feed intake. Relatively lower weight loss (14%) was observed during lactation in sows fed synbiotic (-24.3 kg/sow) in comparison to control fed sows (-28.4 kg/sow), although not statistically significant. A positive trend (P < 0.10) was observed with synbiotic fed sows having lower still-borns (-50%), increased number of piglets weaned per sow (+0.94 piglet/sow) and litter weight gain (+7.24 kg/litter) compared to control sows during lactation. Weaned litter weight was also increased (P < 0.05) with synbiotic feeding (78.5 kg/sow) in comparison to control (66.5 kg/sow). Overall, supplementation of the synbiotic formulation increased the sow reproductive performance by increasing weaned litter weight and number of pigs weaned while numerically lowering sow weight loss during lactation. Supplementation this synbiotic could be considered as part of sow feeding programs to improve sow reproductive efficiency.

Proses kupelasi banyak digunakan untuk penentuan logam mulia konsentrasi rendah dalam material geologi. Proses ini membutuhkan kupel sebagai wadah pemisahan logam mulia dari oksida timbal (PbO). Dalam penelitian ini telah dilakukan pembuatan dan karakteristik kupel berbasis magnesia dan abu tulang dengan cara press. Kupel diuji porositas, ketahanan kejut suhu dan kemampuan penyerapan PbO. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kupel dengan komposisi campuran abu tulang dan Dead Burnt Magnesite (DBM) sebesar 15 : 80 dan 35 : 60 merupakan komposisi terbaik untuk menghasilkan kupel dengan porositas diatas 30%, tahan kejut suhu sebanyak 5 siklus dan mampu menyerap timbal monoksida dengan atasan Au yang tersisa berada dalam rentang penerimaan Laboratorium PT Antam.

Background: Lipid peroxidation products impair the cholesterol efflux capacity of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and contribute to the development of atherosclerosis. The effect of inhibition of HDL dysfunction by scavengers on HDL function and whether scavenging reactive aldehydes with PPM protects against the development of atherosclerosis was examined. Methods and Results: HDL of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) subjects have impaired ability to promote cholesterol efflux and FH-HDL contain 5-fold more malondialdehyde adducts (MDA) than control HDL. In vitro studies revealed that reactive aldehyde MDA crosslinks apolipoprotein AI (apoAI) and impairs the ability of HDL to promote cholesterol efflux from Apoe -/- macrophages. 5'-O-pentyl-pyridoxamine (PPM), a potent scavenger of reactive aldehydes, abolished MDA-mediated crosslinking of apoA-I in HDL by 80 % (P<0.05). PPM prevents the reduction in cholesterol efflux capacity of MDA treated HDL in Apoe-/- macrophages. Furthermore, PPM significantly improved the cholesterol efflux capacity of HDL from Ldlr -/- mice fed a Western diet (WD) for 16 weeks (P<0.05), indicating that PPM protects HDL from modifications by reactive aldehydes and maintains HDL function in vivo. Importantly, administration of 1 mg/mL of the reactive aldehyde scavenger PPM, versus 1 mg/mL of the nonreactive analogue PPO, to Ldlr -/- mice consuming a WD for 16 weeks reduced the extent of proximal aortic atherosclerosis by 45% (P<0.05). Immunohistochemistry studies revealed that PPM reduced the macrophage content and the number of TUNEL positive cells by 55% (P<0.05) and by 60% (P<0.01) in advanced atherosclerotic lesions of Ldlr -/- mice, respectively. In addition, the necrotic core area was reduced by 52% (P<0.05) in advanced atherosclerotic lesions in Ldlr -/- mice treated with PPM compared to the control group. Conclusions: Treatment with PPM, a reactive aldehyde scavenger: 1) inhibits MDA-ApoA1 adduct formation thereby preserving HDL cholesterol efflux capacity in Ldlr -/- mice; 2) reduces the number of apoptotic cells in atherosclerotic lesions and the necrotic core area in lesions of Ldlr -/- mice. These results support the therapeutic potential of PPM in the treatment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.