Comparison of Hydroxychloride Versus Oxide and Sulfate Sources of Manganese, Zinc, and Copper in Rearing Diets on Pullet Growth, Tibia Traits, and Egg Production and Eggshell Quality in ISA Brown Hens up to 50 Weeks.

(1) Background: this study compared hydroxychloride and traditional oxide/sulfate sources of zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), and copper (Cu) in ISA Brown pullet diets, focusing on growth, tibia strength, egg production, and eggshell quality. (2) Methods: in total, 120 pullets were divided into two groups, each with six replicates of 10 birds, receiving diets with hydroxychloride or oxide/sulfate sources of Mn, Zn, and Cu (65, 50, and 5 mg/kg, respectively) during rearing. At 16 weeks, 18 pullets per group transitioned to individual cages and were fed a standard diet with Mn-oxide, Zn-oxide, and Cu-sulfate until 50 weeks.

Microwave-Driven Reduction Accelerates Oxygen Exchange in Perovskite Oxides.

Microwave-assisted oxide reduction has emerged as a promising method to electrify chemical looping processes for renewable hydrogen production. Moreover, these thermochemical cycles can be used for thermochemical air separation, electrifying the O generation by applying microwaves in the reduction step. This approach offers an alternative to conventional cryogenic air separation, producing pure streams of O and N.

Squeezing Out Nanoparticles from Perovskites: Controlling Exsolution with Pressure.

Nanoparticle exsolution has emerged as a versatile method to functionalize oxides with robust metallic nanoparticles for catalytic and energy applications. By modifying certain external parameters during thermal reduction (temperature, time, reducing gas), some morphological and/or compositional properties of the exsolved nanoparticles can be tuned. Here, it is shown how the application of high pressure (<100 bar H) enables the control of the exsolution of ternary FeCoNi alloyed nanoparticles from a double perovskite.

Comparative Impact of Hydroxychloride and Organic Sources of Manganese, Zinc, and Copper in Rearing Diets on Pullet Growth, Tibia Traits, Egg Production, and Eggshell Quality in Lohmann Brown Birds up to 50 Weeks of Age.

(1) Background: This study assessed the efficacy of hydroxychloride sources of zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), and copper (Cu) compared with organic sources in the rearing diets of Lohmann brown pullets, focusing on pullet performance, tibia quality, egg production, and eggshell quality. (2) Methods: A total of 120 birds (six replications and 10 birds each) received diets with Mn, Zn, and Cu from organic or hydroxychloride sources during the rearing phase. After the onset of lay, birds were fed diets containing oxide/sulfate sources up to 50 weeks of age.

New trends in nanoparticle exsolution.

Many relevant high-temperature chemical processes require the use of oxide-supported metallic nanocatalysts. The harsh conditions under which these processes operate can trigger catalyst degradation nanoparticle sintering, carbon depositions or poisoning, among others. This primarily affects metallic nanoparticles created deposition methods with low metal-support interaction.

CoMnO/CeTbO Dual-Phase Membrane Material with High CO Stability and Enhanced Oxygen Transport for Oxycombustion Processes.

Oxygen transport membranes (OTMs) are a promising oxygen production technology with high energy efficiency due to the potential for thermal integration. However, conventional perovskite materials of OTMs are unstable in CO atmospheres, which limits their applicability in oxycombustion processes. On the other hand, some dual-phase membranes are stable in CO and SO without permanent degradation.

Microwave-Driven Exsolution of Ni Nanoparticles in A-Site Deficient Perovskites.

Exsolution has emerged as a promising method for generating metallic nanoparticles, whose robustness and stability outperform those of more conventional deposition methods, such as impregnation. In general, exsolution involves the migration of transition metal cations, typically perovskites, under reducing conditions, leading to the nucleation of well-anchored metallic nanoparticles on the oxide surface with particular properties. There is growing interest in exploring alternative methods for exsolution that do not rely on high-temperature reduction via hydrogen.

The impact of digestible lysine and sulfur amino acids on eggshell quality and egg weight control in old ISA brown hens during 62 to 74 wk.

Modifying dietary amino acids has been proposed as a strategy to improve eggshell quality by slowing down increases in egg weight (EW). This study aimed to investigate the effects of different levels of digestible lysine (dLYS) and ratios of digestible sulfur amino acids (dTSAA) to dLYS on performance and eggshell quality in ISA brown hens. A total of 288 hens were individually housed and assigned to 8 treatments, which combined 2 levels of dLYS (5.

Long-term effects of dietary calcium and phosphorus level, and feed form during rearing on egg production, eggshell quality, and bone traits in brown laying hens from 30 to 89 wk of age.

The effects of feeding strategies during rearing (0-16 wk) of brown laying hens on mid and end laying performance (30-89 wk) were studied. The rearing feeding strategies followed a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement with feed form; mash with inclusion of 3% finely ground wheat straw (MWS), crumbles with inclusion of 3% finely ground wheat straw (CWS), and crumbles with inclusion of 3% unground oat hulls as fiber sources (COH) at 2 dietary Ca and P levels (high or low Ca-P). Feed conversion ratio improved with COH and MWS compared with CWS from 30 to 59 wk.

Viral tag and grow: a scalable approach to capture and characterize infectious virus-host pairs.

Viral metagenomics (viromics) has reshaped our understanding of DNA viral diversity, ecology, and evolution across Earth's ecosystems. However, viromics now needs approaches to link newly discovered viruses to their host cells and characterize them at scale. This study adapts one such method, sequencing-enabled viral tagging (VT), to establish "Viral Tag and Grow" (VT + Grow) to rapidly capture and characterize viruses that infect a cultivated target bacterium, Pseudoalteromonas.

Determining the Role of Fe-Doping on Promoting the Thermochemical Energy Storage Performance of (Mn Fe ) O Spinels.

Mn oxides are promising materials for thermochemical heat store, but slow reoxidation of Mn O to Mn O limits efficiency. In contrast, (Mn Fe ) O oxides show an enhanced transformation rate, but fundamental understanding of the role played by Fe cations is lacking. Here, nanoscale characterization of Fe-doped Mn oxides is performed to elucidate how Fe incorporation influences solid-state transformations.

The effects of dietary calcium and phosphorus level, and feed form during rearing on growth performance, bone traits and egg production in brown egg-type pullets from 0 to 32 weeks of age.

In a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement, effects of feed form (crumbles (CWS), mash (MWS), both with inclusion of 3% finely ground wheat straw, or crumbles with inclusion of 3% oat hulls (COH)), and dietary Ca and P (high and low Ca-P) from 0 to 16 wk of age were studied on growth performance, bone characteristics, and gizzard development of egg-type pullets. The cross-over effect of feeding strategy during rearing on laying performance and egg shell quality was studied from 19 to 32 wk of age. From 0 to 16 wk, ADG, ADFI, and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were improved with CWS and COH compared to MWS, but ADG and FCR were improved with MWS compared to CWS and COH from 11 to 16 wk.

Relationship between Bone Quality, Egg Production and Eggshell Quality in Laying Hens at the End of an Extended Production Cycle (105 Weeks).

(1) Background: Nowadays the industry aims to improve lay persistency for extended cycles (100 weeks or longer) to make egg production more sustainable. However, intensive egg production challenges hen health, inducing severe osteoporosis and the incidence of bone fractures. In this study, the relationship between bone quality and egg production, and/or eggshell quality, was evaluated at the end of an extended laying cycle of 100 weeks, comparing groups of hens with different production and eggshell quality parameters; (2) Methods: Quality parameters of egg (as weight, egg white height), eggshell (as thickness, weight, breaking strength, elasticity and microstructure) and tibiae bone (weight, diameter, cortical thickness, ash weight, breaking strength, medullary bone) were determined; (3) Results: Hens from groups with a high egg production and good eggshell quality have poorer bone quality (lower ash weight and lesser amount of medullary bone).

Toward Controlling Filament Size and Location for Resistive Switches via Nanoparticle Exsolution at Oxide Interfaces.

Memristive devices are among the most prominent candidates for future computer memory storage and neuromorphic computing. Though promising, the major hurdle for their industrial fabrication is their device-to-device and cycle-to-cycle variability. These occur due to the random nature of nanoionic conductive filaments, whose rupture and formation govern device operation.

Oxygen Exchange in Dual-Phase LaSrMnO-CeO Composites for Solar Thermochemical Fuel Production.

Increasing the capacity and kinetics of oxygen exchange in solid oxides is important to improve the performance of numerous energy-related materials, especially those for the solar-to-fuel technology. Dual-phase metal oxide composites of LaSrMnO-%CeO, with = 0, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100, have been experimentally investigated for oxygen exchange and CO splitting thermochemical redox reactions. The prepared metal oxide powders were tested in a temperature range from 1000 to 1400 °C under isothermal and two-step cycling conditions relevant for solar thermochemical fuel production.

Solar Energy on Demand: A Review on High Temperature Thermochemical Heat Storage Systems and Materials.

Among renewable energies, wind and solar are inherently intermittent and therefore both require efficient energy storage systems to facilitate a round-the-clock electricity production at a global scale. In this context, concentrated solar power (CSP) stands out among other sustainable technologies because it offers the interesting possibility of storing energy collected from the sun as heat by sensible, latent, or thermochemical means. Accordingly, continuous electricity generation in the power block is possible even during off-sun periods, providing CSP plants with a remarkable dispatchability.

Aspirin desensitization in aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease: New insights into the molecular mechanisms.

Background: Aspirin desensitization (AD) has been the only available modifying treatment in aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD). The mechanisms of AD are nonetheless poorly understood. Though very effective, AD is limited by its risks and side-effects.

Improving the Thermochemical Energy Storage Performance of the Mn2 O3 /Mn3 O4 Redox Couple by the Incorporation of Iron.

Redox cycles of manganese oxides (Mn2 O3 /Mn3 O4 ) are a promising alternative for thermochemical heat storage systems coupled to concentrated solar power plants as manganese oxides are abundant and inexpensive materials. Although their cyclability for such a purpose has been proved, sintering processes, related to the high-temperature conditions at which charge-discharge cycles are performed, generally cause a cycle-to-cycle decrease in the oxidation rate of Mn3 O4 . To guarantee proper operation, both reactions should present stable reaction rates.

Anidulafungin in treatment of experimental invasive infection by Candida parapsilosis: in vitro activity, (1-->3)-beta-D-glucan and mannan serum levels, histopathological findings, and in vivo efficacy.

We have evaluated the in vitro activity of anidulafungin (AFG) against 31 strains of Candida parapsilosis sensu stricto by using broth microdilution, disk diffusion, and minimal fungicidal concentration (MFC) determination procedures. The two first methods showed a high level of activity of the drug, while MFCs were 1 to 5 dilutions higher than their corresponding MICs. To assess if MICs were predictive of in vivo outcomes, six strains representing different AFG MICs (0.

In vitro interactions of micafungin with amphotericin B against clinical isolates of Candida spp.

The in vitro activity of amphotericin B in combination with micafungin was evaluated against 115 isolates representing seven species of Candida. Overall, the percentages of synergistic interactions were 50% and 20% when the MIC-2 (lowest drug concentration to cause a prominent reduction in growth) and MIC-0 (lowest drug concentration to cause 100% growth inhibition) end point criteria, respectively, were used. Antagonism was not observed.

[Predictive factors of efficacy in antimicrobial prophylaxis for acute recurrent otitis media].

Objective: A prospective study was designed to assess the most relevant prognostic factors influencing outcome in children treated with antibiotics for recurrent acute otitis media (AOM).

Materials And Methods: A prospective study was performed in 69 patients with recurrent AOM who received prophylactic treatment in the Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology Section of our hospital between January 1998 and May 1999. In all patients, 17 variables were registered: age, sex, family history of recurrent AOM, history of prematurity, history of allergies, use of day care centers, household smokers, maternal smoking, coincidence with dental eruption, symptoms of upper respiratory obstruction (snoring, breathing through the mouth, obstructive tonsils), episodes of tonsillitis per year, age at first AOM episode, season in which prophylaxis was started, and characteristics of neonatal feeding (breast or bottle feeding and position).