Indian Red Jungle fowl reveals a genetic relationship with South East Asian Red Jungle fowl and Indian native chicken breeds as evidenced through whole mitochondrial genome sequences.

Background: Native chickens are dispersed in a wide geographical range and have hereditary assets that are kept by farmers for various purposes. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is a widely utilized marker in molecular studies because of its quick advancement, matrilineal legacy, and simple molecular structure. Method and Results: We performed NGS sequencing to investigate mitochondrial genomes and to evaluate the hereditary connections, diversity, and measure of gene stream estimation in Indian native chicken breeds and Red Jungle fowl. The chicken breeds were genotyped using the D-loop region and 23 haplotypes were identified. When compared to Indian native breeds, more haplotypes were identified in the NADH dehydrogenase subunits, Cytochrome c oxidase, Cytochrome b, ATP synthase subunit 6, and Ribosomal RNA genes. The phylogenetic examination indicated that the analyzed chicken breeds were divided into six significant clades, namely A, B, C, D, E, and F, of which the F clade indicated the domestication of chicken breeds in India. Additionally, our work affirmed that the Indian Red Jungle Fowl is the origin for both reference Red Jungle Fowl as well as all Indian breeds, which is reflected in the dendrogram as well as network analysis based on the whole mtDNA and D-loop region. Indian Red Jungle Fowl is distributed as an outgroup, suggesting that this ancestry was reciprocally monophyletic. Conclusion: The mtDNA sequences of Indian native chickens provided novel insights into adaptation mechanisms and the significance of important mtDNA variations in understanding the maternal lineages of native birds.

Effect of Different Zinc Sources and Concentrations on the Biomass Yield of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Yeast.

Zinc incorporation and the growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were investigated in a culture supplemented with three inorganic zinc salts, i.e. zinc sulphate, zinc chloride and zinc nitrate. The cultivation was performed on a yeast extract peptone dextrose (YEPD) broth medium. The growth of yeast was carried out at different concentrations of zinc, i.e. 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 mg 100 ml-1. It was found that the addition of different zinc sources at 30 mg 100 ml-1 concentration produced higher biomass yield ranging 1.00-1.03 g from 100 ml-1 of cultivation medium, while higher zinc concentration in the medium caused significantly lower yields of yeast biomass. The amount of zinc in yeast cells was determined by an atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS). The highest amount of zinc in yeast cells was achieved when added in the form of zinc sulphate at a concentration of 120 mg 100 ml-1. The increment of intracellular zinc was up to 9889.67 mg kg-1 of biomass.

Knowledge extraction of sonophotocatalytic treatment for acid blue 113 dye removal by artificial neural networks.

Removing decolorizing acid blue 113 (AB113) dye from textile wastewater is challenging due to its high stability and resistance to removal. In this study, we used an artificial neural network (ANN) model to estimate the effect of five different variables on AB113 dye removal in the sonophotocatalytic process. The five variables considered were reaction time (5-25 min), pH (3-11), ZnO dosage (0.2-1.0 g/L), ultrasonic power (100-300 W/L), and persulphate dosage (0.2-3 mmol/L). The most effective model had a 5-7-1 architecture, with an average deviation of 0.44 and R2 of 0.99. A sensitivity analysis was used to analyze the impact of different process variables on removal efficiency and to identify the most effective variable settings for maximum dye removal. Then, an imaginary sonophotocatalytic system was created to measure the quantitative impact of other process parameters on AB113 dye removal. The optimum process parameters for maximum AB 113 removal were identified as 6.2 pH, 25 min reaction time, 300 W/L ultrasonic power, 1.0 g/L ZnO dosage, and 2.54 mmol/L persulfate dosage. The model created was able to identify trends in dye removal and can contribute to future experiments.

Co-administration of toll-like receptor (TLR)-3 and 4 ligands augments immune response to Newcastle disease virus (NDV) vaccine in chicken.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that mediate first line of host defence to pathogens. TLR agonists are potent immunostimulatory agents that help to prime a robust adaptive immune response. In the present study, adjuvant potential of Poly I:C and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were evaluated with live Newcastle disease virus (NDV) vaccine. Cornish chickens were immunized with live Newcastle disease virus (NDV) vaccine (R2B-mesogenic strain) adjuvanted either with Poly I:C (TLR3 agonist) or LPS-TLR4 agonist and both. Humoral Immune response to ND vaccine was evaluated through haemagglutination inhibition (HI) test and ELISA, while the cellular immune response (CMI) was quantified by lymphocyte transformation test (LTT). IL-1ß cytokine mRNA levels in spleen tissue were also quantified by real time PCR. The results suggest that TLR3 and TLR4 agonists are an efficient immune-stimulators separately, as LPS co-administered group has shown significantly higher serum titre on second week post-immunization and Poly I:C group on third week post-immunization both by HI and ELISA (P < 0.01), however, the combined administration of both LPS and Poly I:C did not give any complementary effect on serum titre. There were no significant differences in stimulation indices (SI) and IL-1ß cytokine levels between groups at different intervals post-immunization. Hence, TLR agonists LPS followed by Poly I:C could be used as adjuvant to enhance the immune response to NDV vaccine in chicken.

Effect of biochars produced from solid organic municipal waste on soil quality parameters.

New value-added uses for solid municipal waste are needed for environmental and economic sustainability. Fortunately, value-added biochars can be produced from mixed solid waste, thereby addressing solid waste management issues, and enabling long-term carbon sequestration. We hypothesize that soil deficiencies can be remedied by the application of municipal waste-based biochars. Select municipal organic wastes (newspaper, cardboard, woodchips and landscaping residues) individually or in a 25% blend of all four waste streams were used as feedstocks of biochars. Three sets of pyrolysis temperatures (350, 500, and 750 °C) and 3 sets of pyrolysis residence time (2, 4 and 6 h) were used for biochar preparation. The biochar yield was in the range of 21-62% across all feedstocks and pyrolysis conditions. We observed variations in key biochar properties such as pH, electrical conductivity, bulk density and surface area depending on the feedstocks and production conditions. Biochar increased soil pH and improved its electrical conductivity, aggregate stability, water retention and micronutrient contents. Similarly, leachate from the soil amended with biochar showed increased pH and electrical conductivity. Some elements such as Ca and Mg decreased while NO3-N increased in the leachates of soils incubated with biochars. Overall, solid waste-based biochar produced significant improvements to soil fertility parameters indicating that solid municipal wastes hold promising potential as feedstocks for manufacturing value-added biochars with varied physicochemical characteristics, allowing them to not only serve the needs for solid waste management and greenhouse gas mitigation, but also as a resource for improving the quality of depleted soils.

Differential Toll-like receptor (TLR) mRNA expression patterns during chicken embryological development.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs), important components of innate immune response, play a pivotal role in early recognition of pathogen as well as in the initiation of robust and specific adaptive immune response. In the present study, the expression profile of chicken TLRs (TLR2A, TLR3, TLR4, TLR5, TLR7, TLR15, and TLR21) in various chicken embryonic tissues during embryo development was examined by real-time PCR assay. All the TLR mRNAs were expressed in whole embryonic tissue as early as 3rd embryonic day (ED). Four of the seven TLRs (TLR2, TLR3, TLR4, and TLR7) mRNA expressions were significantly (P < 0.01) higher at 12ED relative to expression at 3 ED, whereas TLR15 mRNA expression was significantly (P < 0.01) higher on 7ED and TLR5 and 21 were highly expressed on 18 ED. Among all the TLRs investigated TLR4 mRNA was the highest expressed and TLR15 mRNA expression was the lowest in all tissues during chicken embryo development. Tissue wise analysis of mRNA expression of TLRs showed that liver expressed significantly (P < 0.01) higher levels of most of the genes (TLR2, TLR4, and TLR21). However no significant difference was found in TLR15 mRNA expression among the tissues during development. Our results suggest the innate preparedness of chicken embryos and also a possible role for TLRs in the regulation of chicken embryo development that needs to be further evaluated.

Recombinant nucleocapsid protein based single serum dilution ELISA for the detection of antibodies to infectious bronchitis virus in poultry.

Avian infectious bronchitis is ubiquitous and highly contagious disease of poultry, with profound effect on commercial poultry production. For effective control of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), quick and specific diagnosis is of utmost importance. In this study, the virus was isolated from clinical samples from India and the full length nucleocapsid (N) gene was amplified, cloned and expressed in a prokaryotic system. The purified recombinant N protein based single serum dilution enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for IBV to measure specific antibody in the sera of chickens. A total of 310 chicken sera samples were tested using the commercial IDEXX kit along with the assay developed. A linear correlation was obtained between predicted antibody titres at a single working dilution of 1:100 and the corresponding serum titres observed as determined by the standard serial dilution method. Regression analysis was used to construct a standard curve from which an equation was derived which confirmed their correlation. The developed equation was then used to extrapolate predicated ELISA antibody titer from corrected absorbance readings of the single working dilution. The assay proved to be specific (95.8%) and sensitive (96.8%) when compared to the commercial IDEXX ELISA test.

Advances in binding free energies calculations: QM/MM-based free energy perturbation method for drug design.

Multiple approaches have been devised and evaluated to computationally estimate binding free energies. Results using a recently developed Quantum Mechanics (QM)/Molecular Mechanics (MM) based Free Energy Perturbation (FEP) method suggest that this method has the potential to provide the most accurate estimation of binding affinities to date. The method treats ligands/inhibitors using QM while using MM for the rest of the system. The method has been applied and validated for a structurally diverse set of fructose 1,6- bisphosphatase (FBPase) inhibitors suggesting that the approach has the potential to be used as an integral part of drug discovery for both lead identification lead optimization, where there is a structure available. In addition, this QM/MM-based FEP method was shown to accurately replicate the anomalous hydration behavior exhibited by simple amines and amides suggesting that the method may also prove useful in predicting physical properties of molecules. While the method is about 5-fold more computationally demanding than conventional FEP, it has the potential to be less demanding on the end user since it avoids development of MM force field parameters for novel ligands and thereby eliminates this time-consuming step that often contributes significantly to the inaccuracy of binding affinity predictions using conventional FEP methods. The QM/MM-based FEP method has been extensively tested with respect to important considerations such as the length of the simulation required to obtain satisfactory convergence in the calculated relative solvation and binding free energies for both small and large structural changes between ligands. Future automation of the method and parallelization of the code is expected to enhance the speed and increase its use for drug design and lead optimization.

Characterization of two Indian native chicken breeds for production, egg and semen quality, and welfare traits.

The present study was conducted to characterize 2 important native chicken breeds from India and compare them on growth, production, egg and semen quality, and welfare traits. The Aseel breed showed (P < 0.001) higher BW at different ages; higher shank, radius, and toe lengths at 40 wk of age; and greater egg weights at 28, 32, and 40 wk of age than did the Kadaknath breed. The Kadaknath breed reached sexual maturity at an early age, and it had higher 40-wk egg production (P < 0.001). Higher egg specific gravity (P < 0.05) and higher albumen (P < 0.001) and shell (P < 0.009) percentages in the Kadaknath were observed, whereas the Aseel breed had a higher yolk index (P < 0.004), higher yolk percentage (P < 0.001), and higher yolk-to-albumen ratio (P < 0.001). Concentration of sperm (P < 0.01), live sperm counts (P < 0.05), and semen appearance scores (P < 0.05) were higher in the Aseel breed than in the Kadaknath breed. The Aseel breed showed a greater incidence of feather-pecking behavior under floor rearing, and this was negligible or mild in the Kadaknath breed. Broodiness under cage rearing was observed (8.42%) in the Aseel breed. With regard to welfare traits, male Aseel birds had a significantly shorter (P < 0.05) duration of tonic immobility (TI) than did male Kadaknath birds. Furthermore, male Aseel birds had a shorter (P < 0.001) duration of TI than did female Aseel birds, whereas female Aseel birds had a longer (P < 0.05) duration of TI than did female and male Kadaknath birds. From this study, it was concluded that the breeds differed on various growth, production, egg and semen quality, and behavioral traits, but not on welfare traits, although female Aseel birds exhibited a greater fear response.

Homology modeling of 5-lipoxygenase and hints for better inhibitor design.

Lipoxygenases (LOXs) are a group of enzymes involved in the oxygenation of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Among these 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) is the key enzyme leading to the formation of pharmacologically important leukotrienes and lipoxins, the mediators of inflammatory and allergic disorders. In view of close functional similarity to mammalian lipoxygenase, potato 5-LOX is used extensively. In this study, the homology modeling technique has been used to construct the structure of potato 5-LOX. The amino acid sequence identity between the target protein and sequence of template protein 1NO3 (soybean LOX-3) searched from NCBI protein BLAST was 63%. Based on the template structure, the protein model was constructed by using the Homology program in InsightII. The protein model was briefly refined by energy minimization steps and validated using Profile-3D, ERRAT and PROCHECK. The results showed that 99.3% of the amino acids were in allowed regions of Ramachandran plot, suggesting that the model is accurate and its stereochemical quality good. Like all LOXs, 5-LOX also has a two-domain structure, the small N-terminal beta-barrel domain and a larger catalytic domain containing a single atom of non-heme iron coordinating with His525, His530, His716 and Ile864. Asn720 is present in the fifth coordination position of iron. The sixth coordination position faces the open cavity occupied here by the ligands which are docked. Our model of the enzyme is further validated by examining the interactions of earlier reported inhibitors and by energy minimization studies which were carried out using molecular mechanics calculations. Four ligands, nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) having IC(50) of 1.5 microM and analogs of benzyl propargyl ethers having IC(50) values of 760 microM, 45 microM, and no inhibition respectively were selected for our docking and energy minimization studies. Our results correlated well with the experimental data reported earlier, which proved the quality of the model. This model generated can be further used for the design and development of more potent 5-LOX inhibitors.

Laparoscopic bladder (Boari) flap ureteroneocystostomy.

Iatrogenic ureteric injuries in gynecologic surgery are quite common. The laparoscopic spectra of treatment gives a wide range of application. We present the case of a 40-year-old female who underwent total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oopherectomy for dysfunctional uterine bleeding. Postoperatively, she had oliguria with raised creatinine and was found to have ureteric narrowing on magnetic resonance urogram. The patient was successfully managed by laparoscopic (Boari flap) ureteroneocystostomy.

Determination of trace concentrations of elements in high purity tellurium by radio frequency glow discharge optical emission spectrometer (RF-GDOES).

A method was established for the determination of trace impurities in high purity tellurium (Te) 99.9999 (6N) by radio frequency glow discharge optical emission spectrometry (RF-GDOES). The optimized parameters are power, argon pressure, pre-integration time, analysis time and selection of wavelength. Nine elements Se, Ca, Mg, Si, Fe, Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb were analysed in 6N Te, out of which only three elemental peaks (Se, Ca, and Mg) were detected and the remaining six elements ( Si, Fe, Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb) were below detection levels. Finally, the method was evaluated by the analysis of the above traces using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and was found to be satisfactory. The detection limits for most of the elements were below 10 ng/g and R.S.D. was around 10%, which indicated that this method could fully satisfy the requirements for the trace analysis in high purity Te metal.

Sunflower seed meal as a substitute for soybean meal in commercial broiler chicken diets.

1. An experiment was conducted to study the possibility of replacing soybean meal (SBM) with sunflower seed meal (SFM) in broiler chick diets. The SBM in broiler starter (317.9 g/kg) and finisher (275.4 g/kg) diets was replaced with SFM at 33, 67 and 100% on an iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous basis using sunflower oil to balance the energy content of the diets. The metabolisable energy levels used in the diet were considerably less than the recommended levels for broilers. Each experimental diet was fed ad libitum from 2 to 42 d of age to 8 replicates of 5 birds. Parameters studied included amino acid and apparent metabolisable energy contents in food ingredients, body weight, food intake, food efficiency, leg abnormality score, dry matter digestibility, carcase traits, relative weight and length of intestine, fat and protein content in liver and serum biochemical profile. 2. SFM had higher concentrations of calcium, phosphorus, methionine and cystine and lower energy content than SBM. 3. Replacement of SBM with SFM up to 67% in starter and 100% in finisher diets did not affect weight gain. Total and 67% replacement of SBM with SFM depressed food efficiency at 21 and 42 d of age, respectively. Food intake was significantly higher in SFM-based diets than in the SBM reference diet at 21 and 42 d of age, except in groups given SFM100 at 21 d of age. In the latter group, the food intake was similar to that on the SBM reference diet. The digestibility of dry matter decreased with increased levels of SFM in the diet. 4. The relative weights of giblet, liver and abdominal fat, length of intestine, activity of alkaline phosphatase, concentrations of calcium and inorganic phosphorus in serum were not influenced by incorporation of SFM in the broiler diet. 5. The ready to cook yield and liver fat content decreased, while the relative weights of gizzard and intestine and protein content in liver increased, with increasing levels of SFM in the diet. 6. The concentration of HDL cholesterol increased while the concentration of LDL cholesterol decreased with increasing content of SFM (> or =67% of SBM) in diet. The serum protein concentration decreased progressively with increase in dietary SFM. The concentrations of protein and triglycerides in serum were lowest in groups receiving SFM100. 7. Body weight gain was not affected by total replacement of SBM with SFM at 42 d of age. However, considering food efficiency, carcase yields, serum lipid profile and level of supplemental fat in diet, it is concluded that SFM can replace up to two-thirds of soybean, corresponding to inclusion of 345 and 296 g SFM per kg for starter and finisher phases, respectively.

Assessment of dysarthric speech and an analysis on velopharyngeal incompetence.

In the present work the role of a speech recognition system in the assessment of dysarthric speech is studied. Initially a continuous speech recognition system is developed for the assessment of dysarthric speech. The performance of the continuous speech recognition system on the assessment of dysarthric speech is found to be dis-satisfactory due to greater number of insertions. Analysis conducted on duration of phoneme and speech rate confirms the fact that the more number of insertions in the recognizer output is due to lower speech rate of dysarthric speakers. To overcome the problem with the continuous speech recognition system an isolated-style speech recognition system is developed. The performance of this system on the assessment is compared with the Frenchay dysarthric assessment (FDA) scores provided with the Nemours speech corpus. From the performance of the isolated-style speech recognition system it is observed that apart from the articulatory problems, some of the speakers are affected with velopharyngeal incompetence also and is analyzed with group delay function based acoustic measure for the detection of hypernasality on dysarthric speech.

Detection of subgroup J avian leukosis virus infection in Australian meat-type chickens.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the extent of avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J) infection in Australian broiler breeder flocks, using virus isolation and molecular biological detection. Any resultant ALV-J viral isolates to be characterised by neutralisation cross testing in order to determine antigenic relationships to overseas isolates of ALV-J. STUDY DESIGN: Samples of blood, feather pulp, albumen and tumours were obtained from broiler breeder flocks which represented four genetic strains of meat chickens being grown in Victoria, South Australia, NSW and Queensland. Dead and ailing birds were necropsied on farm and samples were collected for microscopic and virological examinations. Virus isolation was carried out in C/O and DF-1 CEF cultures and ALV group specific antigen was detected in culture lysates using AC-ELISA. Micro-neutralisation assay was used for antigenic characterisation of selected isolates. Genomic DNA was isolated from cultured cells, tumours and feather pulp. ALV-J envelope sequences were amplified by PCR using specific ALV-J primers while antibodies against ALV-J were detected by ELISA. RESULTS: A total of 62 ALV-J isolates were recovered and confirmed by PCR from 15 (31.3%) of 48 breeder flocks tested. Antibody to ALV-J was detected in 20 (47.6%) of the 42 flocks tested. Characteristic lesions of myeloid leukosis caused by ALV-J were found in affected flocks. The gross pathological lesions were characterised by skeletal myelocytomas located on the inner sternum and ribs, neoplastic enlargement of the liver, and in some cases gross tumour involvement of the spleen, kidney, trachea, skeletal muscles, bone marrow, skin and gonads. Microscopically, the tumours consisted of immature granulated myelocytes, and were present as focal or diffuse infiltrations in the affected organs. Virus micro-neutralisation assays demonstrated antigenic variation among Australian isolates and to overseas strains of ALV-J. CONCLUSION: ALV-J infection was prevalent in Australian broiler breeder flocks during 2001 to 2003. Australian isolates of ALV-J show a degree of antigenic variation when compared to overseas isolates.

Production performance, serum/yolk cholesterol and immune competence of white leghorn layers as influenced by dietary supplementation with probiotic.

An experiment was conducted to measure the influence of a dietary probiotic on the production performance, the concentrations of cholesterol in the serum and yolk and immune competence in White Leghorn layers from 25 to 72 weeks of age. One hundred and twenty commercial White Leghorn layers, aged 24 weeks, with an average of 62% hen-day egg production, were equally and randomly distributed into three groups, with eight replicates of 5 birds in each. The birds were reared in individual laying cages. They were placed on one of three dietary treatments: basal, or basal with probiotic supplementation at a rate of 100 or 200 mg/kg feed. The addition of probiotic significantly increased the egg production, shell weight, shell thickness and serum calcium, and reduced the concentrations of cholesterol in the serum and yolk. However, no differences in these traits was observed between the groups receiving 100 or 200 mg probiotic. Feed conversion, egg weight, serum phosphorus and serum alkaline phosphatase activity were not influenced by supplementation with probiotic. Antibody production in response to the inoculation of sheep red blood cells and the cutaneous basophilic hypersensitivity (CBH) responses to inoculation with phytohaemagglutinin did not differ significantly among the dietary groups at either 24 or 40 weeks of age. The antibody titre was significantly higher in the groups supplemented with probiotic at 64 weeks of age. The addition of 100 mg/kg of probiotic in the diet significantly increased the CBH response at 64 weeks of age.

Effect of supplementary choline on the performance of broiler breeders fed on different energy sources.

1. Laying performance, egg quality, fertility and hatchability, and fat deposition in liver and abdomen were recorded in broiler breeders (29 to 48 weeks of age) fed on diets containing perarl millet (Pennisetum typhoides) (PM), broken rice (BR) or yellow maize (YM) (600 g/kg diet). Constant ratios of metabolisable energy (ME) to other nutrients were maintained in all the diets. Food grade choline chloride (50%) was added to the diets at 3 concentrations (0, 760 and 1,520 mg/kg). Each diet was offered to 3 replicate groups of 15 birds (12 hens and 3 cockerels), maintained in deep litter pens, to provide 1.46 MJ ME/bird/d. 2. Neither the source of energy nor dietary choline content had any influence on hen-d egg production, fertility or hatchability. Food efficiency and egg weight were significantly reduced in BR-fed groups compared to those fed on the other energy sources. 3. The efficiency of energy and protein utilisation increased and liver fat content was decreased significantly by dietary choline supplementation. 4. Haugh unit score, egg shell weight, liver weight and intestinal weight were not influenced by either supplementary choline or the source of energy. However, the yolk colour index was significantly reduced in PM- or BR-fed groups compared to those fed on the maize-based diet. 5. Deposition of abdominal fat was significantly greater in BR-fed birds compared to those fed on the YM-based diet, while liver fat content was significantly greater in the birds fed on the PM-or BR-based diets than those based on YM. Although supplementation of the diet with choline had no influence on abdominal fat deposition, liver fat content was significantly reduced in birds given diet containing 760 mg supplemental choline/kg diet. 6. The present study indicates that PM or BR can be used as principal energy sources in place of YM in broiler breeder diets without affecting egg production, fertility or hatchability. Liver fat content can be reduced by adding choline at 760 mg/kg to diets based on different energy sources.

Calculation of relative binding free energy differences for fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase inhibitors using the thermodynamic cycle perturbation approach.

An iterative, computer-assisted, drug design strategy that combines molecular design, molecular mechanics, molecular dynamics (MD), and free energy perturbation (FEP) calculations with compound synthesis, biochemical testing of inhibitors, and crystallographic structure determination of protein-inhibitor complexes was successfully used to predict the rank order of a series of nucleoside monophosphate analogues as fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase) inhibitors. The X-ray structure of FBPase complexed with 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-beta-D-ribofuranosyl 5'-monophosphate (ZMP) provided structural information used for subsequent analogue design and free energy calculations. The FEP protocol was validated by calculating the free energy differences for the mutation of ZMP (1) to AMP (2). The calculated results showed a net gain of 1.7 kcal/mol, which agreed with the experimental result of 1.3 kcal/mol. FEP calculations were performed for 18 other AMP analogues. Inhibition constants were determined for over half of these analogues, usually after completion of the calculation, and were consistent with the predictions. Solvation free energy differences between AMP and various AMP analogues proved to be an important factor in binding free energies, suggesting that increased desolvation costs associated with the addition of polar groups to an inhibitor must be overcome by stronger ligand-protein interactions if the structural modification is to enhance inhibitor potency. The results indicate that FEP calculations predict relative binding affinities with high accuracy and provide valuable insight into the factors that influence inhibitor binding and therefore should greatly aid efforts to optimize initial lead compounds and reduce the time required for the discovery of new drug candidates.

Laying performance of broiler breeder chickens fed various millets or broken rice as a source of energy at a constant nutrient intake.

Laying performance, egg quality and carcase traits were recorded in broiler breeders (29-48 weeks of age) fed diets in which pearl millet (Pennisetum typhoides), finger millet (Eleusine coracana), foxtail millet (Setaria italica) or broken rice fully replaced yellow maize (50% of the diet) from the reference diet. Constant ratios of metabolizable energy to other nutrients were maintained in all the diets. Each diet provided 1.38 MJ metabolizable energy (ME)/bird per day to 8 replicate groups of 10 layers each, maintained in deep litter pens. The hen-day egg production and the ME required to produce 12 eggs in birds fed pearl millet or broken rice were similar (p > 0.05) to those fed on the maize diet, while birds fed foxtail millet or finger millet required more energy to produce the same number of eggs. The egg production and the efficiency of energy utilization were significantly (p < 0.05) reduced in the birds fed these two cereals. Egg quality was not affected by replacing maize with the different cereals. However, the yolk colour index was significantly (p < 0.05) reduced in the cereal-fed groups in comparison to the maize-fed birds. The gizzard and giblet weights were heavier (p < 0.05) in the birds fed foxtail millet or finger millet than in those fed broken rice. Deposition of abdominal fat and the liver fat content were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in the birds fed pearl millet than in the other groups. Depending on the local prices, the cost of feeding may be reduced considerably by using any of the cereals tested as the principal energy source in place of maize in broiler breeder diets.

A transform domain SVD filter for suppression of muscle noise artefacts in exercise ECG's.

The proposed filter assumes the noisy electrocardiography (ECG) to be modeled as a signal of deterministic nature, corrupted by additive muscle noise artefact. The muscle noise component is treated to be stationary with known second-order characteristics. Since noise-free ECG is shown to possess a narrow-band structure in discrete cosine transform (DCT) domain and the second-order statistical properties of the additive noise component is preserved due to the orthogonality property of DCT, noise abatement is easily accomplished via subspace decomposition in the transform domain. The subspace decomposition is performed using singular value decomposition (SVD). The order of the transform domain SVD filter required to achieve the desired degree of noise abatement is compared to that of a suboptimal Wiener filter using DCT. Since the Wiener filter assumes both the signal and noise structures to be statistical, with a priori known second-order characteristics, it yields a biased estimate of the ECG beat as compared to the SVD filter for a given value of mean-square error (mse). The filter order required for performing the subspace smoothing is shown to exceed a certain minimal value for which the mse profile of the SVD filter follows the minimum-mean-quare error (mmse) performance warranted by the suboptimal Wiener filter. The effective filter order required for reproducing clinically significant features in the noisy ECG is then set by an upper bound derived by means of a finite precision linear perturbation model. A significant advantage resulting from the application of the proposed SVD filter lies in its ability to perform noise suppression independently on a single lead ECG record with only a limited number of data samples.