A novel plasmonic metal-semiconductor-insulator-metal (MSIM) color sensor compatible with CMOS technology.

Color detection is one of the top interests in both biological and industrial applications. Specifically, the Determination of the light wave characteristics is vital in photonic technology. One of the features in the color sense that should be found out is its wavelength or color. In this work, we propose a structure that can be used to detect RGB colors separately in an efficient way. The proposed detector consists of the plasmonic filter sensing desired wavelength (red, green, and blue) and the PN diode to convert the received photons to the electrical current. At the input intensity of 1 mW × cm-2, the current density for blue, green, and red colors are 27, 35, and 48 µA × cm-2, respectively. It is shown that the intensities needed to obtain the current densities of 0.1 µA × cm-2 are 3.94, 2.98, and 2.25 µW × cm-2 for the blue, green, and red spectra respectively. It should mention that by using high-precision photodetector structures such as PIN diode, the minimum detectable level can be decreased. Simple adjusting for desired wavelength and linear operation for different input intensities are the characteristics of the designed structure. This detector is compatible with CMOS technology and can be easily utilized in numerous applications, such as charge-coupled devices, displays, and cameras.

Ultrastable, high-repetition-rate attosecond beamline for time-resolved XUV-IR coincidence spectroscopy.

The implementation of attosecond photoelectron-photoion coincidence spectroscopy for the investigation of atomic and molecular dynamics calls for a high-repetition-rate driving source combined with experimental setups characterized by excellent stability for data acquisition over time intervals ranging from a few hours up to a few days. This requirement is crucial for the investigation of processes characterized by low cross sections and for the characterization of fully differential photoelectron(s) and photoion(s) angular and energy distributions. We demonstrate that the implementation of industrial-grade lasers, combined with a careful design of the delay line implemented in the pump-probe setup, allows one to reach ultrastable experimental conditions leading to an error in the estimation of the time delays of only 12 as over an acquisition time of 6.5 h. This result opens up new possibilities for the investigation of attosecond dynamics in simple quantum systems.

Size-dependent molecular interaction of nontraditional 2D antibiotics withStaphylococcus aureus.

The application of nanomaterials for their antibacterial properties is the subject of many studies due to antibiotic resistance of pathogen bacteria and the necessity of omitting them from food and water resources. Graphene oxide (GO) is one of the most popular candidates for antibacterial application. However, the optimum condition for such an effect is not yet clear for practical purposes. To shed light on how GO and bacteria interaction depends on size, a wide range of GO flake sizes from hundreds of µm2going down to nano-scale as low as 10 N m2was produced. In anin-vitrosystematic study to inhibitStaphylococcus aureusgrowth, the correlation between GO flake size, thickness, functional group density, and antibacterial activity was investigated. The GO suspension with the average size of 0.05 µm2, in the order of the size of the bacteria itself, had the best bacteriostatic effect onS. aureuswith the minimum inhibitory concentration value of 8 µg ml-1, well within the acceptable range for practical use. The bacteriostatic effect was measured to be a 76.2% reduction of the colony count over 2 h of incubation and the mechanism of action was the wrapping and isolation of cells from the growth environment. Furthermore,in-vivoanimal studies revealed that 16 µg ml-1of the optimum GO has efficient antibacterial performance against the methicillin-resistant strains of the bacteria with an enhanced wound healing rate and tensiometrial parameters which is important for realized targets.

Attosecond photoionisation time delays reveal the anisotropy of the molecular potential in the recoil frame.

Photoionisation time delays carry structural and dynamical information on the target system, including electronic correlation effects in atoms and molecules and electron transport properties at interfaces. In molecules, the electrostatic potential experienced by an outgoing electron depends on the emission direction, which should thus lead to anisotropic time delays. To isolate this effect, information on the orientation of the molecule at the photoionisation instant is required. Here we show how attosecond time delays reflect the anisotropic molecular potential landscape in CF4 molecules. The variations in the measured delays can be directly related to the different heights of the potential barriers that the outgoing electrons see in the vicinity of shape resonances. Our results indicate the possibility to investigate the spatial characteristics of the molecular potential by mapping attosecond photoionisation time delays in the recoil-frame.

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation improves fatigue performance of the treated and contralateral knee extensors.

PURPOSE: Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) can reduce acute and chronic pain. Unilateral fatigue can produce discomfort in the affected limb and force and activation deficits in contralateral non-exercised muscles. TENS-induced local pain analgesia effects on non-local fatigue performance are unknown. Hence, the aim of the study was to determine if TENS-induced pain suppression would augment force output during a fatiguing protocol in the treated and contralateral muscles. METHODS: Three experiments were integrated for this article. Following pre-tests, each experiment involved 20 min of TENS, sham, or a control condition on the dominant quadriceps. Then either the TENS-treated quadriceps (TENS_Treated) or the contralateral quadriceps (TENS_Contra) was tested. In a third experiment, the TENS and sham conditions involved two\; 100-s isometric maximal voluntary contractions (MVC) (30-s recovery) followed by testing of the contralateral quadriceps (TENS_Contra-Fatigue). Testing involved single knee extensors (KE) MVCs (pre- and post-test) and a post-test 30% MVC to task failure. RESULTS: The TENS-treated study induced greater (p = 0.03; 11.0%) time to KE (treated leg) failure versus control. The TENS_Contra-Fatigue induced significant (p = 0.04; 11.7%) and near-significant (p = 0.1; 7.1%) greater time to contralateral KE failure versus sham and control, respectively. There was a 14.5% (p = 0.02) higher fatigue index with the TENS (36.2 ± 10.1%) versus sham (31.6 ± 10.6%) conditions in the second fatigue intervention set (treated leg). There was no significant post-fatigue KE fatigue interaction with the TENS_Contra. CONCLUSIONS: Unilateral TENS application to the dominant KE prolonged time to failure in the treated and contralateral KE suggesting a global pain modulatory response.

Effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles on the egg quality, immune response, zinc retention, and blood parameters of laying hens in the late phase of production.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) on the performance, egg quality, Zn retention, immunity responses, superoxide dismutase activity (SOD), egg malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and serum parameters in laying hens in the late phase of production. A total of 288 laying hens at 64 weeks of age were randomly assigned to 4 treatments with 6 replicates, and 12 birds within each group. Experimental diets included a corn-soybean meal-based diet (without Zn supplementation) and a basal diet supplemented with 80 mg/kg of Zn-oxide, ZnO-NPs, and Zn-methionine. The results indicated that egg production and egg mass were significantly higher in the Zn-methionine and ZnO-NPs groups (p < .05). Also, eggshell thickness and shell strength increased in the ZnO-NPs group as compared with the other groups (p < .05). Moreover, Zn supplementation decreased egg loss (p < .05). There were significant differences among treatments in Zn deposition in tibiotarsus, liver, pancreas, eggs, and excreta (p < .01). Antibody titre, heterophil (%(, and phytohemagglutinin (PHA) were significantly higher in birds fed with Zn-supplemented diets (p < .05). In treatments supplemented with ZnO-NPs and Zn-methionine, the SOD activity in the liver, pancreas, and plasma was greater as compared with the other treatments (p < .05). The MDA content in eggs was significantly reduced in groups supplemented with Zn (p < .01). Moreover, dietary Zn supplementation significantly affected serum total protein, albumin, glucose, alkaline phosphatase activity, carbonic anhydrase activity, and Zn level (p < .05). In conclusion, this study demonstrated that dietary supplementation with ZnO-NPs can improve the performance of laying hens. Therefore, ZnO-NPs can enhance zinc absorption in the intestine of aged layers and can be a more suitable source of zinc than regular Zn-oxide in diets.

In ovo feeding of nutrients and its impact on post-hatching water and feed deprivation up to 48 hr, energy status and jejunal morphology of chicks using response surface models.

A Box-Behnken design (BBD) in a response surface methodology (RSM) was used to investigate the response of broiler chicks to in ovo feeding (IOF) of beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate (HMB), dextrin and the timing of the first water and feed deprivation. On day 18th of incubation, 1,500 eggs were randomly assigned to 15 experimental runs of BBD, each with 4 replicates, as 3 levels IOF of HMB (0%, 0.5% and 1%) and dextrin (0%, 20% and 40%), and 3 levels of the first water and feed deprivation (6, 27 and 48 hr). Day-old chicks from each replicate were then used to assess the effect of IOF and time first water and feed access on chick's responses. The IOF of dextrin leads to respectively 9.7%-15.5% lower hatchability for 20% and 40% inclusion (p < .05), whereas HMB inclusion appeared with no effect on hatchability (p > .05). Administration of dextrin or HMB into the amnion of embryos elevated length, width and surface area of villus, and increased glycogen content of liver and breast (p < .05). In all parameter models, the linear terms showed highest contribution (R2  = 0.81-0.97) to explain existing variation in chick's responses. The first water and feed deprivation had largest effect on BW2 and glycogen content of liver and breast. It is concluded that if possible, place chicks before 7 hr of hatch to preserve BW loss and have maximum response from IOF. If not possible, use IOF with 40% dextrin + 0.5% HMB to preserve gut integrity and energy status up to 48 hr. This should give advantage to chicks to recover fast after feeding, but that would have to be confirmed by trials growing birds to slaughter age.

Observation and Control of Laser-Enabled Auger Decay.

Single-photon laser-enabled Auger decay (spLEAD) is predicted theoretically [B. Cooper and V. Averbukh, Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 083004 (2013)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.111.083004] and here we report its first experimental observation in neon. Using coherent, bichromatic free-electron laser pulses, we detect the process and coherently control the angular distribution of the emitted electrons by varying the phase difference between the two laser fields. Since spLEAD is highly sensitive to electron correlation, this is a promising method for probing both correlation and ultrafast hole migration in more complex systems.

Predicting In vitro Culture Medium Macro-Nutrients Composition for Pear Rootstocks Using Regression Analysis and Neural Network Models.

Two modeling techniques [artificial neural network-genetic algorithm (ANN-GA) and stepwise regression analysis] were used to predict the effect of medium macro-nutrients on in vitro performance of pear rootstocks (OHF and Pyrodwarf). The ANN-GA described associations between investigating eight macronutrients (NO[Formula: see text], NH[Formula: see text], Ca(2+), K(+), Mg(2+), PO[Formula: see text], SO[Formula: see text], and Cl(-)) and explant growth parameters [proliferation rate (PR), shoot length (SL), shoot tip necrosis (STN), chlorosis (Chl), and vitrification (Vitri)]. ANN-GA revealed a substantially higher accuracy of prediction than for regression models. According to the ANN-GA results, among the input variables concentrations (mM), NH[Formula: see text] (301.7), and NO[Formula: see text], NH[Formula: see text] (64), SO[Formula: see text] (54.1), K(+) (40.4), and NO[Formula: see text] (35.1) in OHF and Ca(2+) (23.7), NH[Formula: see text] (10.7), NO[Formula: see text] (9.1), NH[Formula: see text] (317.6), and NH[Formula: see text] (79.6) in Pyrodwarf had the highest values of VSR in data set, respectively, for PR, SL, STN, Chl, and Vitri. The ANN-GA showed that media containing (mM) 62.5 NO[Formula: see text], 5.7 NH[Formula: see text], 2.7 Ca(2+), 31.5 K(+), 3.3 Mg(2+), 2.6 PO[Formula: see text], 5.6 SO[Formula: see text], and 3.5 Cl(-) could lead to optimal PR for OHF and optimal PR for Pyrodwarf may be obtained with media containing 25.6 NO[Formula: see text], 13.1 NH[Formula: see text], 5.5 Ca(2+), 35.7 K(+), 1.5 Mg(2+), 2.1 PO[Formula: see text], 3.6 SO[Formula: see text], and 3 Cl(-).

Ranking the Meso Level Critical Factors of Electronic Medical Records Adoption Using Fuzzy Topsis Method.

As Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) have a great possibility for rising physician's performance in their daily work which improves quality, safety and efficiency in healthcare, they are implemented throughout the world (Boonstra and Broekhuis, 2010). In physician practices the rate of EMRs adoption has been slow and restricted (around 25%) according to Endsley, Baker, Kershner, and Curtin (2005) in spite of the cost savings through lower administrative costs and medical errors related with EMRs systems. The core objective of this research is to identify, categorize, and analyse meso-level factors introduced by Lau et al, 2012, perceived by physicians to the adoption of EMRs in order to give more knowledge in primary care setting. Finding was extracted through questionnaire which distributed to 350 physicians in primary cares in Malaysia to assess their perception towards EMRs adoption. The findings showed that Physicians had positive perception towards some features related to technology adoption success and emphasized EMRs had helpful impact in their office. The fuzzy TOPSIS physician EMRs adoption model in meso-level developed and its factors and sub-factors discussed in this study which provide making sense of EMRs adoption. The related factors based on meso-level perspective prioritized and ranked by using the fuzzy TOPSIS. The purpose of ranking using these approaches is to inspect which factors are more imperative in EMRs adoption among primary care physicians. The result of performing fuzzy TOPSIS is as a novelty method to identify the critical factors which assist healthcare organizations to inspire their users in accepting of new technology.

Meta-analysis of the influence of dietary glycine and serine, with consideration of methionine and cysteine, on growth and feed conversion of broilers.

The existing literature is inconsistent with respect to optimal dietary concentrations of glycine (Gly) and serine (Ser) in broiler feed. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the response of broilers to dietary levels of Gly using a full quadratic model based on mixed model methodology. Response was measured as ADG (g/d), ADFI (g/d), and G:F (g/g). In addition, the influence of other dietary constituents was evaluated. This meta-analysis was based on a data set comprising a total of 9,626 broilers in 10 peer-reviewed papers that investigated the response of broilers to different dietary concentrations of Gly, achieved by addition of free Gly. The fitted quadratic model, with either Gly+Ser or the calculated glycine equivalent (Glyequi) of both amino acids as the independent variable, revealed that all model terms were significant (P ≤ 0.05), and hence proved a curvilinear relationship between these independent variables and response traits. The R(2) value and root MS error confirmed a strong relationship between observed and predicted traits. A comparison of the influence of Gly+Ser and Glyequi on response traits revealed that both approaches produced similar results. Because Glyequi should meet the physiological values of a diet better than Gly+Ser, models with 2 independent variables were conducted using Glyequi. The second independent variables were methionine (Met):TSAA ratio and the concentrations of cysteine (Cys) and CP. In models with one or 2 independent variables, the impact of dietary Gly on ADFI was low. By contrast, G:F was markedly influenced by dietary Gly; this effect intensified at lower Met:TSAA ratios and higher Cys and CP levels. ADG was also a function of Glyequi and the second independent variables. For ADG, an optimal Met:TSAA ratio of 0.655 and Cys concentration of 0.302% was calculated. Following the nonlinear nature of relationship, generally applicable replacement values could not be calculated. However, it was concluded that consideration of dietary Cys can diminish the requirement for Glyequi, and therefore, enable a reduction in the CP of broiler diets without limiting growth performance.

A quantitative study of the interactive effects of glycine and serine with threonine and choline on growth performance in broilers.

Differences in the optimal dietary concentrations of Gly (glycine) and Ser (serine) in broiler diets may be due to levels of endogenous Gly precursors that differ in literature. Therefore, we measured the extent of the interactive effects between equivalents of Gly and Ser (Glyequi) and the endogenous Gly precursors choline and Thr (threonine) on growth performance. A fractional central composite design included concentrations of 15-25 g/kg DM, 0.6-2.0 g/kg DM, and 6.4-10.4 g/kg DM for Glyequi, choline, and Thr, respectively, in 5 levels each. The various concentrations were achieved by adding Gly, choline chloride, and l-Thr to a basal mix. Except for 20 replicates of the central diet, all treatments were tested with 5 replicates, each with 10 birds. Food was provided for ad libitum consumption throughout the experiment. The data were evaluated using artificial neural networks. Digestibility was studied for selected diets using separate birds. Since average daily feed intake (ADFI) varied between replicates, the intake of prececal digestible Glyequi, choline, and prececal digestible Thr were more adequate independent variables than the dietary concentration of each amino acid. From d 1 to d 7, no treatment effects on G:F and average daily gain (ADG) were detected; subsequent results refer to the period from d 7 to d 21. Increasing prececal digestible Thr intake considerably decreased the need for prececal digestible Glyequi to achieve certain levels of G:F and ADG. The extent of this effect cannot be explained only by the endogenous metabolism of Thr to Gly. Since essential amino acids were present above the recommended levels, Thr probably limited performance, and excessive intake of other essential amino acids prompted a Gly-dissipating process. Choline exerted a considerable effect on the required intake of prececal digestible Glyequi and prececal digestible Thr to achieve certain levels of G:F and ADG. The results of this study partly explain the previously reported variations in response to dietary Thr, Gly, and Ser.

BosFinder: a novel pre-microRNA gene prediction algorithm in Bos taurus.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that modulate gene expression transcriptionally (transcriptional activation or inactivation) and/or post-transcriptionally (translation inhibition or degradation of their target mRNAs). This phenomenon has significant roles in growth and developmental processes in plants and animals. Bos taurus is one of the most important livestock animals, having great importance in food and economical sciences and industries. However, limited information is available on Bos taurus constituent miRNAs because its whole genome assembly has been only recently published. Therefore, computational methods have been essential tools in miRNA gene prediction and discovery. Among these, machine-learning-based approaches are used to characterize genome scale pre-miRNAs from expressed sequence tags (ESTs). In this study, a support vector machine model was used to classify 33 structural and thermodynamic features of pre-miRNA genes. Public bovine EST data were obtained from different tissues in various developmental stages. A new algorithm, called BosFinder, was developed to identify and annotate the whole genome's derived pre-miRNAs. We found 18 776 highly potential pre-miRNA sequences. This is the first genome survey report of Bos taurus based on a machine-learning method for pre-miRNA gene finding. The bosfinder program is freely available at http://lbb.ut.ac.ir/Download/LBBsoft/BosFinder/.

Immunological evaluation of Vi capsular polysaccharide of Salmonella enterica subsp. Typhi vaccine by serum bactericidal assay.

Salmonella enterica subsp. Typhi (S. Typhi) Vi antigen capsular polysaccharide (Vi-CPS) is a licensed vaccine against typhoid fever. As there is no animal model for S. Typhi fever to evaluate the protective efficacy of the Vi-CPS vaccine, a serum bactericidal assay (SBA) is the recommended 'gold standard' to evaluate its potency. Vi-CPS was extracted from S. Typhi Ty6S (CSBPI-B191) using a modified Gotschlich method. Purified Vi-CPS (50 µg) was injected intramuscularly into three groups of five rabbits; group 2 received an additional booster dose of 50 µg Vi-CPS on day 15 and group 3 received two additional boosters on days 15 and 30. The sera obtained from each group were tested by SBA on days 0, 15, 30 and 45. The anti-Vi-CPS titres for groups 1, 2 and 3 on days 15, 30 and 45 were 4, 16 and 16; 4, 32 and 32; and 16, 64 and 64, respectively. Thus, Vi-CPS was shown to be a potent immunogen, as even one dose could induce an efficient bactericidal effect against S. Typhi. Although Vi-CPS is a reliable vaccine, sometimes depolymerization during purification can affect its potency, which can be resolved through a potency test. As the passive haemagglutination test recommended by the World Health Organization does not indicate vaccine potency, we recommend using an SBA to evaluate the bactericidal ability of Vi-CPS.

A meta-analysis of responses to dietary nonphytate phosphorus and phytase in laying hens.

Reducing the level of nonphytate P (NPP) in diets for laying hens without negatively affecting their productivity and heath is crucial for sustainable egg production. A meta-analytical approach using a full quadratic model was applied to quantify relationships between dietary NPP and phytase levels and performance of laying hens. Egg production (EP, %), egg mass (EM, g/hen/day), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were considered as model outputs. A data set containing 168 P or P plus phytase treatments was extracted from 12 published papers. The data were assembled from 14 trials with a total of 8,752 hens in the range of 36 to 76 wk of age. The EP, EM, and FCR were analyzed using a linear mixed model that included the linear and quadratic effects of dietary NPP and phytase levels and their interactions. Except for the quadratic effect of dietary phytase on FCR, all other model components (that is, intercept, linear, quadratic, and interactions) were significant (P<0.05). There was a relatively strong relationship between observed and predicted EP (R2=0.78, RMSE=3.73), EM (R2=0.84, RMSE=2.09), and FCR (R2=0.78, RMSE=0.11), demonstrating that observations within study are practically predictable. Analyses of the model revealed that corn-soybean meal-based diets containing 0.22% of NPP without supplemental phytase resulted in high EP, EM, and feed efficiency in layers. In the presence of 150, 300, and 400 phytase units (FTU)/kg of feed, the dietary NPP level may be decreased and optimal levels were calculated as 0.18, 0.15, and 0.14%, respectively.

Tracing fine sediment sources in small mountain catchment.

Fine sediment represents an important diffuse source pollutant in surface waters, due to its role in governing the transfer and fate of many substances, including nutrients, heavy metals, pesticides and other organic contaminants, and its influence on aquatic ecology. Therefore, catchment management strategies frequently need to include provision for the control of sediment mobilization and delivery. The sediment tracing concept provides a valuable framework for assisting the management and control of diffuse source sediment pollution by identifying the key sources and demonstrating the importance of intermediate storages and the likely impact of upstream mitigation strategies on downstream sediment and sediment associated contaminant fluxes. In this research, fine sediment sources were identified using tracing method. By field works, sediments were sampled from dam reservoir, different sources were also sampled. Fifteen tracers were first selected for tracing which are: The amounts of N, P, C, Cr, Co, Mg, K, Na, smectite, chlorite, illite, kaolinite, and two magnetic properties consisting of LOW Frequency Magnetic Susceptibility (X(LF)) and Frequency Dependent Magnetic Susceptibility (X(FD)). The samples were analyzed in the laboratory for these parameters and different statistical methods were applied to the data including Non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis Test and Stepwise Discriminant function analysis. The results provide important information on the relative importance of fine sediment sources to the reservoir sediments, which can be used to support model validation and the targeting of management and control strategies.

Prediction of the true digestible amino acid contents from the chemical composition of sorghum grain for poultry.

Accurate knowledge of true digestible amino acid (TDAA) contents of feedstuffs is necessary to accurately formulate poultry diets for profitable production. Several experimental approaches that are highly expensive and time consuming have been used to determine available amino acids. Prediction of the nutritive value of a feed ingredient from its chemical composition via regression methodology has been attempted for many years. The artificial neural network (ANN) model is a powerful method that may describe the relationship between digestible amino acid contents and chemical composition. Therefore, multiple linear regressions (MLR) and ANN models were developed for predicting the TDAA contents of sorghum grain based on chemical composition. A precision-fed assay trial using cecectomized roosters was performed to determine the TDAA contents in 48 sorghum samples from 12 sorghum varieties differing in chemical composition. The input variables for both MLR and ANN models were CP, ash, crude fiber, ether extract, and total phenols whereas the output variable was each individual TDAA for every sample. The results of this study revealed that it is possible to satisfactorily estimate the TDAA of sorghum grain through its chemical composition. The chemical composition of sorghum grain seems to highly influence the TDAA contents when considering components such as CP, crude fiber, ether extract, ash and total phenols. It is also possible to estimate the TDAA contents through multiple regression equations with reasonable accuracy depending on composition. However, a more satisfactory prediction may be achieved via ANN for all amino acids. The R(2) values for the ANN model corresponding to testing and training parameters showed a higher accuracy of prediction than equations established by the MLR method. In addition, the current data confirmed that chemical composition, often considered in total amino acid prediction, could be also a useful predictor of true digestible values of selected amino acids for poultry.

Response surface and neural network models for performance of broiler chicks fed diets varying in digestible protein and critical amino acids from 11 to 17 days of age.

Central composite design (CCD; 5 levels and 4 factors), response surface methodology (RSM), and artificial neural network-genetic algorithm (ANN-GA) were used to evaluate the response of broiler chicks [ADG and feed conversion ratio (FCR)] to dietary standardized ileal digestible protein (dP), lysine (dLys), total sulfur amino acids (dTSAA), and threonine (dThr). A total of 84 battery brooder units of 5 birds each were assigned to 28 diets of CCD containing 5 levels of dP (18-22%), dLys (1.06-1.30%), dTSAA (0.81-1.01%), and dThr (0.66-0.86%) from 11 to 17 d of age. The experimental results of CCD were fitted with the quadratic and artificial neural network models. A ridge analysis (for RSM models) and a genetic algorithm (for ANN-GA models) were used to compute the optimal response for ADG and FCR. For both ADG and FCR, the goodness of fit in terms of R(2) and MS error corresponding to ANN-GA and RSM models showed a substantially higher accuracy of prediction for ANN models (ADG model: R(2) = 0.99; FCR model: R(2) = 0.97) compared with RSM models (ADG model: R(2) = 0.70; FCR model: R(2) = 0.71). The ridge maximum analysis on ADG and minimum analysis on FCR models revealed that the maximum ADG may be obtained with 18.5, 1.10, 0.89, and 0.73% dP, dLys, dTSAA, and dThr, respectively, in diet, and minimum FCR may be obtained with 19.44, 1.18, 0.90, and 0.75% of dP, dLys, dTSAA, and dThr, respectively, in diet. The optimization results of ANN-GA models showed the maximum ADG may be achieved with 19.93, 1.06, 0.90, and 0.76% of dP, dLys, dTSAA, and dThr, respectively, in diet, and minimum FCR may be achieved with 18.63, 1.26, 0.84, and 0.69% of dP, dLys, dTSAA, and dThr, respectively, in diet. The results of this study revealed that the platform of CCD (for conducting growth trials with minimum treatments), RSM model, and ANN-GA (for experimental data modeling and optimization) may be used to describe the relationship between dietary nutrient concentrations and broiler performance to achieve the optimal target.

Myxopapillary ependymoma: correlation of clinical and imaging features with surgical resectability in a series with long-term follow-up.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective case series. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to identify imaging and intraoperative characteristics that may predict surgical resection for myxopapillary ependymoma (MPE). The diffuse involvement in the conus-filum region makes complete resection challenging. The preoperative characteristics that may estimate the extent of resection has not been reported. SETTING: Toronto, Canada. METHODS: All MPE cases between 1972 and 2005 at a single institution were identified and reexamined by a neuropathologist. Neurological outcomes (Frankel scale), clinical features, operative findings, pre and postoperative imaging results were reviewed. RESULTS: A total of 18 operations were performed on 15 MPE patients (8 females/7 males; age range: 18-71 years). Median postoperative follow-up was 56 months. Three patients (17%) developed tumor regrowth requiring reoperations. Preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI; in 14/18 procedures) determined that tumors involved the conus in 70% of cases, which was significantly associated with intraoperative findings (P=0.02). Complete microsurgical resection was accomplished in 4 out of 7 cases where conus was not involved, but in only 1 out of 10 cases with conus involvement (P=0.056). The degree of conus involvement in one case was unclear. None of patients with total surgical resection developed recurrence. All patients survived at long-term follow-up. CONCLUSION: Our series is the first to correlate MPE involvement to conus medullaris on preoperative MRI with intraoperative findings, and examine its significance on surgical resectability. This information could guide clinicians in preoperative planning and advising patients on treatment options and potential risks/benefits. MRI is very sensitive (100%) and moderately specific (67%) in detecting direct anatomical contact between conus and MPE tumors.

Estimation and modeling true metabolizable energy of sorghum grain for poultry.

Sorghum grain is an important ingredient in poultry diets. The TMEn content of sorghum grain is a measure of its quality. As for the other feed ingredients, the biological procedure used to determine the TMEn value of sorghum grain is costly and time consuming. Therefore, it is necessary to find an alternative method to accurately estimate the TMEn content. In this study, 2 methods of regression and artificial neural network (ANN) were developed to describe the TMEn value of sorghum grain based on chemical composition of ash, crude fiber, CP, ether extract, and total phenols. A total of 144 sorghum samples were used to determine chemical composition and TMEn content using chemical analyses and bioassay technique, respectively. The values were consequently subjected to regression and ANN analysis. The fitness of the models was tested using R(2) values, MS error, and bias. The developed regression and ANN models could accurately predict the TMEn of sorghum samples from their chemical composition. The goodness of fit in terms of R(2) values corresponding to testing and training of the ANN model showed a higher accuracy of prediction than the equation established by regression method. In terms of MS error, the ANN model showed lower residuals distribution than the regression model. The results suggest that the ANN model may be used to accurately estimate the TMEn value of sorghum grain from its corresponding chemical composition.