Media, plural of "medium"; a means (a container or a vehicle) of carrying or communicating information
Mass media (all means of mass communication e.g. magazines, cinema, films, newspapers, radio, television, internet, billboards, books, CDs, DVDs, videocassettes, other publishing.)
News media (specifically providing news, e.g. newspapers, television news.)
Grain Moisture Measurements May Divert Mold, Insect Infestation Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:26:00 -0500
Monitoring carbon dioxidealong with the
standard humidity and temperaturemay help detect insect and mold problems
more effectively. Photo courtesy of Microsoft Clipart.
Newly renovated ARS grain
research center dedicated
ARS-adapted grain sorter
sees fungal poisons under "new light"
Optical sensors help
farmers find high-quality wheat
Grain Moisture Measurements May Divert Mold,
Insect Infestation By
Sharon Durham August 28, 2008
Grain storage bins are routinely monitored for temperature to
control insect and mold problems. Now an Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
scientist and his colleagues at Kansas State
University (KSU) have preliminary research findings showing that monitoring
carbon dioxide--along with humidity and temperature--also may help detect
problems more effectively.
Grain moisture content and temperature are the primary factors
affecting grain deterioration in storage. If these factors are not properly
monitored and controlled, grain quality can deteriorate quickly due to mold
growth and insect infestation.
ARS engineer
Paul
Armstrong at the agency's
Grain
and Marketing and Production Research Center in Manhattan, Kan., and Haidee
Gonzales and Ronaldo Maghirang at KSU monitored a simulated grain storage bin
during aeration to determine if high-moisture grain, or adverse storage
conditions, in the bin top could be detected using sensors to measure relative
humidity, temperature and carbon dioxide levels.
Relative humidity and temperature can be used to estimate grain
moisture, while carbon dioxide levels indicate the amount of respiration due,
primarily, to molds. Current technology allows relative humidity and
temperature sensors to be placed at multiple points within the grain mass.
Carbon dioxide sensing is more feasible at an aeration duct.
In the study, sensors were placed at different depths in the bin.
High-moisture grain-- comprising about 11 percent of the volume--was placed at
the top of the bin and produced high amounts of carbon dioxide, which in most
cases was easily detectable during aeration.
Lowering grain temperature with aeration diminished the amount of
carbon dioxide produced, making it more difficult to detect unless the carbon
dioxide sensor was located very close to the wet grain.
Relative humidity and temperature sensing gave good estimates of grain
moisture for all conditions, but under some grain conditions, high carbon
dioxide levels persisted for grain considered to be at safe moisture and
temperature conditions. Combining relative humidity, temperature and carbon
dioxide measurements gave reasonably accurate measurements of grain moisture
content as well as overall storage conditions.
ARS is the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's scientific research agency.
ARS Scientists Test MRI Device to Measure Body Fat in Piglets Wed, 27 Aug 2008 08:46:00 -0500
A new device can more
accurately and precisely measure total body fat, lean tissue mass, free water
mass and total body water in piglets and may have future applications for human
pediatric use. Click the image for more information about
it.
Scientists study excess
fat in chickens
Pig gene database supports
human nutrition, immunity studies
DXA measures meat, fat
composition in pork
ARS Scientists Test MRI Device to Measure Body Fat in Piglets
By Sharon
Durham August 27, 2008
A new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based device--more advanced
than the technology used today for body composition tests--can accurately and
precisely measure total body fat in piglets using the principles of
quantitative magnetic resonance (QMR), according to
Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
scientists who evaluated the new technology.
The new device, called EchoMRI, was tested by ARS researchers to
measure not only total body fat, but lean tissue mass, free water mass and
total body water in piglets. The research was done under a grant from the
National Institutes of Health, which wants to
know if the new technology could have future applications for human pediatric
use.
Standard MRI systems are commonly used to scan and visualize tissue in
humans. However, when used for body composition analysis, imaging systems are
subject to substantial error rates caused by the interpretation of visual
images using software that relies on population averages.
EchoMRI uses a new type of QMR methodology to obtain body composition
results. Its measurement principle depends on the density of hydrogen nuclei
and the physical state of the tissue.
ARS animal scientist
Alva
Mitchell at the
Animal
Biosciences and Biotechnology Laboratory in Beltsville, Md., tested the
device, developed by Echo Medical
Systems, to determine EchoMRI's precision and accuracy in piglets as
compared to dual x-ray (DXA) technology and chemical analysis.
Twenty-five piglets, each weighing between 3.5 pounds and 8 pounds,
were screened live, anesthetized, and post-mortem, using a prototype EchoMRI
device for infants. The piglets were also scanned using DXA and then subjected
to chemical analysis.
After DXA scans, EchoMRI screenings, and chemical analyses were
completed, EchoMRI was found to be a precise and accurate method suitable for
measuring piglet whole body composition, total body fat, lean tissue mass, free
water mass, and total body water. While these studies were conducted on
piglets, EchoMRI may be transferable to market-weight pigs.
EchoMRI allows for measurements to be conducted in only a few minutes
without anesthesia or sedation, is radiation-free, and does not require the
subject to remain completely motionless. This facilitates convenient,
low-stress repeated tracking of small changes in body composition and can be
advantageous to researchers to optimize feed utilization. It could also help
researchers identify high-value hogs for breeding.
ARS is a scientific research agency of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"Fingerprinting" Helps Make Great Grapes Tue, 26 Aug 2008 09:49:00 -0500
Genetic
fingerprints, now being developed for the 2,800 wild, rare and domesticated
grapes in ARS's northern California genebank, will help grape breeders pinpoint
unusual characteristics. Click the image for more information about
it.
Autumn King seedless
grapes: Big and luscious!
Thomcord grape: Flavorful,
attractiveand seedless!
Sweet Scarlet grape: New
variety readied for growers
Fingerprinting Helps Make Great
Grapes By Marcia
Wood August 26, 2008
At about this time next year, nearly all of the 2,800 wild, rare and
domesticated grapes in a unique northern California genebank will have had
their "genetic profile" or fingerprint taken. These fingerprints
may help grape breeders pinpoint plants in the collection that have unusual
traits--ones that might appeal to shoppers in tomorrow's supermarkets. Other
grapes might be ideal for scientists who are doing basic research.
Thats according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant
geneticist
Mallikarjuna
Aradhya. He's heading the grape fingerprinting venture.
The grape collection that Aradhya is fingerprinting encompasses
vineyards and screened enclosures, called screenhouses." It is part of
whats officially known as the ARS
National
Clonal Germplasm Repository for Tree Fruit and Nut Crops and Grapes, in
Davis, Calif.
To glean a distinctive genetic fingerprint of each member of the
collection, Aradhya uses pieces of genetic material--or DNA--known as
microsatellite markers. Eight markers are all that are needed for a genetic
fingerprint of more familiar grapes, like close relatives of those already used
for making wine or raisins or for eating out-of-hand.
But the lesser-known ones--wild grapes and some prized types from
China, for instance--require twice as many markers for reliable identification.
Thats due, in part, to the fact that the taxonomy, or relatedness of one
kind of grape to another, is quite jumbled, Aradhya noted.
He has already fingerprinted 1,100 better-known grapes and 300 wild
specimens.
ARS is a scientific research agency of the
U.S. Department of
Agriculture.
USDA - National Agricultural Statistics Service Reports
Dairy Products Prices Cheddar Cheese prices received for US 40 pound Blocks averaged $1.83 per pound for the week ending August 23.... Rice Stocks August 1 Rough Rice Stocks Down 54 Percent from June....
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Livestock Weekly - Weekly publication for the livestock industry aimed at the commercial producer.
New Agriculturist on-line - New Agriculturist online provides an update on the latest news and developments in tropical agriculture for a global audience. Also a summary of training courses and conferences for agriculturists. 'As a platform to exchange, and air opinions in the agricultural field, the New Agriculturist is hard to beat'. (UK)
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