University of Hohenheim

About: University of Hohenheim is a education organization based out in Stuttgart, Germany. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Soil water. The organization has 8585 authors who have published 16406 publications receiving 567377 citations.

The estimation of the digestibility and metabolizable energy content of ruminant feedingstuffs from the gas production when they are incubated with rumen liquor in vitro

Abstract: A rapid method for measuring gas production during incubation of feedingstuffs with rumen liquor in vitro is described. Gas production in 24 h from 200 mg feed dry matter was well correlated with digestibility of organic matter, determined in vivo with sheep. Multiple regression analysis, when it included data from proximate analysis, resulted in an equation ( R = 0·98) for prediction of metabolizable energy content, based on 30 experiments with rations varying in protein and crude fibre content, and 59 other experiments with concentrates. Energy content was in the range of 7·7–13·2 MJ ME/kg D.M. ( ± S.D. = 11·17 ± 1·08). The residual standard deviation of the equation was 0·25 MJ. Gas production was measured in calibrated syringes. The only chemical determinations needed are dry matter, protein and fat. Differences in activity between batches of rumen liquor are corrected by reference to gas production with standard feedingstuffs (hay meal and maize starch).

The biological action of saponins in animal systems: a review

Abstract: Saponins are steroid or triterpenoid glycosides, common in a large number of plants and plant products that are important in human and animal nutrition. Several biological effects have been ascribed to saponins. Extensive research has been carried out into the membrane-permeabilising, immunostimulant, hypocholesterolaemic and anticarcinogenic properties of saponins and they have also been found to significantly affect growth, feed intake and reproduction in animals. These structurally diverse compounds have also been observed to kill protozoans and molluscs, to be antioxidants, to impair the digestion of protein and the uptake of vitamins and minerals in the gut, to cause hypoglycaemia, and to act as antifungal and antiviral agents. These compounds can thus affect animals in a host of different ways both positive and negative.

The Relative Trustworthiness of Inferential Tests of the Indirect Effect in Statistical Mediation Analysis Does Method Really Matter

Abstract: A content analysis of 2 years of Psychological Science articles reveals inconsistencies in how researchers make inferences about indirect effects when conducting a statistical mediation analysis. In this study, we examined the frequency with which popularly used tests disagree, whether the method an investigator uses makes a difference in the conclusion he or she will reach, and whether there is a most trustworthy test that can be recommended to balance practical and performance considerations. We found that tests agree much more frequently than they disagree, but disagreements are more common when an indirect effect exists than when it does not. We recommend the bias-corrected bootstrap confidence interval as the most trustworthy test if power is of utmost concern, although it can be slightly liberal in some circumstances. Investigators concerned about Type I errors should choose the Monte Carlo confidence interval or the distribution-of-the-product approach, which rarely disagree. The percentile bootstr...

Rising Temperatures Reduce Global Wheat Production

Abstract: Crop models are essential tools for assessing the threat of climate change to local and global food production(1). Present models used to predict wheat grain yield are highly uncertain when simulating how crops respond to temperature(2). Here we systematically tested 30 different wheat crop models of the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project against field experiments in which growing season mean temperatures ranged from 15 degrees C to 32 degrees C, including experiments with artificial heating. Many models simulated yields well, but were less accurate at higher temperatures. The model ensemble median was consistently more accurate in simulating the crop temperature response than any single model, regardless of the input information used. Extrapolating the model ensemble temperature response indicates that warming is already slowing yield gains at a majority of wheat-growing locations. Global wheat production is estimated to fall by 6% for each degrees C of further temperature increase and become more variable over space and time.