Effects of Artemisia annua L. Water Extract on Growth Performance and Intestinal Related Indicators in Broilers

Artemisia annua L. is a natural herb with a variety of bioactive substances, which can play a variety of biological functions such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial and antiviral, and can be used as a potential feed additive. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of different doses of Artemisia annua L. water extract (AAWE) on growth performance and intestinal related indicators in broilers. A total of 200 one-day-old Arbor Acre broilers were selected and randomly divided into five treatment groups, with five replicates in each group and eight birds per replicate. The control group was fed a basal diet, whereas the other groups were fed a basal diet supplemented with 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, or 2.0 g/kg AAWE. On d 21, with the increase in AAWE dose, final body weight and feed efficiency showed a quadratic increase effect, whereas feed intake showed a linear reduction effect; however, the apparent metabolic rate of dry matter, crude protein, and ether extract increased quadratically on d 42. In addition, the activity of duodenal chymotrypsin and trypsin, and of jejunal lipase quadratically increased, whereas the intestine crypt depth linearly decreased on d 42. The number of total anaerobic bacteria increased quadratically, whereas the number of Escherichia coli decreased quadratically. The number of Lactobacillus increased linearly, whereas H2S emission linearly decreased on d 21; moreover, NH3 emission (24 h) quadratically decreased on d 42. In conclusion, AAWE promoted the growth performance and intestinal related indicators of broilers.

First-Principles Study of χ3-Borophene as a Candidate for Gas Sensing and the Removal of Harmful Gases

The potential application of borophene as a sensing material for gas-sensing devices is investigated in this work. We utilize density functional theory (DFT) to systematically study the adsorption mechanism and sensing performance of χ₃-borophene to search for high-sensitivity sensors for minor pollutant gases. We compare the results to those for two Pmmn borophenes. The first-principles calculations are used to analyze the sensing performance of the three different borophenes (2 Pmmn borophene, 8 Pmmn borophene, and χ₃-borophene) on five leading harmful gases (CO, NH₃, SO₂, H₂S, and NO₂). The adsorption configuration, adsorption energy, and electronic properties of χ₃-borophene are investigated. Our results indicate that the mechanism of adsorption on χ₃-borophene is chemisorption for NO₂ and physisorption for SO₂ and H₂S. The mode of adsorption of CO and NH₃ on χ₃-borophene can be both physisorption and chemisorption, depending on the initially selected sites. Analyses of the charge transfer and density of states show that χ₃-borophene is selective toward the adsorption of harmful gases and that N and O atoms form covalent bonds when chemisorbed on the surface of χ₃-borophene. An interesting phenomenon is that when 8 Pmmn borophene adsorbs SO₂, the gas molecules are dismembered and strongly adsorb on the surface of 8 Pmmn borophene, which provides a way of generating O₂ while adsorbing harmful substances. Overall, the results of this work demonstrate the potential applications of borophene as a sensing material for harmful gas sensing or removal.

Development of Eco-Friendly Polymer Foam Using Overcoat Technology of Deodorant

Development of eco-friendly polymer foams is an urgent research topic because of the serious environmental pollution caused by trash heaps and the time-release of harmful gases. Polymer PVC foam using azodicarbonamide as a chemical foaming agent has been highly requested for further improvement due to the residual ammonia gas that continuously leaks out. Here, we demonstrate an effective and costless process for the reduction of releasing ammonia from PVC foams using the overcoat technology of deodorants. We have selected four candidate materials, gelite, zeolite, terra alba, and fumed silica as original materials for the deodorant of ammonia, and they showed an ammonia deodorization rate (ADR) of over 80% without any treatment except the fumed silica. When we over-coated the UV-curing agent mixed deodorants on the PVC foams (thickness ~300 µm), the ADR of the terra alba and zeolite complex foams was remarkably higher than 90%, however, the specific gravity and chromaticity were not changed within 20%. This indicates that our developed process using deodorant layer for ammonia reduction has a high potential for the production of eco-friendly polymer foams.