阅读说明：本技术 一种木薯发酵鸡饲料配方及其制备方法 (Cassava fermented chicken feed formula and preparation method thereof ) 是由 郭振粤 陈海坚 许志文 胡达权 余涛 于 2021-10-14 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明公开了一种木薯发酵鸡饲料配方,包括以下组分,木薯粉和粮食作物原料按1：1配比混合添加发酵菌,其中发酵菌占总重量比不超过0.1％,所述粮食作物原料选用玉米粉、米糠、麦麸和豆粕中的一种或两种,所述发酵菌包括基础的乳酸菌、酵母菌和芽孢杆菌,通过多菌种分步骤发酵制备,制备包括以下工艺流程,活化处理,粉碎熟化,加水混匀,分步发酵,出料饲喂。该木薯发酵鸡饲料配方及发酵制备方法,通过对粗粮为主的发酵饲料配方进行优化和生产工艺的改进,利用木薯粉减少发酵饲料中的粗粮使用,同时具有良好的饲料适口性,提高采食率,分步发酵的饲料营养丰富含有多种有益微生物,加强动物对其中的饲料营养成分的吸收,降低饲料使用成本。(The invention discloses a cassava fermented chicken feed formula, which comprises the following components in parts by weight, namely cassava flour and grain crop raw materials in a proportion of 1: 1, mixing and adding zymocyte in a ratio of 1, wherein the zymocyte accounts for no more than 0.1 percent of the total weight, the grain crop raw material is one or two of corn flour, rice bran, wheat bran and soybean meal, the zymocyte comprises basic lactic acid bacteria, saccharomycetes and bacillus, and the zymocyte is prepared by multi-strain step fermentation. According to the cassava fermented chicken feed formula and the fermentation preparation method, the fermentation feed formula mainly containing coarse grains is optimized, the production process is improved, the use of the coarse grains in the fermented feed is reduced by utilizing the cassava powder, the feed has good feed palatability, the feed intake rate is improved, the feed fermented step by step is rich in nutrition and contains various beneficial microorganisms, the absorption of animals on the nutritional ingredients of the feed is enhanced, and the use cost of the feed is reduced.)

1. The cassava fermented chicken feed formula is characterized by comprising the following components:

the cassava flour and the grain crop raw materials are mixed according to the weight ratio of 1: 1, mixing and adding zymophyte in proportion;

wherein the zymophyte accounts for no more than 0.1% of the total weight.

The grain crop raw material is one or two of corn flour, rice bran, wheat bran and soybean meal;

the zymophyte comprises basic lactobacillus, saccharomycetes and bacillus, is selected as microbial feed zymophyte soluble powder with the effective viable count of more than or equal to 2 multiplied by 10^10cfu/g, and is prepared by multi-strain step fermentation.

2. The fermentation preparation method of the cassava fermented chicken feed formula according to claim 1, characterized by comprising the following process flows:

(1) activating treatment;

(2) crushing and curing;

(3) adding water and mixing uniformly;

(4) fermenting step by step;

(5) discharging and feeding.

3. The fermentation preparation method of the cassava fermented chicken feed formula according to claim 2, characterized in that: the activation treatment step specifically comprises the steps of firstly selecting 1kg of feed zymocyte, adding more than 25L of sterile water, controlling the water temperature at 25-35 ℃, adding 300-500 g of brown sugar or molasses, uniformly stirring and mixing, and then carrying out activation for more than 4 hours, wherein obvious gas is generated and cell precipitates can be used.

Wherein, the brown sugar or molasses is used as a carbon source accounting for 80-90 percent, and simultaneously 10-20 percent of nitrogen source is added, and the brown sugar or molasses also comprises 1-2 percent of inorganic salt, biological growth hormone, calcium, phosphorus and other trace elements.

4. The fermentation preparation method of the cassava fermented chicken feed formula according to claim 2, characterized in that: the smashing and curing step is to smash the cassava flour and the grain crop raw materials and perform curing treatment, the grain crop raw materials and the cassava flour crushed materials are integrally sieved by a sieve of 2-5mm, and the sieved materials are matched with the zymophyte activation mixed liquid for later use.

5. The fermentation preparation method of the cassava fermented chicken feed formula according to claim 2, characterized in that: and the uniformly mixing step is to pour the screened material preparation and the zymocyte activation mixed solution into a stirrer to be uniformly stirred, adding the zymocyte activation mixed solution while stirring, wherein the stirring speed is 30-40r/min, uniformly mixing and stirring for 15-30min, further adding water to adjust the water content to be 40-50% after the zymocyte activation mixed solution is added, and preparing the powder material to be fermented in an anaerobic state until the water content is not more than 70%.

6. The fermentation preparation method of the cassava fermented chicken feed formula according to claim 2, characterized in that: the fermentation step may further be a staged fermentation treatment, as follows:

A. flatly spreading the uniformly stirred fermentation material in a tray or a fermentation tank, carrying out aerobic fermentation under the action of yeast, wherein the flatting thickness of the material is 5-8cm, the material is fermented for 4-5 days in a fermentation chamber with the humidity of 60-80% and the temperature of 24-35 ℃, the air inlet amount of cassava residue to be fermented per ton is 1-2m ^3/h, and the first-stage fermentation can be finished when the fermentation material is fully covered with white hypha;

B. pouring the material full of white hypha into a closed fermentation cylinder from a tray or a fermentation tank, carrying out aerobic fermentation under the action of adding lactic acid bacteria, carrying out anaerobic fermentation at 30-40 ℃ for 3-4d until fragrance escapes, and finishing the fermentation when the total amount of the viable bacteria is measured to be more than 1 x 10^9 cfu/g.

7. The fermentation preparation method of the cassava fermented chicken feed formula according to claim 2, characterized in that: and the discharging step is specifically to add water into the fermented feed after the fermentation is finished, stir the fermented feed into a dough, extrude, granulate and form the dough, and feed the dough.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of feed fermentation, in particular to a cassava fermented chicken feed formula and a preparation method thereof.

Background

With the development of the poultry and chicken breeding industry, the quantity and the types of the agricultural feed are increased, the corn is usually used as a main raw material in the existing agricultural feed and is mainly prepared by fermenting coarse grains, and with the increase of the feed demand of the breeding industry, even the situation of 'people and livestock fight for grains' occurs, the cost of the feed raw material is increased, the economic benefit of the breeding industry is influenced, the use of the raw material with higher economic benefit is a solution for relieving the situation, and the cassava is a good substitute raw material.

Cassava is commonly used for preparing starch, alcohol and the like at present, a large amount of cassava residues are left in the preparation process, the recovery rate is limited, most cassava residues are directly discarded, serious environmental pollution is easily caused, a large amount of organic matters and energy resources are wasted, the digestion rate of the cassava in intestinal tracts of chickens is high, and the cassava has good nutritional value, and the fermentation treatment of the cassava can decompose wood fibers and plant fibers, the fiber content is reduced, the crude protein content is increased, so that the cassava can be used as an excellent raw material of chicken feed.

The existing cassava residue feed with Chinese patent publication No. CN105795098B and a preparation method thereof are to prepare a novel feed by degrading and fermenting cassava residue and cassava starch residue, but the feed only uses the cassava residue as a raw material, wherein the fiber content is high, the fermentation process is integral even as long as 60 days, the fermentation efficiency is low, cassava and traditional coarse grain feed are different, and for animals, the pure cassava feed is similar to the process of replacing rice with rice bran, the feed palatability is relatively poor, the feed is not beneficial to animal feeding, and the feed is not beneficial to the rapid and healthy growth of breeding the feed for feeding the animals.

Aiming at the problems, the innovative design is carried out on the basis of the original cassava fermented chicken feed formula and the preparation method thereof.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a cassava fermented chicken feed formula and a preparation method thereof, so that the cassava fermented feed is better and comprehensively utilized, the feed quality of cassava powder as a raw material is improved, the feed nutritive value is improved by multi-army fermentation, and the economic benefit of the chicken feed breeding industry is improved.

In order to achieve the purpose, the invention provides the following technical scheme: a cassava fermented chicken feed formula comprises the following components:

the cassava flour and the grain crop raw materials are mixed according to the weight ratio of 1: 1, mixing and adding zymophyte in proportion;

wherein the zymophyte accounts for no more than 0.1% of the total weight.

The grain crop raw material is one or two of corn flour, rice bran, wheat bran and soybean meal;

the zymophyte comprises basic lactobacillus, saccharomycetes and bacillus, is selected as microbial feed zymophyte soluble powder with the effective viable count of more than or equal to 2 multiplied by 10^10cfu/g, and is prepared by multi-strain step fermentation.

By adopting the technical scheme, the grain crops of the traditional coarse grain fermented material are replaced by the high cassava ratio, so that the economic benefit is improved while the feed quality is ensured.

A fermentation preparation method of a cassava fermentation chicken feed formula comprises the following process flows:

(1) activating treatment;

(2) crushing and curing;

(3) adding water and mixing uniformly;

(4) fermenting step by step;

(5) discharging and feeding.

Preferably, the activation treatment step specifically comprises the steps of firstly selecting 1kg of feed fermentation bacteria, adding more than 25L of sterile water, controlling the water temperature at 25-35 ℃, adding 300-.

Wherein, the brown sugar or molasses is used as a carbon source accounting for 80-90 percent, and simultaneously 10-20 percent of nitrogen source is added, and the brown sugar or molasses also comprises 1-2 percent of inorganic salt, biological growth hormone, calcium, phosphorus and other trace elements.

By adopting the technical scheme, the treatment effect is improved by activating the zymocyte.

Preferably, the crushing and curing step is to crush the cassava flour and the grain crop raw materials and perform curing treatment, the grain crop raw materials and the crushed cassava flour are integrally screened by a 2-5mm sieve, and the screened materials are matched with the zymocyte activation mixed solution for later use.

By adopting the technical scheme, the materials can be conveniently crushed into powder and then fully fermented.

Preferably, the uniformly mixing step is to pour the screened material preparation and the zymocyte activation mixed solution into a stirrer to be uniformly stirred, add the zymocyte activation mixed solution while stirring, wherein the stirring speed is 30-40r/min, uniformly stir for 15-30min, further add water to adjust the water content to 40-50% after the zymocyte activation mixed solution is added, the anaerobic fermentation water content of the powder material is not more than 70% at most, and then prepare for fermentation.

By adopting the technical scheme, the proper water content is beneficial to the growth and reproduction of microbial agents to generate mycoprotein and accumulate fermentation products, the water content is too low, the material fermentation is slow, the water content is too high, the acid production is excessive, and animals are reluctant to eat.

Preferably, the fermentation step may further be a staged fermentation treatment, specifically as follows:

A. flatly spreading the uniformly stirred fermentation material in a tray or a fermentation tank, carrying out aerobic fermentation under the action of yeast, wherein the flatting thickness of the material is 5-8cm, the material is fermented for 4-5 days in a fermentation chamber with the humidity of 60-80% and the temperature of 24-35 ℃, the air inlet amount of cassava residue to be fermented per ton is 1-2m ^3/h, and the first-stage fermentation can be finished when the fermentation material is fully covered with white hypha;

B. pouring the material full of white hypha into a closed fermentation cylinder from a tray or a fermentation tank, carrying out aerobic fermentation under the action of adding lactic acid bacteria, carrying out anaerobic fermentation at 30-40 ℃ for 3-4d until fragrance escapes, and finishing the fermentation when the total amount of the viable bacteria is measured to be more than 1 x 10^9 cfu/g.

By adopting the technical scheme, the nutritional ingredients of the feed are obviously increased through the fully fermented feed, the feed can be converted into various effective amino acid ingredients with comprehensive nutrition required by animals, and meanwhile, the feed contains various viable beneficial microorganisms, thereby being beneficial to establishing the micro-ecological balance in the intestinal tracts of the animals, improving the immunity and promoting the absorption of the nutritional ingredients.

Preferably, the discharging step is specifically to add water into the fermented feed after the fermentation is finished, stir the fermented feed into a dough, extrude, granulate and form the dough, and feed the dough.

Compared with the prior art, the invention has the beneficial effects that: the cassava fermented chicken feed formula and the preparation method thereof,

1. by optimizing the formula of the common fermented feed mainly containing coarse grains and improving the production process, the cassava is processed and used, the use of the coarse grains in the fermented feed is reduced, the grain investment is reduced, the phenomenon of food competition among people and livestock is avoided, the safe supply of the grains is ensured, the feed supply of the breeding industry is kept, and the cost investment of the breeding feed is reduced;

2. the cassava is fermented to prepare the feed mixed part of coarse food grains, so that the palatability of the feed can be improved, the feed mixed part of coarse food grains is equivalent to common milk and flavored yoghourt for animals, the feed mixed part of coarse food grains is more easily accepted and loved by the animals, the feed intake and the feed intake speed are improved, the appetite of the animals is enhanced, and the rapid growth of the cultured animals is promoted;

3. the feed has the advantages that the feed nutrient components are obviously increased through the step microbial fermentation, the feed nutrient components can be converted into various comprehensive nutrient effective amino acid components required by animals, meanwhile, the digestion, absorption and utilization rate of the feed is improved, various beneficial microbial viable bacteria are contained, the microecological balance in intestinal tracts of the animals is established, the immunity is enhanced, the absorption of the animals on the feed nutrient components in the feed is enhanced, the absorption and utilization rate of the nutrient components is improved, and the long-term use cost of the feed is reduced.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the fermentation process of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 1, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

example 1

A cassava fermented chicken feed formula comprises the following components:

the cassava flour and the grain crop raw materials are mixed according to the weight ratio of 1: 1, mixing and adding zymophyte in proportion;

wherein the zymocyte accounts for 0.1 percent of the total weight.

The grain crop raw material is rice bran and wheat bran mixture;

the fermentation bacteria comprise basic lactic acid bacteria, saccharomycetes and bacillus, microbial feed fermentation bacteria soluble powder with the effective viable count of more than or equal to 2 multiplied by 10^10cfu/g is selected, the microbial feed fermentation bacteria soluble powder is prepared by multi-strain step fermentation, grain crops of traditional coarse grain fermentation materials are replaced by high cassava ratio, and the economic benefit is improved while the feed quality is ensured.

A fermentation preparation method of a cassava fermentation chicken feed formula comprises the following process flows:

(1) activating treatment;

the activation treatment step specifically comprises the steps of firstly selecting 1kg of feed zymophyte, adding more than 30L of sterile water, controlling the water temperature at 30 ℃, adding 500 g of brown sugar or molasses, stirring and mixing uniformly, then carrying out activation for more than 4 hours, wherein obvious gas is generated and cell precipitates can be used, the brown sugar or molasses is used as a carbon source accounting for 85%, simultaneously adding 14% of nitrogen source, and the treatment effect is improved by activating the zymophyte to use, wherein the inorganic salt, the biological growth hormone, the calcium, the phosphorus and other trace elements are 1%.

(2) Crushing and curing;

the crushing and curing step is to crush the cassava flour and the grain crop raw materials and perform curing treatment, the grain crop raw materials and the crushed cassava flour are screened by a 3mm sieve, and the screened materials are matched with the zymophyte activation mixed liquid for standby, so that the materials can be conveniently crushed into powder and then fully fermented.

(3) Adding water and mixing uniformly;

the mixing step is to pour the screened material preparation and the zymocyte activation mixed solution into a stirrer to be uniformly stirred, the zymocyte activation mixed solution is added while stirring, the stirring speed is 40r/min, the mixing and stirring are carried out for 20min, water is further added to adjust the water content to 50% after the zymocyte activation mixed solution is added, then the fermentation is ready to be carried out, the proper water content is favorable for microbial agent microorganism growth and reproduction to generate mycoprotein and accumulate fermentation products, the water content is too low, the material fermentation is slow, the water content is too high, the acid production is excessive, and animals are unwilling to eat.

(4) Fermenting step by step;

the fermentation step can further carry out staged fermentation treatment, and specifically comprises the following steps:

A. flatly spreading the uniformly stirred fermentation material in a tray or a fermentation tank, carrying out aerobic fermentation under the action of yeast, wherein the flatting thickness of the material is 6cm, the fermentation is carried out for 5d in a fermentation chamber with the humidity of 70% and the temperature of 30 ℃, the air inlet amount of each ton of cassava dregs to be fermented is 1.5m ^3/h, and the first-stage fermentation can be finished when the fermentation material is full of white hypha;

B. pouring the material full of white hypha into a closed fermentation cylinder from a tray or a fermentation tank, carrying out aerobic fermentation under the action of adding lactic acid bacteria, carrying out anaerobic fermentation at 35 ℃ for 4 days until fragrance escapes, and finishing the fermentation when the total amount of viable bacteria is measured to be more than 1 x 10^9 cfu/g.

The feed which is fully fermented can obviously increase the nutrient components of the feed, can be converted into various effective amino acid components with comprehensive nutrition which are necessary for animals, contains various viable beneficial microorganisms, and is beneficial to establishing the micro-ecological balance in the intestinal tracts of the animals, improving the immunity and promoting the absorption of the nutrient components.

(5) Discharging and feeding.

And the discharging step is specifically that after the fermentation is finished, the fermented feed is added with water and stirred into a dough, and the dough is extruded, granulated and formed for feeding.

Example 2

A cassava fermented chicken feed formula comprises the following components:

the cassava flour and the grain crop raw materials are mixed according to the weight ratio of 1: 1, mixing and adding zymophyte in proportion;

wherein the zymocyte accounts for 0.05 percent of the total weight.

Corn flour is selected as a raw material of the grain crops;

the fermentation bacteria comprise basic lactic acid bacteria, saccharomycetes and bacillus, microbial feed fermentation bacteria soluble powder with the effective viable count of more than or equal to 2 multiplied by 10^10cfu/g is selected, the microbial feed fermentation bacteria soluble powder is prepared by multi-strain step fermentation, grain crops of traditional coarse grain fermentation materials are replaced by high cassava ratio, and the economic benefit is improved while the feed quality is ensured.

A fermentation preparation method of a cassava fermentation chicken feed formula comprises the following process flows:

(1) activating treatment;

the activation treatment step specifically comprises the steps of firstly selecting 1kg of feed zymophyte, adding 25L of sterile water, controlling the water temperature at 35 ℃, adding 300 g of brown sugar or molasses, uniformly stirring and mixing, then activating for more than 4 hours, wherein obvious gas is generated and cell precipitates can be used, the brown sugar or molasses is used as a carbon source accounting for 80 percent, simultaneously adding 18 percent of nitrogen source, and the treatment effect is improved by activating the zymophyte to use the activated zymophyte.

(2) Crushing and curing;

the crushing and curing step is to crush the cassava flour and the grain crop raw materials and perform curing treatment, the grain crop raw materials and the crushed cassava flour are screened by a 2mm sieve, and the screened materials are matched with the zymophyte activation mixed liquid for standby, so that the materials can be conveniently crushed into powder and then fully fermented.

(3) Adding water and mixing uniformly;

the mixing step is to pour the screened material preparation and the zymocyte activation mixed solution into a stirrer to be uniformly stirred, the zymocyte activation mixed solution is added while stirring, the stirring speed is 30r/min, the mixing and stirring are carried out for 30min, water is further added to adjust the water content to 50% after the zymocyte activation mixed solution is added, then the fermentation is ready to be carried out, the proper water content is favorable for microbial agent microorganism growth and reproduction to generate mycoprotein and accumulate fermentation products, the water content is too low, the material fermentation is slow, the water content is too high, the acid production is excessive, and animals are unwilling to eat.

(4) Fermenting step by step;

the fermentation step can further carry out staged fermentation treatment, and specifically comprises the following steps:

A. flatly spreading the uniformly stirred fermentation material in a tray or a fermentation tank, carrying out aerobic fermentation under the action of yeast, wherein the flatting thickness of the material is 5cm, the fermentation is carried out for 4d in a fermentation chamber with the humidity of 60% and the temperature of 35 ℃, the air inlet amount of each ton of cassava residue to be fermented is 1m ^3/h, and the first-stage fermentation can be finished when the fermentation material is full of white hypha;

B. pouring the material full of white hypha into a closed fermentation cylinder from a tray or a fermentation tank, carrying out aerobic fermentation under the action of adding lactic acid bacteria, carrying out anaerobic fermentation at 40 ℃ for 3 days until fragrance escapes, and finishing the fermentation when the total amount of viable bacteria is measured to be more than 1 x 10^9 cfu/g.

The feed which is fully fermented can obviously increase the nutrient components of the feed, can be converted into various effective amino acid components with comprehensive nutrition which are necessary for animals, contains various viable beneficial microorganisms, and is beneficial to establishing the micro-ecological balance in the intestinal tracts of the animals, improving the immunity and promoting the absorption of the nutrient components.

(5) Discharging and feeding.

And the discharging step is specifically that after the fermentation is finished, the fermented feed is added with water and stirred into a dough, and the dough is extruded, granulated and formed for feeding.

Example 3

A cassava fermented chicken feed formula comprises the following components:

the cassava flour and the grain crop raw materials are mixed according to the weight ratio of 1: 1, mixing and adding zymophyte in proportion;

wherein the zymophyte accounts for no more than 0.8% of the total weight.

The grain crop raw materials are corn flour and bean pulp;

the fermentation bacteria comprise basic lactic acid bacteria, saccharomycetes and bacillus, microbial feed fermentation bacteria soluble powder with the effective viable count of more than or equal to 2 multiplied by 10^10cfu/g is selected, the microbial feed fermentation bacteria soluble powder is prepared by multi-strain step fermentation, grain crops of traditional coarse grain fermentation materials are replaced by high cassava ratio, and the economic benefit is improved while the feed quality is ensured.

A fermentation preparation method of a cassava fermentation chicken feed formula comprises the following process flows:

(1) activating treatment;

the activation treatment step specifically comprises the steps of firstly selecting 1kg of feed zymophyte, adding more than 30L of sterile water, controlling the water temperature at 35 ℃, adding 500 g of brown sugar or molasses, stirring and mixing uniformly, then carrying out activation for more than 4 hours, wherein obvious gas is generated and cell precipitates can be used, the brown sugar or molasses is used as a carbon source and accounts for 90%, and simultaneously adding 9% of nitrogen source, 1% of inorganic salt, biological growth hormone, calcium, phosphorus and other trace elements, and the treatment effect is improved by activating the zymophyte.

(2) Crushing and curing;

the crushing and curing step is to crush the cassava flour and the grain crop raw materials and perform curing treatment, the grain crop raw materials and the crushed cassava flour are screened by a 5mm sieve, and the screened materials are matched with the zymophyte activation mixed liquid for standby, so that the materials can be conveniently crushed into powder and then fully fermented.

(3) Adding water and mixing uniformly;

the mixing step specifically comprises the steps of pouring the screened material preparation and the zymocyte activation mixed solution into a stirrer to be uniformly stirred, adding the zymocyte activation mixed solution while stirring, wherein the stirring speed is 35r/min, uniformly stirring for 20min, further adding water to adjust the water content to 50% after the zymocyte activation mixed solution is added, and then preparing to be fermented.

(4) Fermenting step by step;

the fermentation step can further carry out staged fermentation treatment, and specifically comprises the following steps:

A. flatly spreading the uniformly stirred fermentation material in a tray or a fermentation tank, carrying out aerobic fermentation under the action of yeast, wherein the flatting thickness of the material is 8cm, the fermentation is carried out for 4d in a fermentation chamber with the humidity of 70% and the temperature of 35 ℃, the air inlet amount of each ton of cassava residue to be fermented is 2m ^3/h, and the first-stage fermentation can be finished when the fermentation material is full of white hypha;

B. pouring the material full of white hypha into a closed fermentation cylinder from a tray or a fermentation tank, carrying out aerobic fermentation under the action of adding lactic acid bacteria, carrying out anaerobic fermentation at 40 ℃ for 3 days until fragrance escapes, and finishing the fermentation when the total amount of viable bacteria is measured to be more than 1 x 10^9 cfu/g.

The feed which is fully fermented can obviously increase the nutrient components of the feed, can be converted into various effective amino acid components with comprehensive nutrition which are necessary for animals, contains various viable beneficial microorganisms, and is beneficial to establishing the micro-ecological balance in the intestinal tracts of the animals, improving the immunity and promoting the absorption of the nutrient components.

(5) Discharging and feeding.

And the discharging step is specifically that after the fermentation is finished, the fermented feed is added with water and stirred into a dough, and the dough is extruded, granulated and formed for feeding.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.