Fiber effects in nutrition and gut health in pigs

Dietary fiber is associated with impaired nutrient utilization and reduced net energy values. However, fiber has to be included in the diet to maintain normal physiological functions in the digestive tract. Moreover, the negative impact of dietary fiber will be determined by the fiber properties and may differ considerably between fiber sources. Various techniques can be applied to enhance nutritional value and utilization of available feed resources. In addition, the extent of fiber utilization is affected by the age of the pig and the pig breed. The use of potential prebiotic effects of dietary fiber is an attractive way to stimulate gut health and thereby minimize the use of anti-microbial growth promoters. Inclusion of soluble non-starch polysaccharides （NSP） in the diet can stimulate the growth of commensal gut microbes, inclusion of NSP from chicory results in changes in gut micro-environment and gut morphology of pigs, while growth performance remains unaffected and digestibility was only marginally reduced. The fermentation products and pH in digesta responded to diet type and were correlated with shifts in the microbiota. Interestingly, fiber intake will have an impact on the expression of intestinal epithelial heat-shock proteins in the pig. Heat-shock proteins have an important physiological role in the gut and carry out crucial housekeeping functions in order to maintain the mucosal barrier integrity. Thus, there are increasing evidence showing that fiber can have prebiotic effects in pigs due to interactions with the gut micro-environment and the gut associated immune system.     

Response of a Juvenile Cyprinid,Lake Minnow <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eupallasella perenurus</Emphasis> (Pallas), to Different Diets

Three commercial starters (Carp Starter, Uni Starter and Perla Plus) and one non-commercial, with frozen Chironomidae larvae as a reference diet, were evaluated for the intensive rearing of juvenile lake minnow Eupallasella perenurus, a cyprinid fish that is critically endangered in Poland. The growth, condition, survival, body deformities, and chemical body composition were studied. The 90-day laboratory experiment was performed at 22 °C with fish that were initially 24.6 mm (mean total lenth (TL)) and 0.11 g (mean body weight (BW)). Satisfactory fish growth was attained with all of the diets; however, the largest (p ≤ 0.05) final size (48.5 mm TL, 1.55 g BW) and the lowest condition coefficient (K = 1.34) were noted in fish fed the non-commercial starter. The final survival rates were very high (97.5–100%). Skeletal deformities (in 74 to 92% fish) were recorded exclusively in fish fed commercial starters. All commercial starters resulted in considerably higher lipid content and lower ash content than did the non-commercial starter and the reference diet. This suggests that both these factors might be responsible for body deformities. The present results proved that only the non-commercial starter is suitable for juvenile E. perenurus rearing under controlled condition, and that none of the commercial starters can be recommended.     

Rearing of coregonid fishes (Coregonidae) in illuminated lake cages: I. Growth and survival of Coregonus lavaretus L. and Coregonus peled Gmel.

The paper presents the results of rearing whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus L.) and peled (Coregonus peled Gmel.) in illuminated lake cages during a period of 4 years. In 3 successive years about 97 kg of summer coregonid fry were produced during initial 2-month rearing. Whitefish fry reached a length of 30.0–49.5 mm and an average individual weight of 201 mg–1 g. Peled fry reached 31.0–38.3 mm in length and 300–370 mg in weight. Whitefish survival rates amounted successively to 72.6% in 1977, 51.4% in 1978, and 3.1% in 1979. Survival rates for peled were 57.8%, 63.1% and 6%, respectively. Fishes at the age of 1+ and 2+ years showed high mortalities. Their growth rate was slower than in wild populations, and they did not attain sexual maturity.     

Constructed shallow zones along navigation canals: vegetation establishment and change in relation to environmental characteristics

An Erratum has been published for this article in Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 12(2), 2002, 251

• 1. In recent decades shallow zones have been constructed along navigation canals in the Netherlands which form a potential new habitat for aquatic macrophytes and helophytes absent from traditional canals.
• 2. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between the aquatic plant vegetation that becomes established and the physical and chemical characteristics of water and sediment, in order to find the determinants of species composition and the changes therein. Data were collected in 1998 and 1999 from 80 plots in bank zones at varying stages of development since construction along two navigation canals.
• 3. Plots 3–5 years old were partly dominated by rooting submerged macrophytes such as Potamogeton pectinatus, Elodea nuttallii and Potamogeton pusillus; locally non‐rooting species occurred such as Ceratophyllum demersum, Lemna minor and Spirodela polyrhiza. Older plots contained Phragmites australis, locally mixed with free‐floating species. Hydrological isolation from the eutrophic canals was indicated by the presence of Chara vulgaris.
• 4. Characteristics of both water layer and sediment could explain the variation in vegetation composition. Rooting submerged macrophytes predominantly occurred in sites with a thin (<2 cm) layer of sediment with relatively low concentrations of organic matter; moreover, ammonium concentrations in the water layer and sediment pore water were relatively low. Stands of non‐rooting macrophytes and of Phragmites australis were characterized by a relatively thick sediment layer and high ammonium levels in the pore water. Light limitation in turbid water, associated with navigation and eutrophication, may also play a role.
• 5. Although submerged aquatic macrophytes persist for a relatively short time, shallow zones nevertheless function as a habitat for helophyte communities and contribute to a higher aquatic biodiversity than is associated with traditional banks along navigation canals.

Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Action of Clathrodin and Analogues on Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels

Clathrodin is a marine alkaloid and believed to be a modulator of voltage-gated sodium (Na_V ) channels. Since there is an urgent need for small molecule Na_V channel ligands as novel therapeutics, clathrodin could represent an interesting lead compound. Therefore, clathrodin was reinvestigated for its potency and Na_V channel subtype selectivity. Clathrodin and its synthetic analogues were subjected to screening on a broad range of Na_V channel isoforms, both in voltage clamp and patch clamp conditions. Even though clathrodin was not found to exert any activity, some analogues were capable of modulating the Na_V channels, hereby validating the pyrrole-2-aminoimidazole alkaloid structure as a core structure for future small molecule-based Na_V channel modulators.     

Trait phenotyping and molecular marker characterization of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) germplasm from Western Himalayas

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the principal cereal crops grown in Western-Himalayas of India. A set of 105 barley&nbsp;genotypes including 38...     

Assessment of molecular genetic diversity of 384 chickpea genotypes and development of core set of 192 genotypes for chickpea improvement programs

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - Cicer arietinum L. (chickpea) is one of the most significant legume crops domesticated in the Fertile Crescent. This study was aimed to characterize a diverse...     

Bound water characteristics and microstructure evolution during uniaxial compression of mucky silty clay

Journal of Soils and Sediments - Compression studies can provide insights into evaluating the engineering potential and environmental impact of clay. The objective of this study was to...     

Dependence of colour and discolouration on total extractive content of African Padauk and Jatoba

This study is about relationships between total extractive contents, heartwood colour and light-induced discolourations of the tropical species African Padauk (Pterocarpus soyauxii Taub) and Jatoba (Hymenaea courbaril L.). Wood surface colour was measured spectrophotometrically before and after light irradiation. Subsequently, the total extractive content was determined and linked to the colour parameters. Total extractive content varied between 6 % (Jatoba) and 27 % (African Padauk). The fact that non-irradiated Jatoba appeared lighter and more yellow with higher extractives contents, opposed the often assumed relationship that more heartwood extractives cause darker wood. For light-irradiated Jatoba wood only the reddishness was more intense when samples had higher extractive content. In contrast, light-irradiated African Padauk showed significant differences in all colour parameters as extractives varied. High overall colour change in African Padauk due to light irradiation was observed; however, no relationship with the extractive content existed. In contrast, discolouration rate of Jatoba wood strongly varied with its extractive content. Individual wood species react differently during exposure to light and therefore require specific surface treatment to maintain the desired colour appearance and colour stability.     

Root-associated fungi of healthy-looking Pinus sylvestris and Picea abies seedlings in Swedish forest nurseries

The aim of this study was to assess fungal communities in roots of healthy-looking Pinus sylvestris L. and Picea abies (L.) Karst. seedlings in nine forest nurseries in Sweden using a combination of traditional culturing and direct sequencing of internal transcribed spacer of fungal ribosomal RNA (ITS rRNA) from the roots. Culturing from 1800 surface-sterilised root segments resulted in 2387 fungal cultures representing 42 different taxa. Direct sequencing from 180 root segments resulted in 119 ITS rRNA sequences representing 25 different taxa. In total, 55 different fungal taxa were detected using both methods. Although direct sequencing was more efficient than culturing in detecting different fungal taxa, both methods provided complementary information about fungal communities in roots since each detected rather different groups of fungi. The most dominant taxa detected by culturing were Trichoderma viride Pers. (19.5%), Phoma mucivora Davey & Currah (19.1%), Phialocephala fortinii Wang & Wilcox (17.4%) and Meliniomyces variabilis Hambl. & Sigler (10.2%), while Thelephora terrestris Ehrh. (26.1%), Unidentified sp. NS126 (25.2%) and Heliotales sp. C20 (10.1%) were most commonly detected by direct sequencing. In conclusion, results showed that forest nurseries in Sweden harbour diverse communities of fungi associated with the roots of healthy-looking P. sylvestris and P. abies seedlings. Although fungal communities were often dominated by saprotrophs and endophytes, several facultative pathogens were also detected indicating that under suitable conditions they may be a potential threat to the plants.