The variation in hectolitre weight of wheat grain fed with or without enzyme supplementation influences nutrient digestibility and subsequently affects performance in pigs

A 2 × 2 factorial experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of feeding a wheat‐based diet of two different hectolitre weights (66 vs. 74 kg/hl), achieved through different agronomical conditions, with or without the supplementation of a β‐glucanase and β‐xylanase enzyme mix on young pigs. The parameter categories which were assessed included growth performance, coefficient of apparent total tract digestibility (CATTD), faecal consistency, faecal microbial populations and faecal volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations. Sixty‐four pigs (11.6 kg SD 0.97) were assigned to one of four dietary treatments: (T1) low hectolitre weight wheat diet, (T2) low hectolitre weight wheat diet containing 0.1 g/kg β‐glucanase and β‐xylanase enzyme supplement, (T3) high hectolitre weight wheat diet and (T4) high hectolitre weight wheat diet containing 0.1 g/kg β‐glucanase and β‐xylanase enzyme supplement. The inclusion of wheat was 500 g/kg in the diet. The low hectolitre weight grain had a higher level of zearalenone, aflatoxin and ochratoxin contamination compared to the high hectolitre weight grain. The high hectolitre weight wheat had a higher gross energy (GE), crude protein (CP) and lysine contents compared to the low hectolitre weight wheat. Pigs offered the low hectolitre weight diet had a lower average daily gain (ADG) (p < 0.001), a lower gain to feed (G:F) ratio (p < 0.001) and a higher faecal score (more diarrhoea) (p < 0.001) compared to pigs offered the high hectolitre weight. The low hectolitre weight diet had a reduced CATTD (p < 0.05) of nitrogen (N) and gross energy (GE) compared with pigs offered the high hectolitre weight diet. In conclusion, the higher level of mycotoxins and lower content of GE, CP and lysine in the low‐quality wheat reduced ADG and the CATTD of nutrients in pigs offered this diet. The inclusion of a β‐glucanase and β‐xylanase enzyme mix had no effect on growth performance or nutrient digestibility.     

Ascorbic acid–cyclodextrin complex alters the expression of genes associated with lipid metabolism in bovine in vitro produced embryos

Ascorbic acid (AC) used as antioxidant in embryo culture is very sensitive and degrades unavoidably in aqueous solution. Methyl‐β‐cyclodextrin (CD) improved the stability of AC in solution to elevated temperature, light, humidity and oxidation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the complex AC‐CD during in vitro maturation (IVM) or in vitro culture (IVC) on oocyte developmental competence and subsequent embryo development and quality. AC‐CD (100 µM) was added to IVM media, and maturation level and embryo development were examined. Matured oocytes, their cumulus cells and produced blastocysts were snap‐frozen for gene expression analysis by RT‐qPCR. Besides, in vitro‐produced zygotes were cultured with 100 µM of AC‐CD and blastocysts were as well snap‐frozen for gene expression analysis. A group without AC‐CD (control^?) and other with CD (control⁺) were included. No differences were found on maturation, cleavage or blastocyst rates. However, in matured oocytes, AC‐CD downregulated BAX, GPX1 and BMP15. In cumulus cells, AC‐CD downregulated BAX/BCL2 and GSTA4 while upregulated BCL2 and CYP51A1. The expression of SL2A1, FADS1, PNPLA and MTORC1 was downregulated in blastocysts derived from oocytes matured with AC‐CD, while in blastocysts derived from zygote cultured with AC‐CD, CYP51A1 and IGF2R were downregulated and PNPLA2 was upregulated. In conclusion, AC‐CD in both IVM and IVC media may reduce accumulated fat by increasing lipolysis and suppressing lipogenesis in blastocysts derived from both oocytes and zygotes cultured with AC‐CD, suggesting that CD improves the quality of embryos and bioavailability of AC during IVM and IVC.     

Morphology of alpaca (Vicugna pacos) embryos in the first third of pregnancy

The breeding of South American camelids is the main economic activity of the high Andean region of South America and it, is potentially, the most profitable resource in of the Puna environmental conditions of the Puna. The duration of the gestation in alpaca is 339.7 ± 12 days. The objective of the present work was to macroscopically and microscopically describe the ontogenic development of the splanchnic cavities of the alpaca and to determine the gestational time in which the post‐cranial ossification centers are observed in the embryos/fetuses of this species, from day 21 to 107 of gestation. The documentation of normal ontogenic development, which is vacant for this period, is of the utmost importance to understand the consequences of the alterations at the different gestational times, as well as for the estimation of the gestational age in the case of abortions. Forty‐seven alpaca specimens of both sexes, at different times of their gestational development, collected during slaughter at local slaughterhouses of the Department of Huancavelica, Peru, were evaluated. Specimens were assigned to seven groups according to their morphological characteristics. The embryogenesis in the alpaca was characterized by a series of changes comparable to those occurring in other mammals with similar gestational periods. Despite these similarities, species differences were found in some organs as stomach, which are observed too in adult individuals.     

Effect of Annual Amendments of Compost on Nitrate Leaching in Nursery Stock

Municipal solid waste (MSW) compost was applied at rates of 56 and 112 t/ha (incorporated) and 224 t/ha (mulch) to mitigate topsoil loss in nursery stock production. In two years, nitrate concentrations in ground water beneath all plots remained below 10 ppm with no significant differences between treatments.

In another experiment, nitrate in ground water was measured beneath a high coductive sandy terrace soil amended with a variety of composts. In one experiment, spent mushroom compost (SMC) and chicken manure compost (CMC) were applied yearly at rates of 56 and 112 t/ha to provide all the fertilizer requirements for intensive vegetable production. Nitrate concentrations in ground water beneath all compost-amended plots remained below 10 ppm during the three-year study, while concentrations beneath the fertilized control reached 14.7 ppm in an unusually wet spring. After heavy rains, control plots were more susceptible to nitrate leaching than compost-amended plots in the first two years of the study. The overall mean of the control (4.2 ppm) was significantly higher than all the other compost amended plots except SMC amended at 56 t/ha (3.4 ppm). Nitrate concentrations in ground water from CMC plots amended at 112 t/ha peaked at 9.2 ppm after three consecutive years of compost application suggesting a cumulative effect which was substantiated by soil analysis.

The first experiment is described below. Results of the second experiment were previously presented in Compost Science & Utilization (“Nitrate Leaching From Compost Amended Soils” (1993) Vol 1, No. 2, 65-72).     

Seventy Years of Research on Waste Composting and Utilization at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station

? The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven, established in 1875, is the oldest Experiment Station in the nation. Among the many contributions made by scientists at the Station, the development of hybrid corn by Donald F. Jones, and the discovery of vitamins by Thomas B. Osborne stand as hallmarks of science that have received much attention. Since the early 1920's, two issues have been studied in great detail at this Station; maintenance of soil fertility in New England's nutrient impoverished soil and disposal of agricultural and domestic wastes. Since the solutions to these problems are intertwined, the Station has been examining the time honored custom of returning wastes to soil to improve crop production. Even before the current rejuvenation of composting as an option in waste management, the Station expended considerable effort in composting research and its utilization in agriculture. This is a historical review of these efforts.     

Cumulative Effect of Leaf Compost on Yield And Size Distribution in Onions

For three years, a one inch layer of leaf compost was applied to plots on a sandy terrace soil in Windsor, Connecticut and fertilized with 1300 lb 10-10-10/A (N-P₂O₅-K₂O). Yields of four cultivars of onions (Allium cepa L.) (3 Spanish, 1 storage) from these plots were compared to yields from unamended control plots fertilized at the same rate. Year to year variability in yields was significantly lower in compost-amended plots. Yields from the unamended control plots (52% variation) fluctuated more than the compost-amended plots (3% variation) in response to variable rainfall from year to year. After three years of compost additions, yields from the compost-amended plots of the three Spanish onion cultivars were significantly greater than yields of these cultivars grown in unamended plots. The greater yields were due to both increased bulb weight and greater percent harvested. In two of three years, the compost-amended plots produced a greater percentage of colossal and jumbo sized onions in all cultivars. Repeated compost additions also reduced the incidence of soft rot disease, especially in susceptible cultivars in years with higher than average precipitation.     

Secondary metabolites from Senecio minutus and Senecio boissieri: a new jacaranone derivative.

Jacaranone (1), the related new dimethoxy derivative 2, and known triterpenoids were isolated from the aerial parts of Senecio minutus. The aerial parts and the rhizomes of Senecio boissieri afforded the furanoeremophilanes 3 and 4 and known triterpenoids.     

Photosynthetic capacity of leaves of Eucalyptus globulus (Labill.) growing in the field with different nutrient and water supplies

A technique was tested for obtaining water relations parameters from individual fascicles of loblolly pine needles by the pressure-volume curve method. Comparisons were made between parameters derived from (1) individual fascicles that were rehydrated in a pressure chamber after being removed from the shoot and (2) fascicles that were rehydrated on the shoot. Estimates of tissue osmotic potential for needles rehydrated by the two methods were significantly different for needles from terminal shoots, but not significantly different for needles from lateral shoots. Similarly, a significant difference in the estimated tissue elasticity at zero water potential was noted for needles on terminal shoots, but not for those on lateral shoots. It is suggested that differences due to rehydration method are related to the duration of the rehydration period and not the choice of technique. The use of fascicles of needles, rehydrated after detachment, allows repeated estimation of the tissue water relations of a single conifer shoot.     

Modeling Landscape‐scale Erosion Potential Related to Vehicle Disturbances Along the USA–Mexico Border

Decades of intensive off‐road vehicle use for border security, immigration, smuggling, recreation, and military training along the USA–Mexico border have prompted concerns about long‐term human impacts on sensitive desert ecosystems. To help managers identify areas susceptible to soil erosion from anthropogenic activities, we developed a series of erosion potential models based on factors from the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). To better express the vulnerability of soils to human disturbances, we refined two factors whose categorical and spatial representations limit the application of the USLE for non‐agricultural landscapes: the C‐factor (vegetation cover) and the P‐factor (support practice/management). A soil compaction index (P‐factor) was calculated as the difference in saturated hydrologic conductivity (K_s) between disturbed and undisturbed soils, which was then scaled up to maps of vehicle disturbances digitized from aerial photography. The C‐factor was improved using a satellite‐based vegetation index, which was better correlated with estimated ground cover (r² = 0·77) than data derived from land cover (r² = 0·06). We identified 9,780 km of unauthorized off‐road tracks in the 2,800‐km² study area. Maps of these disturbances, when integrated with soil compaction data using the USLE, provided landscape‐scale information on areas vulnerable to erosion from both natural processes and human activities and are detailed enough for adaptive management and restoration planning. The models revealed erosion potential hotspots adjacent to the border and within areas managed as critical habitat for the threatened flat‐tailed horned lizard and endangered Sonoran pronghorn. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.