Ability of salmon growth hormone to accelerate somatic growth of juvenil abalone Haliotis discus hannai

ABSTRACT:   The ability of salmon growth hormone (sGH) to accelerate the somatic growth of juvenile abalone Haliotis discus hannai by immersion was examined. After immersion for one hour into a sGH-rich solution at a concentration of 30 mg/L, the sGH immunoreactivity in the body fluid of abalone was maximal after one day, and levels were still detectable at two days. No immunoreactivity was observed in the control group. Following immersion for one hour at one or two-week intervals for 120 weeks into the sGH-rich solution at 30 mg/L, the sGH-immersed abalone exhibited a significant increase in shell length and body weight. On the other hand, abalone immersed into a salmon prolactin (sPRL)-rich solution at 30 mg/L for one hour showed a lower increase in both shell length and body weight than the sGH-immersed abalone. No increases in shell length and body weight were observed in either the bovine serum albumin-immersed abalone or untreated controls. These results provide evidence that sGH can be transported from ambient water into the circulatory system of abalone, and can subsequently improve the somatic growth of juveniles.     

Effect of dietary supplementation with taurine, β-alanine andGABA on the growth of juvenile and fingerling Japanese flounder Paralichthysolivaceus

ABSTRACT:   Three diets supplemented with taurine, β-alanine andGABA and a control diet were fed to juvenile and fingerling Japaneseflounder to investigate the effects of the diets on growth and metabolicchanges of free amino acids in whole body and tissues. In experimentI, three diets supplemented with 1% each of taurine, β-alanineand GABA and a control diet were fed to juvenile Japanese flounderwith an initial mean body weight of 0.4 g for 4 weeks at20°C. In experiment II, the taurine-supplemented diet anda control diet were fed to fingerling Japanese flounder with an initialmean body weight of 15 g for 4 weeks at 20°C.Only supplementation of taurine in the diet of juvenile flounderimproved their growth performance in experiment I, but fingerlinggrowth performance of experiment II was not significantly relatedto taurine supplementation in the experimental diet. These resultssuggest that there is a greater requirement for taurine for thegrowth of juvenile Japanese flounder than fingerling Japanese flounder.     

Interactions between different genotypic tissues in citrus graft chimeras

The heritability of tolerance of wheat F₃ lines to competition from annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum), and its relationship to morphological traits, were determined using crosses between wheat cultivars with good and poor competitive ability. Forty F₂-derived F₃ lines from a cross between two late flowering varieties (Machete × Spear) and 40 from a cross between early flowering varieties (Wilgoyne × Gutha) were grown in the field with and without annual ryegrass. There was significant genetic variation between lines within each of the two populations in a number of aspects of plant growth and development, including yield in monoculture. The estimates of heritability for % yield loss due to competition were 0.25 and 0.57 in the two crosses respectively, indicating that selection for high tolerance to competition in the F₃ generation or later should be effective. Fairly strong relationships between height and % yield loss and between leaf length and % yield loss suggest that these may be useful auxiliary traits when selecting for low % yield loss. However, differences between crosses in the magnitude and sign of genetic and phenotypic correlation between traits indicate that competitive ability is a complex character influenced by many factors. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Amphidiploids between Cyclamen persicum Mill. and C. purpurascens Mill. induced by treating ovules with colchicine in vitro and sesquidiploids between the amphidiploid and the parental species induced by conventional crosses

Summary We cultured colchicine-treated hybrid ovules in vitro to produce fertile amphidiploids of C. persicum (2n=2x=48. referred to as AA) × C. purpurascens (2n=2x=34, referred to as BB). Seedlings and mature plants were obtained from the ovules without colchicine and those exposed to 50 mg/l colchicine for 5, 10 and 15 days, whereas they were not obtained from the ovules exposed to 50 mg/l colchicine for 20 days and 500 mg/l for 5, 10, 15 and 20 days. Although 8 mature hybrids derived from the ovules without colchicine produced a few fertile pollen grains, they failed to produce viable seeds by self-fertilization. The hybrids had 41 somatic chromosomes. Four and 3 mature plants were derived from ovules exposed to 50 mg/l colchicine for 10 and 15 days, respectively. One each among 4 and 3 mature plants showed a high frequency of pollen grain fertility, produced several seeds by self-fertilization, and had 82 somatic chromosomes which is twice the number of hybrid chromosomes (2n=41, AB). These findings indicated that these plants are amphidiploids (2n=82, AABB) between C. persicum and C. purpurascens. Three and 2 viable seeds were derived by the conventional crosses of diploid C. persicum × the amphidiploid and the amphidiploid × C. purpurascens, respectively. Flowering plants that developed from the seeds of diploid C. persicum × the amphidiploid were barely fertile and had 65 somatic chromosomes (2n=65, AAB), whereas those that developed from the seeds of the amphidiploid × C. purpurascens were barely fertile and had 58 somatic chromosomes (2n=58, ABB). The somatic chromosomes indicated that these plants are probably sesquidiploids between the amphidiploid and either C. persicum or C. purpurascens. The interspecific cross-breeding of cyclamen using the amphidiploids and the sesquidiploids is discussed.     

Effects of heating on the interaction of lipid and zein in a dry powder system

The effects of heat treatment on the interaction of lipid and zein in a dry powder system were investigated. Linolenic acid ethyl ester (LAE) was mixed with the zein powder. The glass transition temperature (T(g)) for the dry powder zein was shown to be approximately 107 degrees C by differential scanning calorimetry. The thermogram of the zein-LAE mixed powder showed an exothermic transition near the T(g) of zein. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy was used for detecting the structural changes in zein by heat treatment, that is, elevating the temperature from 25 to 160 degrees C. The heat treatment of the powdery zein with and without LAE caused increases in the alpha-helix, beta-turn, and beta-sheet, concomitant with decreases in the intermolecular hydrogen-bonded beta-sheet and random coil. Such changes in the secondary structure were more drastic for the powder with LAE. The heating of the zein-LAE mixed powder also caused decreases in the peaks originating from LAE in the FT-IR spectra. These results suggest that the heat treatment induced the interaction of the zein and LAE in the powdery system. The influence of heating on the antioxidative activity of dry powder zein was studied by measurements of the peroxide value. When zein-LAE mixed powder was heated before storage, the oxidation of LAE was inhibited for 7 days, whereas LAE was oxidized within 1 day in the absence of heat treatment.     

Effects of protein and peptide addition on lipid oxidation in powder model system

The effect of protein and peptide addition on the oxidation of eicosapentaenoic acid ethyl ester (EPE) encapsulated by maltodextrin (MD) was investigated. The encapsulated lipid (powder lipid) was prepared in two steps, i.e., mixing of EPE with MD solutions (+/- protein and peptides) to produce emulsions and freeze-drying of the resultant emulsions. EPE oxidation in MD powder progressed more rapidly in the humid state [relative humidity (RH) = 70%] than in the dry state (RH = 10%). The addition of soy protein, soy peptide, and gelatin peptides improved the oxidation stability of EPE encapsulated by MD, and the inhibition of lipid oxidation by the protein and the peptides was more dramatic in the humid state. Especially, the oxidation of EPE was almost perfectly suppressed when the lipid was encapsulated with MD + soy peptide during storage in the humid state for 7 days. Several physical properties such as the lipid particle size of the emulsions, the fraction of nonencapsulated lipids, scanning electron microscopy images of powder lipids, and the mobility of the MD matrix were investigated to find the modification of encapsulation behavior by the addition of the protein and peptides, but no significant change was observed. On the other hand, the protein and peptides exhibited a strong radical scavenging activity in the powder systems as well as in the solution systems. These results suggest that a chemical mechanism such as radical scavenging ability plays an important role in the suppression of EPE oxidation in MD powder by soy proteins, soy peptides, and gelatin peptides.     

Bow variation in kiln-dried boxed-heart square timber of sugi (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cryptomeria japonica</Emphasis>) cultivars

To evaluate the bow variation in boxed-heart square timber of sugi (Cryptomeria japonica), bows from kiln-dried timber for five sugi cultivars with different longitudinal shrinkage trends were compared for two stem heights. Two general trends were observed, depending on the cultivar: (1) either the bow was larger at the lower than at the upper part of the stem, or (2) the bows at the lower and the upper parts of the stem were similar. In timber that had larger bow values, the gradients of longitudinal shrinkage were large across the radius and along the length of the timber. There was a positive relationship between the bow and longitudinal shrinkage. These results suggest that the bow variation between the timbers was caused by a variation in longitudinal shrinkage, which was affected by the microfibril angle. Furthermore, the bow was inversely proportional to the modulus of elasticity, which suggests that timber with a low modulus of elasticity is susceptible to a large bow due to large longitudinal shrinkage.     

Naidid worms (Oligochaeta, Naididae) in paddy soils as affected by the application of legume mulch and/or tillage practice

Reproduction, intrinsic rate of natural increase and population density of naidid worms were investigated in submerged paddy fields and the laboratory. No tillage plus legume-mulching increased the population density of naidid worms. Soil treatments with neither tillage nor legume mulch, and tillage practice alone, did not increase the number of worms. Dero dorsalis Ferronnière was dominant in soil of the no-tillage treatment. In laboratory experiments, legume-mulching with the proper amount of dissolved O₂ accelerated asexual reproduction of D. dorsalis through zooid budding. For the legume and aeration treatment, (N_i+1-N_i) N_i^-1 values (where N_i and N_i+1 are the populations at times t=i and t=i+1) were plotted against N_i+1. Utilizing this linear relation, this data fitted the logistic curve (r²=0.885, P<0.05). Based on the linear relation, the intrinsic rate of natural increase (r), carrying capacity (K), and doubling time (T) were calculated as 0.2125 day^-1, 12,666 m^-2, and 3.26 days, respectively. The amounts of legumes applied were highly correlated with the population of D. dorsalis, indicating that the weight of legume is a limiting factor with respect to carrying capacity. A literature review indicated a significant correlation (P<0.01) between intrinsic rate of natural increase and maximum body length of naidids with temperature conversion of the growth rate. Sexually mature worms were rarely found in submerged paddy fields. Sexual reproduction seems to be adopted in response to soil desiccation after paddy field drainage.     

Trends of Air Pollution and Its Present Situation in Hiroshima Prefecture

The ambient concentration of SO₂, NOx and O_x in the atmosphere of Hiroshima, Fukuyama and Fuchu city which were monitored by the prefectural monitoring stations, are examined to give a picture of the typical air pollution at these sites. Results show that the yearly concentrations of SO₂ in these areas are significantly fall from 20 to 6 ppb during 1978–1996 when the NOx concentrations having no such significant change which varies from 40 to 30 ppb. The Photo-chemical Oxidant (Ox) increases annually at the rate of 0.3 ppb to 0.6 ppb in Hiroshima city only. To know the present situation of air pollution the Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) system is used in the city of Higashi Hiroshima. The daily average concentrations of SO₂, NO₂, O₃ and HONO measured during the period of August 1999 to March 2000 ranged from 1.4 ppb to 2.8 ppb, 13 ppb to 26.9 ppb, 21 ppb to 53.6 ppb and 1 ppb to 4.3 ppb respectively. The patterns of concentrations of NO₂ and O₃ measured by DOAS look similar to the seasonal patterns of NOx and Ox by the conventional system.