A reliable and sensitive immunoassay for the determination of crustacean protein in processed foods

Among food allergens, crustacea such as shrimps, crabs, and lobsters are a frequent cause of adverse food reactions in allergic patients. The major allergen has been identified as a muscular protein, tropomyosin. A novel sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection and quantification of crustacean protein in processed foods was developed using the sample dilution buffer that is added to porcine tropomyosin. The sandwich ELISA method was highly specific for the Decapoda group, apart from minor cross-reactivities to other crustacea and mollusks. The recovery ranged from 85 to 141%, while the intra- and interassay coefficients of variation were less than 2.8 and 8.4%, respectively.     

有限供水条件下旱地春小麦水分的高效利用

全球气候变化最令人担忧的问题是干旱,而水分又是影响小麦产量的重要因素之一,农田水分的管理与有效利用已经受到人们的高度重视。作者以春小麦为实验材料,采用盆栽和小区试验相结合的方法,针对黄土高原半干旱地区的有限水分环境,研究了有限供水的高效利用问题。盆栽条件下,采用3种肥力水平与拔节期、孕穗期和灌浆期有限供水组合处理。对生长发育、产量构成和水分利用效率等指标测定的结果表明,施肥可以显著增大叶面积,促进根系生长,提高子粒产量;而施肥条件下,拔节期有限供水能够显著增加穗粒数和粒重。小区试验结果表明,满足春小麦最大产量所需的灌水量约为200mm,获得作物水分利用效率最高时的适宜灌水量约为100mm,而拔节期60mm的灌水量可以使灌水利用效率接近最大值。拔节期60mm灌水条件下,耗水量、作物水分利用效率和灌水利用效率同步增长,同时土壤的贮存水也得到了有效利用。根据以上结果可得出:在黄土高原缺水地区,春小麦有限灌溉的适宜灌水量下限应不低于60mm,一次性补充灌溉的最佳时期为拔节期     

Modification and application of a soil ATP determination method

Accurate estimation of microbial adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) is a pre-requisite to quantify the impact of varying environments on microbial activity of soil. We investigated the effectiveness of a high efficiency soil ATP determination method (PA) [Webster, J.J., Hampton, G.J., Leach, F.R., 1984. ATP in soil: a new extractant and extraction procedure. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 4, 335-342] in 10 Ontario (Canada) soils collected along a 100 m transect and spanning a textural class gradient ranging from a sandy loam to clay loam with increasing organic matter. Modifications of the method involved using an extract of autoclaved soil to make the standard curve, as it was found that the light emitted by ATP luciferin-luciferase bioluminescence reaction in the pure extractant was different from that in the extracts. Replacing Tricine with Tris buffer in the assay significantly improved the light emission. On an average, the internal standard calibration method (ISM) measured a smaller amount of extracted ATP (1199 ng ATP g⁻¹ soil) and a lower recovery of ATP spike (82.4±7.2%) than did the standard curve method (SCM) (1246 ng ATP g⁻¹ soil and 91.2±4.5%, respectively) (P<0.05 for both comparisons). However, the average total estimated ATP was higher with ISM (1474±102 ng ATP g⁻¹ soil) than with SCM (1373±88 ng ATP g⁻¹ soil) (P<0.07). While the recovery rates determined using SCM were consistent among the soils tested, the rates measured using ISM was negatively correlated with soil clay and organic matter content, implying that the latter assay was affected by the soil properties. Our results confirmed that the recovery rates obtained by the PA method were the highest among those reported, when only SCM was used.     

Can ATP be measured in soils treated with industrial oily waste?

Soil samples were collected from a field with a long‐term (10 yr) oily wastewater application history, containing 70 mg g^–1 of oil and grease and an accumulation of heavy metals, and also from a short‐term (1 yr) wastewater application involving different rates of waste, tillage, and nitrogen (N) fertilization. Prior to ATP extraction, the soils were incubated at 22 °C and a water potential of –60 kPa for 21 d and 2 d for the long‐ and short‐term trials, respectively. The light emitted from the bioluminescence reaction was partly quenched in the extract of steam‐sterilized long‐term waste‐treated soil, and curvilinearly responded to the addition of ATP at concentrations higher than 4 ng ATP per assay in contrast to the linear response from the pure extractant and the extract of control soil. Calibration curves developed from the extracts of steam‐sterilized soils were used for calculating ATP in that given soil. ATP determined in the long‐term treated soil was as high as 3201 ng (g soil)^–1. Still, residual oil to ATP concentration ratio was about an order of magnitude higher in the long‐ than in the short‐term waste‐treated soil, reflecting the accumulation of recalcitrant material. In the short‐term treated soils, ATP ranged from 355 to 760 ng (g soil)^–1 and responded to the rate of waste application, tillage, and fertilization. The use of ATP measurement has potential for assessing land management effects and developing tillage and fertilization recommendations for enhanced biodegradation of the oil waste.     

Efficiency parameters of nitrogen in hog and cattle manure in the second year following application

The efficiency of nitrogen (N) derived from different manures in the years following application must be determined to optimize use of N and reduce impact on the environment. Five N efficiency parameters that were originally developed for commercial inorganic N fertilizers were selected to measure the manure N efficiency in the second year following application of liquid hog and solid cattle manure in semiarid east‐central Saskatchewan, Canada. The manures were applied at two sites (Dixon and Burr) at four rates covering a range from zero to 912 kg N ha^–1 in 1997. A canola (Brassica napus L.) crop was grown in 1997 followed by a spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in 1998 without fertilization. Tested by the wheat, N utilization efficiency (NUE) was similar between the two manures at either site, but it was higher at Dixon site, where the soil properties were better, than at the Burr site (P < 0.07) with cattle manure. Nitrogen physiological efficiency (NPE) was not affected by either manure source or soil. At the Burr site, N agronomic efficiency (NAE) and N recovery rate (NRR) were all higher with the hog than with the cattle manure (P < 0.08 and P < 0.07, respectively), but N harvest index (NHI) was lower with the hog than with the cattle manure (P < 0.04). The similar trends of the NAE, NRR, and NHI between the hog and cattle manure were also found at the Dixon site. However, the differences in NRR between the hog and cattle manure in the second year was rather small in contrast to the large differences in the year of application. Despite that the wheat crop utilized residual hog and cattle manure N equally efficient in producing grain yield, a higher grain N concentration and a higher NHI with the cattle than with the hog manure revealed different N supply dynamics between the two. Possibly due to the low proportion of ammonium (NH₃)‐N in the total N and the high C : N ratio in the cattle manure, mineralization of cattle manure N provided more available N in the later stage of wheat growth than did the hog manure. The N efficiency parameters were useful tools in understanding the impact of residual manure N on wheat production on the Canadian prairies.     

Cleaning procedures and cleanliness assessments of bucket milkers and suckling buckets on Japanese dairy farms

Cleanliness of milking equipment is known to be important for the safety of dairy products and to prevent the spread of diseases among cows. We investigated the cleaning procedures of milking equipment and suckling equipment on Japanese dairy farms, and the cleanliness of bucket milkers, suckling buckets, milk receivers, and bulk tanks, using adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence test. Bulk tanks (except one bulk tank) and milk receivers were washed by automated cleaning, but all bucket milkers and suckling buckets were washed by manual cleaning. Detergents were often not used to clean bucket milkers and suckling buckets. The log₁₀ transformed relative luminescence units (LRLU) of equipment washed by manual cleaning was higher than equipment washed by automated cleaning. Clean surfaces (≤2.2 LRLU) were only observed on the bulk tank and the milk receiver. More than 50% of the LRLU of the mouthpiece, the rubber packing of claw, and the nipple of the suckling bucket were determined dirty. These results suggest that the cleanliness of the bucket milkers and the suckling buckets washed by manual cleaning was lower than that of the equipment washed by automated cleaning, and may be due to insufficient cleaning procedures.     

Impact of pesticide seed treatments on aphid control and yield of wheat in the Sudan

Mixtures of imidacloprid and tebuconazole, were evaluated for three consecutive growing seasons, to determine the effects on plant stand, aphid control and wheat grain yield. At rates of 1.05/0.04 and 0.7/0.04 g a.i of pesticide, respectively, per kg of seeds, plant stand per unit area increased compared with their respective untreated control. Both rates of imidacloprid efficiently controlled the maize aphid (Melanaphis maidis) and suppressed the green bug (Schizaphis graminum) for 6–8 weeks after sowing. There were substantial differences among the different treatments in the number of grains/ear and the 1000-grain weight. These differences were reflected in 90% and 30% average increase in the total grain yield of the wheat crop raised from seeds treated with the mixture relative to the corresponding untreated control and a standard mixture of lindane plus thiram, respectively. This strategy of using imidacloprid as seed dressing allowed easy application, gave adequate reliable control of aphids and less hazardous to the environment.     

The draft genome of Ciona intestinalis: insights into chordate and vertebrate origins

The first chordates appear in the fossil record at the time of the Cambrian explosion, nearly 550 million years ago. The modern ascidian tadpole represents a plausible approximation to these ancestral chordates. To illuminate the origins of chordate and vertebrates, we generated a draft of the protein-coding portion of the genome of the most studied ascidian, Ciona intestinalis. The Ciona genome contains approximately 16,000 protein-coding genes, similar to the number in other invertebrates, but only half that found in vertebrates. Vertebrate gene families are typically found in simplified form in Ciona, suggesting that ascidians contain the basic ancestral complement of genes involved in cell signaling and development. The ascidian genome has also acquired a number of lineage-specific innovations, including a group of genes engaged in cellulose metabolism that are related to those in bacteria and fungi.     

Growth,transpiration, root‐born cytokinins and gibberellins,and nutrient compositional changes in sesame exposed to low root‐zone temperature under different ratios of nitrate: Ammonium supply

The growth of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) was studied at three root temperature regimes (25/25, 20/10 and 15/15°C day/night) factorially combined with three NO₃ ^‐: NH₄ ⁺ ratios (mM ratios, 10:0, 8:2, or 6:4), as a source of nitrogen (N), in the irrigation solution. The air temperature was kept constant at 30°C. Transpiration, nutrient composition, and level of root‐born cytokinins and gibberellins in the xylem exudate were monitored. The two low root temperature regimes, 15/15 and 20/10°C, restricted the growth of sesame, reduced transpiration and increased the accumulation of soluble carbohydrates in the shoot and in the roots compared to the 25/25°C regime. The NO₃:NH₄ ⁺ ratios had no effect on growth. Nutrient contents in the shoot at low root temperatures, particularly K⁺, NO₃ ^‐, and H₂PO₄ ^‐ were decreased markedly, but Na⁺ increased relative to it's content in the 25/25°C regime. Increasing NH₄ ⁺ proportion in the irrigation solution raised total N concentration in the plant tissues at all root temperatures. The amounts of cytokinins and gibberellins in the xylem exudate decreased at the low root temperature regimes relative to the 25/25°C regime. Low root temperature reduced xylem transport of nutrients and root born‐phytohormones, most probably because of reduced water flow through the plant relative to the 25/25°C regime.