A common variant in the FTO gene is associated with body mass index and predisposes to childhood and adult obesity

Obesity is a serious international health problem that increases the risk of several common diseases. The genetic factors predisposing to obesity are poorly understood. A genome-wide search for type 2 diabetes-susceptibility genes identified a common variant in the FTO (fat mass and obesity associated) gene that predisposes to diabetes through an effect on body mass index (BMI). An additive association of the variant with BMI was replicated in 13 cohorts with 38,759 participants. The 16% of adults who are homozygous for the risk allele weighed about 3 kilograms more and had 1.67-fold increased odds of obesity when compared with those not inheriting a risk allele. This association was observed from age 7 years upward and reflects a specific increase in fat mass.     

An unusual lightning flash at kennedy space center

A lightning flash that struck the 150-meter weather tower at Kennedy Space Center was studied by several research groups using varioul techniques. The flash had unusually large peak currents and a stepped leader of relatively short duration. The charged regions neutralized by the three return strokes were located within a horizontal layer between heights of about 6 and 8 kilometers, where environmental temperatures were about -10 degrees to -20 degrees C. The charge source for the first return stroke coincided with a vertical shaft of precipitation inferred to have been graupel or hail. Charge sources for subsequent strokes were near the edge of the detectable precipitation echo. The overall channel length was about 10 kilometers. A Vertically oriented intracloud discharge occurred after the three return strokes.     

Physiological Response of Normal Adult Horses to a Low-Residue Liquid Diet

The anorexic or dysphagic adult horse often requires nutritional support. Providing nutrients by the enteral route is the safest and most economic choice, but the dietary options available for use in horses are somewhat limited. The objective of this study was to compare the physiologic response of normal horses with a low-residue liquid or normal diet over a 10-day feeding period. Two groups of 6 normal adult horses were maintained on 1 of 2 diets for a 10-day period. Diets were formulated to meet the caloric needs of a horse maintained in a stall. The control group was fed 70% timothy hay and 30% textured concentrate for the test period, and the experimental group received the low-residue liquid diet, similar to liquid nutritional formulas designed for human use. Clinical parameters, body weight, packed cell volume, total plasma solids, blood glucose, and serum electrolytes were recorded daily for each horse during the dietary trial period. On days 1, 5, and 10 of the study, a complete blood count, serum biochemical profile, and urinalysis were performed.Horses' serum total bilirubin concentration and pattern of weight loss differed between groups. All other physical parameters, blood chemistry, complete blood count, and urinalysis results remained within the normal reference interval for the horses regardless of diet, although some statistical differences were observed. Horses returned to pasture and free-choice grass diet without complications at the end of the dietary trial period. These results demonstrate that few differences of biologic significance were observed between horses being fed low-residue diet and horses receiving a normal diet of hay and grain over a 10-day period. (Equine Vet J 2003;23:310–317)     

The thiamin deficiency signs and requirement of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri,Richardson)

Four growth studies were conducted to determine the signs, biochemical indices and histopathology of a thiamin deficiency and the thiamin requirement of young rainbow trout reared at 15°C on a semi-purified test diet. The major overt signs of a thiamin deficiency in rainbow trout are predominantly neurological: irritability and instability. Other signs include convulsions, feed refusal, dark pigmentation and finally mortalities. Growth reduction in the thiamin deficient trout appear to result from anorexia or feed refusal and not specifically to a thiamin deficiency. Although there were prominant neurological signs in the thiamin deficient trout, there were no histopathological signs in any tissues of the trout, including the brain and central nervous system, examined by light microscopic techniques. The tissue transketolase activity would appear to be a sensitive and specific indicator of the thiamin status in the trout. In addition, the levels of plasma lactate and serum pyruvate are also elevated in thiamin deficient trout. On the basis of the growth parameters, absence of deficiency signs and kidney and liver transketolase activity, the thiamin requirement of rainbow trout reared at 15°C on a semi-purified test diet is 1 mg/kg feed.     

Xylazine

Extract

The veterinary medicine xylazine, used as a sedative particularly in deer velveting operations, is periodically the subject of enquiry to staff at the National Poisons and Hazardous Chemicals Information Centre (NPHCIC). Most commonly the questions relate to its toxicity to humans and possible antidotes; more recently we have been asked to comment on emergency management protocols in the event of accidental self-injection.     

Multiplex species-specific PCR identification of native and non-native oysters (Crassostrea) in Brazil: a useful tool for application in oyster culture and stock management

In an effort to develop molecular tools for oyster identification, this study reveals the usefulness of a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the reliable, rapid and low-cost identification of the four oyster species found along the Brazilian coast: Crassostrea gasar, Crassostrea rhizophorae, Crassostrea gigas and Crassostrea sp. Canela originally found at Pará, Brazil. In order to perform a simultaneous identification of these species, we used a set of five primers developed and adapted from the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) fragments, respectively. Amplification was successful in all four species and PCR products were visualized in agarose gel. A single reaction was capable of distinguishing between the species: C. gigas, with two fragments (236 bp for COI and 718 bp for ITS1); C. gasar, with one fragment (718 bp for ITS1); Crassostrea sp., with one fragment (621 bp for ITS1) and C. rhizophorae with two fragments (377 bp for COI and 718 bp for ITS1). This molecular approach provides a simple and rapid identification of the oyster species from the Brazilian coast, thus increasing the efficient and quality of oyster culture programs by reducing the risk of wrong species identification.     

Economic evaluation of a stratified transport method for Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) juveniles

The objective of this study was to evaluate a convenient, low-cost modification to conventional transfer methods for Atlantic halibut juveniles. A series of wire mesh cages were stacked within transport tanks creating a stratified transport system (STS), increasing the surface area for settlement and facilitating a more homogeneous distribution of halibut throughout the tank compared with the conventional insulated box (Unstructured, UTS). A stochastic cost-benefit analysis determined investment into a STS to be cost-effective, generating a mean benefit-cost ratio of 1.31 (95% CI, 0.68?C2.00) after 2?years and a mean 5-year net present value of $85,176 (95% CI, $46,906?C$125,630). The implementation of a STS was found to be technically feasible and economically efficient method to improve Atlantic halibut transport.     

Isolation and characterization of EMS-induced Dy10 and Ax1 high molecular weight glutenin subunit deficient mutant lines of elite hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cv. Summit

The mixing properties of the dough are critical in the production of bread and other food products derived from wheat. The high molecular weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS) are major determinants of wheat dough processing qualities. The different alleles of the HMW-GS genes in hexaploid wheat vary in their effect on dough quality. To determine the contribution of the individual HMW-GS alleles, lines deficient in HMW-GS proteins were generated by chemical mutagenesis in the elite bread wheat Triticum aestivum cv. Summit. In this report we describe the identification and characterization of Dy10 and Ax1 deficient lines. Examination of the effect of Dy10 and Ax1 deficiency on dough rheological properties by mixography showed shorter mixing time to reach peak resistance, and weaker and less extensible doughs relative to the wild type control. This is the first time that the role of Dy10 in vivo has been examined apart from the Dx5 + Dy10 allelic pair combination.     

The impact of soil structure on the establishment of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum)

Soil physical properties affect the establishment of crops; these properties are influenced by cultivation employed during seedbed preparation and vary greatly depending upon the intensity of cultivations. However, there is little quantified data concerning the influence of cultivation on the precise soil structural arrangement of the seedbed and the effects of this on crop establishment. The dynamics of soil structure at the meso-scale (10–1000 μm), on a range of seedbeds and how they relate to crop establishment are considered in this paper. Significant interactions between cultivation techniques including soil structural properties and the interaction with crop establishment were identified. The relationship between soil structure and crop establishment was highly significant, with increased pore space reducing final establishment numbers. An improvement to a previous model (soil quality of establishment (SQE)) was developed following the addition of soil structural properties, accounting for an improved predictability of 14% of the variation across soil texture (sandy loam and clay loam) from ca. 56% to ca. 70%.