The effect of dose and concentration on D-xylose absorption in healthy,immature dogs

Nine combinations of dosages and concentrations of D-xylose were given orally to eight clinically normal, immature dogs. The concentrations and dosages of D-xylose consisted of 5%, 10%, and 20% at 250 mg/kg, 500 mg/kg, and 750 mg/kg. Serum samples were collected at 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 180 minutes. Serum xylose was quantitated using the phloroglucinol microassay technique. A peak in serum xylose concentration was seen for each treatment combination at 60 or 90 minutes after dosing. The dosage effect was important in influencing serum xylose values (P < 0.0001). As the test solution dosages increased from 250 mg/kg to 500 mg/kg and 750 mg/kg, serum xylose values (when dosage was analyzed over the length of the entire test) rose linearly (R(2) = 0.98). The treatment combinations of 5% and 20% xylose solutions dosed at 750 mg/kg produced the highest serum xylose values at the 60- and 90-minute peak intervals. The independent effect of concentration was significant (p < 0.001) but was overridden by the stronger dosage effect. Serum xylose concentrations varied little statistically (p > 0.05) when the 5%, 10%, and 20% solutions were compared at a specific dosage.     

Relationship between energy and protein intakes and laying characteristics in individually‐caged broiler breeder hens

1. Individually‐caged broiler hens, which had been reared on an advised rationing programme, were fed allowances of 1.88, 1.61, 1.32 or 1.13 MJ apparent metabolisable energy/bird d at four different protein intakes (27, 23, 19.5 or 16.5 g crude protein per bird d) from 21 to 60 weeks of age.

2. Age at first egg, body‐weight gain and egg production were affected by energy allowance. Birds on the lower energy allowances came into lay later than birds on the higher energy allowances and at a lower body weight.

3. Body‐weight gain decreased with decreasing energy allowance. The decrease in egg output in response to decreasing energy allowance resulted from more birds ceasing to lay and fewer birds laying on more than 3 d per week. Similar changes in the distribution of rates of lay were observed on each treatment as the flock aged.

4. The relationship between body‐weight gain and egg number on each treatment was negative from 21 to 36 weeks, but became less consistent with age.

5. Protein intake had little effect on body weight. At the lowest energy allowance, egg number and egg weight decreased with increasing protein allowance. This effect was not observed on the higher energy allowances.     

Effects of energy and protein allowances during lay on the reproductive performance of broiler breeder hens

1. Broiler parent stock were fed daily allowances of 1.88, 1.73 or 1.52 MJ apparent metabolisable energy (AME) per bird at two different daily protein intakes (27, 21.3 g crude protein (CP) per bird) or daily protein intakes of 24.6 and 19.4 g CP per bird at a daily energy intake of 1.88 MJ AME per bird from 21 to 64 weeks of age.

2. Body‐weight gain and carcass fat and water content increased and fertility decreased with increasing energy allowance. Maximum egg production occurred at an energy intake of 1.73 MJ AME/bird d.

3. Differences in egg weight and hatchability were related to differences in both energy and protein intake. The highest egg weight occurred at the highest allowance of energy and protein. Hatchability was depressed where the daily allowances of protein and energy were in a ratio of more than 15 g protein: 1 MJ AME.

4. Apart from egg size no significant effects on reproductive performance were observed when dietary protein intake was varied from 27 to 19.5 g/bird d.

5. Requirements of broiler breeder hens for protein during lay may be lower than previously thought. For the strain used a protein intake of 19.5 g/bird d appeared adequate provided essential amino acid concentrations were maintained.

6. The close relationships between body weight and energy allowance and the latter and egg production make body‐weight gain a useful guide to management. A body‐weight gain of about 1.1 kg from 21 to 36 weeks of age was associated with optimum performance in this study.     

Frequent mutation of BAP1 in metastasizing uveal melanomas

Metastasis is a defining feature of malignant tumors and is the most common cause of cancer-related death, yet the genetics of metastasis are poorly understood. We used exome capture coupled with massively parallel sequencing to search for metastasis-related mutations in highly metastatic uveal melanomas of the eye. Inactivating somatic mutations were identified in the gene encoding BRCA1-associated protein 1 (BAP1) on chromosome 3p21.1 in 26 of 31 (84%) metastasizing tumors, including 15 mutations causing premature protein termination and 5 affecting its ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase domain. One tumor harbored a frameshift mutation that was germline in origin, thus representing a susceptibility allele. These findings implicate loss of BAP1 in uveal melanoma metastasis and suggest that the BAP1 pathway may be a valuable therapeutic target.     

The Economic Significance of Hunting Tourism in East Lapland,Finland

Uses of game resources are under constant debate. One such debate focuses on hunting tourism and its contributions to rural economics. To prioritize future investment and inform policy decisions, it is necessary to identify the full economic consequences of the operation of hunting tourism companies in rural areas. However, the true economic significance of these typically small-scale companies is not apparent when examined on an industrial scale. These companies may nevertheless serve as a sustainable solution to local-scale rural challenges. In this article, the regional economic significance of hunting tourism is estimated for the East Lapland sub-region of northern Finland through the use of Computable General Equilibrium simulation models. Although these models are known to effectively evaluate short- and long-term regional economic effects of industries such as tourism, they have not previously been applied to evaluate hunting tourism.     

Earthworm populations and growth rates related to long-term crop residue and tillage management

Conventional tillage creates soil physical conditions that may restrict earthworm movement and accelerate crop residue decomposition, thus reducing the food supply for earthworms. These negative impacts may be alleviated by retaining crop residues in agroecosystems. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of various tillage and crop residue management practices on earthworm populations in the field and earthworm growth under controlled conditions. Population assessments were conducted at two long-term (15+ years) experimental sites in Québec, Canada with three tillage systems: moldboard plow/disk harrow (CT), chisel plow or disk harrow (RT) and no tillage (NT), as well as two levels of crop residue inputs (high and low). Earthworm growth was assessed in intact soil cores from both sites. In the field, earthworm populations and biomass were greater with long-term NT than CT and RT practices, but not affected by crop residue management. Laboratory growth rates of Aporrectodea turgida (Eisen) in intact soil cores were affected by tillage and residue inputs, and were positively correlated with the soil organic C pool, suggesting that tillage and residue management practices that increase the soil organic C pool provide more organic substrates for earthworm growth. The highest earthworm growth rates were in soils from RT plots with high residue input, which differed from the response of earthworm populations to tillage and residue management treatments in the field. Our results suggest that tillage-induced disturbance probably has a greater impact than food availability on earthworm populations in cool, humid agroecosystems.     

Plasma and urine responses are lower for acylated vs nonacylated anthocyanins from raw and cooked purple carrots

The bioavailability of acylated vs nonacylated anthocyanins and the effect of cooking and dose on the comparative bioavailability were investigated in a clinical feeding study using purple carrots as the anthocyanin source. Treatments were purple carrots as follows: 250 g raw (463 micromol of anthocyanins: 400 micromol acylated, 63 micromol nonacylated), 250 g cooked (357 micromol of anthocyanins: 308.5 micromol acylated, 48.5 micromol nonacylated), and 500 g cooked (714 micromol of anthocyanins: 617 micromol acylated, 97 micromol nonacylated). Four of the five carrot anthocyanins were found intact in plasma by 30 min after carrot consumption and peaked between 1.5 and 2.5 h. Acylation of anthocyanins resulted in an 11-14-fold decrease in anthocyanin recovery in urine and an 8-10-fold decrease in anthocyanin recovery in plasma. Cooking increased the recovery of nonacylated anthocyanins but not acylated anthocyanins. Large dose size significantly reduced recovery of both acylated and nonacylated anthocyanins, suggesting saturation of absorption mechanisms.