Effect of bilateral cecal ligation on use of dietary energy in growing chickens

In order to determine the role of the cecum on energy use in growing chickens, metabolizability of the dietary energy and energy expenditure were examined in the week following bilateral ligation and washing out of the cecum. Apparent metabolizable energy (AME) values were 14.30 and 13.69 kJ/g air‐dry matter for sham‐operated and cecally ligated chickens, respectively. These values were found to be significantly different (P < 0.05). Although AME intake and fasting heat production were decreased by cecal ligation, the distribution of AME (measured as fasting and feeding heat production, as well as heat increment and energy retention, as a proportion of AME intake) was not affected. These results suggest that the cecum helps chickens extract AME from corn‐soybean type diets with little, if any, effect on AME use, based on the present study of growing chickens in the week following cecal ligation.     

Susceptibilities of some aquatic ferns to paddy herbicide bensulfuron methyl

Paddy herbicides have the potential to cause adverse effects on non-target plants. Susceptibilities of some aquatic ferns ( Azolla japonica Franch. et Savat., Isoetes japonica A. Braun, Marsilea quadrifolia L. and Salvinia natans All.) and duckweeds ( Lemna minor L. and Spirodela polyrhiza Schleid.) to paddy herbicide bensulfuron methyl (BSM) were evaluated with a 20 day exposure experiment using 200 cm² pots. The BSM concentrations in the surface water of monitoring pots with no plants dissipated exponentially with half lives of 3.5 and 3.9 days at application rates of 15 and 150 g ha⁻¹, respectively. The BSM concentrations in the surface water 1 day after application in the culture pots were comparable among plant species, and were lower than those in the monitoring pots. Bensulfuron methyl reduced the plant growth in all species. I . japonica showed the lowest intrinsic relative growth rate (RGR) and the lowest susceptibility with an effective dose resulting in 50% growth inhibition (ED₅₀) of 21 g ha⁻¹. Except for I . japonica , the RGR of the duckweeds was similar to the ferns, and ED₅₀ for the duckweeds was higher than the ferns. ED₅₀ for Sa . natans , A . japonica and M . quadrifolia were 1.1, 1.8 and 1.2 g ha⁻¹, respectively, which were smaller than 1/20 of the recommended field dose (51–75 g ha⁻¹) and ranged from 1/2 to 1/6 of ED₅₀ for L . minor and Sp . polyrhiza (6.5 and 3.2 g ha⁻¹, respectively). These results suggest that BSM application in paddy fields and its runoff in some localities is expected to have adverse effects on the growth of Sa . natans , A . japonica and M . quadrifolia .     

Determination of nitrobenzene oxidation products by GC and1H-NMR spectroscopy using 5-iodovanillin as a new internal standard

The nitrobenzene oxidation method was modified to obtain more reproducible data and more structural information about lignin, not only by gas chromatography (GC) but also by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR) spectroscopy for quantitative determination of the oxidation products and to simplify the procedures. The nitrobenzene oxidation mixture was directly extracted after acidification without preextraction of by-products. The direct extraction made the extractive step easy and gave reproducible data. 5-Iodovanillin was selected as a new internal standard. The reason for this selection was that 5-iodovanillin did not exist in the nitrobenzene oxidation products from any plant species and had an aldehyde group whose peak did not overlap with the other aldehyde peaks on an¹H-NMR spectrum. Thus, the use of 5-iodovanillin enabled us to quantifyp-hydroxybenzaldehyde, vanillin, and syringaldehyde in oxidation products on the basis of¹H-NMR analysis as well as GC. Furthermore, more information about the condensed structure of lignin was derived by comparing the¹H-NMR and GC analyses.Part of this work was presented at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Lignin Symposium, Sapporo, October 1997     

Chemical structures of the condensed tannins in the fruits of Diospyros species

The structural variety of the condensed tannins (proanthocyanidins) in the fruits of 16Diospyros species are reported. Eleven species contained condensed tannins mostly consisting of a mixture of catechin (CA) and gallocatechin (GCA) repeating units; the other five species did not. The GCA content in the CA-GCA total varied from 0.3% to 84.6%. The number of esterified gallic acid per one flavan repeating unit (degree of galloylation, DG) ranged from 0.01 to 0.89. The GCA content was found to be proportional to the DG values. Thus, 16Diospyros species tested may be classified into five groups by the analytical data of their condensed tannins. It may be interesting to compare their structural characteristics with those of the condensed tannins in other fruits, leaves, woods, and barks from the viewpoint of their biosynthesis and function in the plants.Part of this paper was presented at the 46th Annual Meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Tokyo, April 1995     

Preparation of novel reagents 4-alkoxytrityl chlorides and their reaction with methyl Α-d-glucoside

A series of novel 4-O-alkoxytrityl chlorides (1) with different chain lengths was synthesized as a novel reagent for obtaining 6-O-alkylated cellulose with high regioselectivity via trityl groups in one reaction step without the use of any protective groups. These chlorides were reacted with methyl -d-glucoside, which was used as a model compound, to examine the reactivities toward the primary hydroxyl groups of cellulose to afford a series of 6-O-alkylated methyl -d-glucosides in high yields. The product compounds were found to have interesting solubilities and thermal properties. Thus, newly prepared trityl chloride derivatives were found to be useful regioselective derivatization reagents on the primary hydroxyl group in carbohydrates, especially in cellulose.     

Relationship between blood calcium level and ST peak interval of electrocardiographic variables in peripartum Holstein cows

The association between blood calcium levels and electrocardiographic variables was compared in 137 normal parturient and 36 peripartum recumbent Holstein cows to determine whether hypocalcemia in peripartum dairy cows can be rapidly diagnosed using electrocardiograph. Inverse of STc (ST peak interval/SS interval^0.5) and blood ionized calcium or serum calcium concentrations were strongly correlated, and both correlation coefficients were 0.81 (P<0.001). The 95% prediction interval indicated that cows with STc >0.385 ± 0.001 sec are very likely to be hypocalcemic (blood ionized or serum calcium concentrations of <0.9 mmol/l or <7.5 mg/dl, respectively). These findings indicate that hypocalcemia in parturient cows can be non-invasively estimated using the STc.     

Thermal stability of carp G-actin monitored by loss of polymerization activity using an extrinsic fluorescent probe

ABSTRACT:   The thermal stability of carp G-actin was investigated by monitoring loss of actin polymerization ability. To determine the amount of native actin remaining after heat treatment, actin was labeled with a fluorescence reagent, N-(1-pyrene)iodoacetamide. The loss of polymerization ability of carp actin during heat treatment, at between 45 and 55°C, occurred faster than that of chicken actin. The inactivation rate was influenced by concentrations of ATP and Ca²⁺ in solution. With the increase of Ca²⁺ concentration, the inactivation of carp actin was markedly suppressed. Furthermore, the activation energy of the inactivation of carp actin obtained from an Arrhenius plot was similar to that of chicken actin. These results indicated that the thermal instability of carp G-actin was due to the low affinites of ATP and Ca²⁺ for carp actin described in a previous report.     

自溶法回收鱼类加工废弃物中蛋白质成分(英文)

鱼头和鱼内脏为鱼类在加工过程中废弃的主要组织,其中含有丰富的蛋白质和脂肪等有益成分,有必要进行回收利用。双鳍舵鲣鱼的头部和内脏约占其鱼体重量的30％,富含蛋白质(14.4％-22.6％)。为了将这些废弃物中的蛋白质进行回收,分别采用双鳍舵鲣鱼内脏本身含有的内源性蛋白酶(自溶)和四种外源性的商业蛋白酶Papain W-40(E1),Pancidase NP-2(E2),Sumichiimu FP(E3)和Protease M(E4)对废弃物中的蛋白质进行水解(50℃,1～4h),考察自溶和不同酶解方法对蛋白质的回收率以及对回收液氨基酸组成的影响。结果显示,自溶法对废弃物中蛋白质的回收效果最好。当水解温度为50℃,水解时间为2h时,自溶法的蛋白质回收率最高,达到76％;其次为E2酶解法,回收率达到70％;E3酶解法效果最差,回收率为63％。进一步研究表明,自溶回收液(AE)的氨基酸总量也最高,达到11756 mg/100g,而采用E1、E2、E3和E4水解方法得到的酶解回收液(EE1、EE2、EE3和EE4)中氨基酸含量分别仅为10294、10642、8750、10121 mg/100g。感观评定结果表明,自溶回...     

Effect of propylene glycol and undegradable protein source on rumen fermentation, blood metabolism and milk production in lactating dairy cows

Eight lactating Holstein cows were divided into two groups ( n  = 4) and used in a double reversal trial with three periods of 14 days each, to evaluate diets containing propylene glycol (PG) and ruminally undegradable protein (RUP) blend on milk yield and composition, ruminal fermentation and blood metabolism. The control diet contained 20% chopped Sudangrass hay, 20% cubed alfalfa hay, 12% corn silage, and 48% of the respective concentrate mixtures (dry matter basis). The experimental diet (PG + RUP) partially replaced the concentrate mixture from the control diet with 1.4% PG and 2.1% RUP. Both diets contained about 16% crude protein and 71% total digestible nutrients. Dry matter intake was similar between the two diets. Daily production of milk, milk lactose and milk solids-not-fat increased by 9.0%, 11.3% and 9.3%, respectively ( P  < 0.1), for cows fed diets with PG + RUP; milk composition was unchanged. Although the concentration of ruminal total volatile fatty acids was unchanged, the proportion of propionic acid increased, and the proportion of acetic acid decreased with PG + RUP. The concentration of ruminal ammonia nitrogen and number of ciliate protozoa was not significantly affected by PG + RUP. The concentration of glucose in blood plasma increased, the concentration of urea nitrogen was unaffected, and the concentration of some essential free amino acids decreased with PG + RUP. It is suggested that these changes might be caused predominantly by PG, and the addition of PG may exert a favorable effect on milk production through increased metabolism.     

Length of lags in responses of milk yield and somatic cell score on test day to heat stress in Holsteins

We used daily records from provincial Japanese weather stations and monthly test‐day records of milk production to investigate the length of the lags in the responses of cows’ milk yield and somatic cell score (SCS) to heat stress (HS). We also investigated the HS thresholds in milk yield and SCS. Data were a total of 17,245,709 test‐day records for milk and SCS in Holstein cows that had calved for the first time between 2000 and 2015, along with weather records from 60 weather stations. Temperature–humidity index (THI) values were estimated by using average daily temperature and average daily relative humidity. Adjusted THI values were calculated by using temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation. The model contained herd, calving year, month of test day, age group, days in milk, and THI as a fixed effect. THIs for each day from 14 days before the test day until the test day were used to represent the HS effects. The HS occurring 3 days, and between 8 and 10 days, before the test day had the greatest effect on the milk yield and SCS, respectively. The threshold THI values for the HS effect were about 60–65 for both traits.