Interactions between different media and follicle‐stimulating hormone supplementation on in vitro culture of preantral follicles enclosed in ovarian tissue derived from collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu Linneaus, 1758)

The aim was to verify the effect of follicle‐stimulating hormone (FSH) supplementation to α‐MEM+ or TCM199+ media on the in vitro development of ovarian preantral follicles (PFs) derived from collared peccaries. Ovaries (n = 5 pairs) were collected and divided into fragments destined to control group (non‐cultured) or treatments that were cultured for 7 days. The PFs morphology, growth and activation were evaluated by classical histology. The immunohistochemistry markers Ag‐NOR and PCNA were used for nuclear proliferation analysis, and the picrosirius red labelling was used for ovarian extracellular matrix (ECM) evaluation. After 7‐day culture, only the TCM199+ treatment maintained the proportion of intact PFs similar to day 1 (63.2%), but no differences were found among treatments (p > .05). In addition, a significant increase in the growing follicles proportion was verified for all the treatments, indicating follicular activation (p > .05). By the Ag‐NOR analysis, only the TCM199+/FSH maintained the nuclear proliferation similar to the first day (p > .05). The picrosirius red staining revealed that the ECM remained intact in all the treatments (p > .05). We suggest the use of TCM199+ medium supplemented of FSH for the in vitro development of peccaries PFs under 7‐day culturing conditions.     

Biological control by Trichoderma harzianum of damping-off of lettuce caused by Rhizoctonia solani1

Ten isolates of Trichoderma harzianum were tested for their ability to control lettuce seedling damping-off caused by introduced Rhizoctonia solani. T. harzianum isolates TRC 9 and 28 both reduced damping-off. Dual culture experiments were used to select isolates for the study of antibiotic production and mycoparasitism. T. harzianum isolate TRC 12 produced volatile and non-volatile antibiotics, whilst TRC 33 produced only non-volatile antibiotics. T. harzianum isolates 018-2/Y and TRC 9,15 and 28 mycoparasitized R. solani by coiling around and lysing the host hyphae. It appeared that mycoparasitism was more important than antibiosis in the biological control of damping-off.     

An investigation into the bacterial aetiology of 'black patch necrosis' in Dover sole, Solea solea L.

Abstract. A recurring disease known as 'black patch necrosis' (BPN) has been the cause of severe mortalities in 0-group and 1-group Dover sole during the period 1974-1978 at the Sea Fish Industry Authority's Marine Cultivation Unit at Hunter-ston, Ayrshire, Scotland. Samples of diseased and healthy Dover sole tissue were examined microbiologically and a long thin filamentous Gram-negative organism, strongly resembling Flexibacter columnar's , was repeatedly isolated from diseased tissue but was not found in healthy tissue. This organism was pathogenic to Dover sole, producing 100% mortality in 96 h at 17.5°C (±2°C) and the organism was reisolated from all the infected fish. The pathogenic isolate and reisolate were examined and compared with reference strain NCMB 1038 of Flexibacter columnarts , formerly known as Chondrococcus columnaris or Cytophaga columnaris. The isolate, reisolate and type culture were identical with respect to cell morphology, oxidase test, catalase production, production of H₂S, casein hydrolysis, gelatin liquefaction, hydrolysis of Tween 20, degradation of tyrosine and starch hydrolysis. All bacterial types showed similar patterns of sensitivity to a range of antibiotics. It is proposed that a Flexibacter columnari's-like organism is associated with the condition in farmed Dover sole known as 'black patch necrosis'.     

Influence of dietary palm oil on growth, tissue fatty acid compositions, and fatty acid metabolism in liver and intestine in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary crude palm oil (CPO) on fatty acid metabolism in liver and intestine of rainbow trout. Triplicate groups of rainbow trout for 10 weeks at 13 °C were fed on diets in which CPO replaced fish oil (FO) in a graded manner (0–100%). At the end of the trial, fatty acid compositions of flesh, liver and pyloric caeca were determined and highly unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA) synthesis and fatty acid oxidation were estimated in isolated hepatocytes and caecal enterocytes using [1‐¹⁴C]18:3n‐3 as substrate. Growth performance and feed efficiency were unaffected by dietary CPO. Fatty acid compositions of selected tissues reflected the dietary fatty acid composition with increasing CPO resulting in increased proportions of 18:1n‐9 and 18:2n‐6 and decreased proportions of n‐3HUFA, 20:5n‐3 and 22:6n‐3. Palmitic acid, 16:0, was also increased in flesh and pyloric caeca, but not in liver. The capacity of HUFA synthesis from 18:3n‐3 increased by up to threefold in both hepatocytes and enterocytes in response to graded increases in dietary CPO. In contrast, oxidation of 18:3n‐3 was unaffected by dietary CPO in hepatocytes and reduced by high levels of dietary CPO in enterocytes. The results of this study suggest that CPO can be used at least to partially replace FO in diets for rainbow trout in terms of permitting similar growth and feed conversion, and having no major detrimental effects on lipid and fatty acid metabolism, although flesh fatty acid compositions are significantly affected at an inclusion level above 50%, with n‐3HUFA reduced by up to 40%.     

The secretion of amylase, phospholipase and protease from Aeromonas salmonicida, and the correlation with membrane-associated ribosomes

Abstract. The following extracellular enzymes have been readily detected in the culture filtrates from Aeromonas salmonicida: amylase, phospholipase, lysophospholipase and ribonuclease. Amylase and phospholipase have been partially characterized. Evidence suggests that glycogen may be the natural substrate for amylase, and that the role of the enzyme in natural infection is to digest glycogen present in fish muscle. The secretion of amylase activity is suppressed by the addition of glucose to the growth medium. The amounts of amylase, phospholipase and protease that can be detected in culture filtrates decreases with increase in the growth temperature from 25 to 32°C. This marked decrease in secretion of hydrolytic enzymes occurs although the initial growth rates at 25 and 32°C are similar. Free and membrane associated ribosomes have been isolated from cultures grown at 25 and 32°C. At 32°C there is a smaller proportion of membrane-associated ribosomes and this is consistent with the hypothesis that extracellular enzymes from Aeromonas salmonicida are secreted on membrane-bound polysomes.     

Evaluating Alternative Regional Planning Models

The REMI and IMPLAN models are widely used approaches to estimating economic impacts for small regions. However, few benchmarks exist for assessing these estimates. This paper evaluates the relative performance of these models in terms of a given impact: the opening of an automobile assembly plant in central Illinois. Although our results are not conclusive and are limited by our application, we find that in terms of several indirect performance criteria, IMPLAN's outcomes, on balance, are somewhat more plausible than those for REMI.