Digestive Enzyme Activity during Larval Development of Black Snook,Centropomus nigrescens

Black snook, Centropomus nigrescens, have been identified as a promising candidate for aquaculture although, like many of the Centropomid species, high mortality associated with early larval stages presents a significant bottleneck to their commercialization. The digestive capacity of black snook larvae throughout the first 37 d after hatch (d.a.h.) was evaluated by quantifying digestive enzyme activities using biochemical techniques. Results showed that black snook larvae have alkaline proteases at hatching, which are known to be important during the first days of feeding for digestion. Toward the end of the study, acid proteases concentration increased (37 d.a.h.). Enzymes for lipid digestion, pancreatic lipase and bile salt‐activated lipase, were already present in the larvae before exogenous feeding commenced, and their activity increased with age and growth (length). Intracellular digestion, measured as the activity of leucine‐alanine peptidase, was high early on (5 d.a.h.) and decreased as development progressed (next 32 d). In contrast, alkaline phosphatase activity was lowest at first feeding and subsequently increased with age. Overall patterns in enzyme activity suggest the possibility of live feed weaning before 32 d.a.h. if artificial diets can be properly balanced.     

法国基于放养的红色标签家禽生产

本文对放养的红色标签认证的家禽生产进行介绍,为广大读者提供借鉴. 1 生产 红色标签认证项目主要集中在高质量的肉产品,家禽是其旗舰产品,它强调质量,如口味、食品安全和放养生产实践.一般的消费者都能够区分红色标签认证的家禽和传统家禽风味的差别.事实上,常规的口味测试是一种认证要求,来证明这些产品与传统家禽的鲜明区别.红色标签认证的鸡有上好口味的主要原因被认为是用慢速生长鸡代替传统商业的快速生长鸡.慢速生长鸡来自于专门的"当地"品种,直到接近性成熟才屠宰.肉可口、结实,但不硬.     

Classification of Dutch and German avian reoviruses by sequencing the sigma C protein

We have amplified, cloned and sequenced (part of) the open reading frame of the S1 segment encoding the sigma C protein of avian reoviruses isolated from chickens with different disease conditions in Germany and The Netherlands during 1980 up to 2000. These avian reoviruses were analysed phylogenetically and compared with sequences of avian reoviruses in the Genbank database. The avian reoviruses could be grouped in 5 different genotyping clusters and this classification was identical when the sequences were compared of the 5' end, the 3' end or the whole open reading frame of the sigma C protein. Therefore sequencing of either part of the gene encoding the sigma C protein seems to be reliable for classification. We were unable to identify a correlation between sigma C sequences of the avian reoviruses and the disease condition they were isolated from. The sequences found in The Netherlands and in Germany are, like those in Taiwan, more dispersed than the known avian reovirus sigma C sequences in the USA and Australia. We did not establish temporal or geographic differences in the avian reoviruses studied.     

Major and trace elements and cosmic-ray produced radioisotopes in lunar samples

Analytical data for 42 major and trace elements were mostly obtained by a combination of instrumental and radiochemical neutron activation analyses using both thermal and 14-million-electronvolt neutrons. Excesses of nitrogen and chlorine in the fines, compared with the rocks, are attributed to the solar wind. A striking similarity for contents of seven elements in lunar metal and metal from the calcium-rich achondrite Juvinas was noted. Fractional dissolution was used to separate five radionuclides produced by cosmic-ray bombardment in the fines and rock 57-40. Results for argon-39 from the reaction potassium-39 (n,p), and for argon-37, from the reaction calcium-40 (n,a), seem to require a neutron spectrum conitaining more neutrons below 2 million electronvolts than the evaporation spectrum or that given by Arnold, Honda, and Lal (1) or a strong time dependence for the neutron flux.     

Leaf photosynthetic traits of 14 tropical rain forest species in relation to leaf nitrogen concentration and shade tolerance

Variability of leaf traits related to photosynthesis was assessed in seedlings from 14 tree species growing in the tropical rain forest of French Guiana. Leaf photosynthetic capacity (maximum rate of carboxylation and maximum rate of electron transport) was estimated by fitting a biochemical model of photosynthesis to response curves of net CO2 assimilation rate versus intercellular CO2 mole fraction. Leaf morphology described by leaf mass per unit leaf area (LMA), density and thickness, as well as area- and mass-based nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) concentrations, were recorded on the same leaves. Large interspecific variability was detected in photosynthetic capacity as well as in leaf structure and leaf N and C concentrations. No correlation was found between leaf thickness and density. The correlations between area- and mass-based leaf N concentration and photosynthetic capacity were poor. Conversely, the species differed greatly in relative N allocation to carboxylation and bioenergetics. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that, of the recorded traits, only the computed fraction of total leaf N invested in photosynthesis was tightly correlated to photosynthetic capacity. We also used PCA to test to what extent species with similar shade tolerances displayed converging leaf traits related to photosynthesis. No clear-cut ranking could be detected among the shade-tolerant groups, as confirmed by a one-way ANOVA. We conclude that the large interspecific diversity in photosynthetic capacity was mostly explained by differences in the relative allocation of N to photosynthesis and not by leaf N concentration, and that leaf traits related to photosynthetic capacity did not discriminate shade-tolerance ranking of these tropical tree species.     

Simulating changes in global land cover as affected by economic and climatic factors

This paper describes two global models: (1) an Agricultural Demand Model which is used to compute the consumption and demand for commodities that define land use in 13 world regions; and, (2) a Land Cover Model, which simulates changes in land cover on a global terrestrial grid (0.5° latitude by 0.5° longitude) resulting from economic and climatic factors. Both are part of the IMAGE 2.0 model of global climate change. The models have been calibrated and tested with regional data from 1970–1990. The Agricultural Demand Model can approximate the observed trend in commodity consumption and the Land Cover Model simulates the total amount of land converted within 13 world regions during this period. Some degree of the spatial variability of deforestation has also been captured by the simulation. Applying the model to a “Conventional Wisdom” scenario showed that future trends of land conversions could be strikingly different on different continents even though a consistent scenario (IS92a from the IPCC) was used for assumptions about economic growth and population. Sensitivity analysis indicated that future land cover patterns are especially sensitive to assumed technological improvements in crop yield and computed changes in agricultural demand.