Plasma aspartate aminotransferase and creatine kinaseactivities in thoroughbred racehorses in relation to age, sex, exercise and training

In order to investigate the effect of age, sex and month on the response of plasma aspartate aminotransferase(AST) and creatine kinase (CK) to exercise, blood samples were collected once a month between March and September from a group of 40 2- and 3-year-old (2yo and 3yo) thoroughbred racehorses (kept under the same managemental regimen) at rest before exercise (PRE) and at 2 (2H) and 24h (24H) post-exercise. The absolute change in activities between the 2H and PRE samples (2HΔ) and the 24H and PRE samples (24HΔ) was also calculated. Age had a significant effect on all measured and calculated parameters for colts (C), apart from 24HΔ CK but showed no effect in the fillies (F). Sex only had a significant effect in the 3yo in the 2HΔ CK. In the 2yo, significant effects of sex were found for both CK and AST in the PRE, 2H and 24H samples. The effect of month varied according to the classification group with only the 2yoC not showing any significant effect on any parameter. Fillies were, in general, more likely than colts to show greater than a twofold increase in CK activity at 2H post-exercise and the number of animals showing such an increase decreased as the season progressed. Very little change in AST activities occurred with exercise.     

Agrochemical assessment of bog phosphates in Western Siberia

Bog phosphates of Western Siberia were characterized; the agrochemical properties of vivianite in peat deposits were studied, and its positive effect on the phosphate pool of zonal soils was revealed. A high and prolonged effect of peat vivianite on the main agricultural crops was experimentally proved. It was shown that the wide use of bog phosphates as fertilizers offers much promise for the regional agriculture.     

Amounts and distribution of organic phosphorus in some profiles in tanzania

The amounts and distribution of organic phosphorus in profiles from several soil orders commonly occurring in the tropics have been determined. Organic phosphorus was found to decrease with depth, except in a few profiles where the maximum tended to occur in the second horizon. This was attributed to soil erosion due to wind and water, which had carried away most of the original A horizon. Poor vegetative growth and the effect of seasonal burning of the natural grassland were also considered to be contributing factors in the higher amounts of organic phosphorus in the second horizon of some profiles.The distribution of the organic phosphorus in the profiles is considered to be a function of climate, vegetation and the parent material. The C/P ratio differed from order to order and within profiles, suggesting that the humic material could affect the content and nature of the organic P fraction and that it is thus possible that the chemical form of the organic phosphorus is not the same in all of the profiles.