Effects of dietary oregano and garlic essential oils on carcass characteristics,meat composition,colour, pH and sensory quality of broiler meat

1. An experiment was conducted to determine the individual and combined effects of two essential oils, oregano and garlic, on carcass characteristics, meat composition, colour, pH and sensory quality of broiler meat.

2. The diets were supplemented with no essential oil (control), oregano essential oil or garlic essential oil at 300 mg/kg and oregano essential oil at 150 mg/kg + garlic essential oil at 150 mg/kg.

3. Dietary oregano and garlic oil supplementation did not affect carcass yields, the relative weight of carcass parts, breast and thigh meat composition, pH or b* value of breast meat. Oregano + garlic oil supplementation significantly decreased the L* value. The a* value of breast meat in birds given a diet supplemented with oregano oil was lower than that in birds given a diet supplemented with garlic oil and oregano oil + garlic oil. The essential oil addition had no positive effect on the oxidative stability. There was no difference between the treatments in breast appearance.

4. The juiciness, flavour, oxidised flavour and acceptability of breast meat samples were affected by treatments.     

Changes in ascorbic acid content in primary cultured rat hepatocytes exposed to 2,2'-azobis (2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride, a radical initiator

Changes in ascorbate content in primary cultured rat hepatocytes exposed to oxidative stress derived from water soluble radical initiator 2,2'-azobis (2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH) were examined. Cells were exposed to 0.05 and 5 mg/ml of AAPH as 'mild' and severe' oxidative stresses, respectively. Lipid peroxidation in hepatocytes was induced by 'severe' oxidative stress, but not by 'mild' oxidative stress. Ascorbate decreased at 6 hr after administration of both mild' and severe' oxidative stresses, and recovered to the control level after a further 6 hr. In cells treated with 'severe oxidative stress, however, total ascorbate (reduced form plus oxidized form) had increased 24 hr after administration. These results indicated that consumption alone did not account for the increase of ascorbate in hepatocytes under oxidative stress.     

Venus: detailed mapping of maxwell montes region

From October 1983 to July 1984, the north hemisphere of Venus, from latitude 30 degrees to latitude 90 degrees , was mapped by means of the radar imagers and altimeters of the spacecraft Venera 15 and Venera 16. This report presents the results of the radar mapping of the Maxwell Montes region, one of the most interesting features of Venus' surface. A radar mosaic map and contour map have been compiled.     

A cortical region consisting entirely of face-selective cells

Face perception is a skill crucial to primates. In both humans and macaque monkeys, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) reveals a system of cortical regions that show increased blood flow when the subject views images of faces, compared with images of objects. However, the stimulus selectivity of single neurons within these fMRI-identified regions has not been studied. We used fMRI to identify and target the largest face-selective region in two macaques for single-unit recording. Almost all (97%) of the visually responsive neurons in this region were strongly face selective, indicating that a dedicated cortical area exists to support face processing in the macaque.     

Über die molluscizide Wirkung vonBacillus thuringiensis-Präparaten zur biologischen Bekämpfung vonBiomphalaria alexandrina-Schnecken,den Zwischenwirten des Bilharziose-SaugwurmsSchistosoma mansoni in Saudi Arabia

The comparative molluscicidal activity of different preparations ofBacillus thuringiensis as Thuricide, SAN 401, SAN 402 and SAN 415, onB. alexandrina snails was studied. The results showed that different preparations ofBac. thuring. have a remarkable molluscicidal activity onB. alexandrina snails. However, the obtained results proved thatBac. thuring. with its preparation SAN 415 was the most effective in killing the snails comparing with the other preparations at the same experimental condition. Prolonged exposure ofB. alexandrina to subletal concentration (250 ppm) of SAN 415 delayed its ovipositary activity. Increasing the dose to 500 ppm resulted in a complete loss of egg production. Comparatively exposure of snail groups to the same doses of Thuricide, SAN 401 and SAN 402 resulted only in decreasing its egg laying capacity. These results proved the high potentially effectiveness ofBac. thuring. in its preparation SAN 415 as a biological control agent forB. alexandrina snails. The wayes by which this biological agent acts on the reproductive system of the snails were discussed.     

Genetic diversity of pine‐parasitic nematodes Bursaphelenchus xylophilus and Bursaphelenchus mucronatus in China

The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of rDNA have been routinely employed for identification and phylogenetic analysis of many nematode species. In this study, the intra‐ and interspecies ITS genetic diversity of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus and Bursaphelenchus mucronatus was evaluated. Ninety‐one isolates of the two nematode species collected from 14 Chinese provinces, Japan and Korea were used for ITS‐PCR and sequencing. An unweighted pair group cluster analysis dendrogram clustered them as two B. mucronatus and one B. xylophilus independent clades. Principal component analysis showed the phylogenetic relationship of the two nematode species more clearly; B. mucronatus isolates were separated into more than four groups, whereas B. xylophilus isolates still clustered into a group. The results of the Mantel test indicated the correlation of genetic distance matrices and geographic distance matrices was significant for both nematode species. The genetic differentiation coefficient (G_st) and gene flow (N_m) of B. mucronatus were 0.341 and 1.091, respectively, suggesting the importance of landscape heterogeneity and considerable obstacles for genetic exchange among B. mucronatus isolates in China. However, G_st and N_m of B. xylophilus were 0.188 and 2.151, respectively, very different compared to B. mucronatus. This could be owing to the short‐term introduction of B. xylophilus into China and a rapid spread through anthropogenic pathways. Our work adds to the understanding of the genetic diversity and genetic relationship of the two pine‐parasitic nematode species, and will aid in controlling them in the future.     

基于叶片显微结构综合评价杏不同品种（系）的抗旱性

【目的】探究杏不同品种间叶片解剖结构特征的差异,并据此进行抗旱性指标的筛选和综合评价,为杏抗旱性资源的高效筛选和利用提供方法。【方法】以10个抗旱性不同的杏品种（系）为材料,采用石蜡切片以及扫描电镜技术观察比较其叶片的解剖结构,测定叶片厚度、上表皮细胞厚度、下表皮细胞厚度、栅栏组织厚度、海绵组织厚度、栅栏组织厚度/海绵组织厚度、叶片结构紧密度和疏松度以及叶片下表皮气孔密度共9项叶片结构指标。运用主成分分析法和隶属函数法综合评价10个杏品种（系）的抗旱能力。【结果】叶片解剖结构在品种间表现出不同程度的差异性,9个抗旱性指标在10个品种（系）间有较大差异,变异系数在10.73%～34.58%,灵敏度较高。通过主成分分析选取栅栏组织厚度、叶片厚度、栅栏组织厚度/海绵组织厚度、叶片结构紧密度和下表皮厚度这5个指标作为评价杏资源抗旱性的有效指标。对10个杏品种（系）的5项抗旱性特征指标的隶属函数值累加并求均值,该值越大代表抗旱能力越强。10个杏品种（系）的抗旱能力排序为：青密沙>G 4-25>皮乃孜>骆驼黄>串枝红>G 4-43>G 4-40>G 4-2...     

不同氮磷浓度对蛋白核小球藻砷富集和转化的影响

氮(N)、磷(P)是影响蛋白核小球藻生长的重要因素,通过改变培养液中N、P的浓度,可能实现对蛋白核小球藻富集砷(As)进行调控。为探讨N、P浓度对这种微藻吸收As的影响是否与其生长变化有关,采用室内培养实验,首先研究不同N、P浓度对蛋白核小球藻生长的影响;进而选择不影响小球藻生长的N(247、24.7 mg·L-1)、P(6、0.6 mg·L-1)浓度组合,设置0.8、8 mg·L-1的亚砷酸盐(As3+)和砷酸盐(As5+)处理3 d,研究N、P浓度对小球藻As富集和转化的影响。结果表明,当P浓度为6 mg·L-1时,N浓度降低到24.7 mg·L-1不会影响小球藻对As3+和As5+的富集及其胞内As形态的转化;而当N浓度为247 mg·L-1时,P浓度降低到0.6 mg·L-1则会显著增加小球藻对As3+和As5+的吸收和富集,藻细胞内As5+还原、甲基化和外排也显著增强。因此,在不影响小球藻细胞生长的条件下,P对其As富集和转化过程的影响比N更为显著。