Effects of acclimatization on energy expenditure by different goat genotypes

Five Balady and five Shami (Damascus) intact male goats, approximately 1.5 yr of age, were individually housed and used to determine effects of ambient temperature (Ta), relative humidity (RH), and temperature–humidity index (THI) on energy expenditure (EE). Average mean, low, and high values in 2-wk periods throughout the year were 22.5, 14.9, and 28.5 °C for Ta and 61.0, 49.6, and 68.5% for RH, respectively. Animal measurements occurred monthly from December, 2006 through October, 2007. Animals were fed alfalfa hay to meet the maintenance energy requirement. Because BW was relatively constant throughout the experiment, EE was considered equal to metabolizable energy (ME) intake. In January, April, July, and October, the day of measuring heart rate (HR) occurred within a 7-day period when bucks were housed in metabolism crates for total collection of feces and urine. Individual EE to HR ratio was estimated at those times and used to predict EE throughout the year based on HR. EE in kJ/kg BW^0.75 was greater for Shami than for Balady goats in January, July, and October (P < 0.05), for Balady ranked (P < 0.05) July and October < January and April, and for Shami ranked (P < 0.05) January, April, and July > October. EE:HR was greatest among times (P < 0.05) in April and greater (P < 0.05) for Shami vs. Balady. Digestibilities of DM and energy were slightly greater for Shami than for Balady (P < 0.05). For monthly measures, rectal temperature, blood hemoglobin oxygen saturation, and HR were similar between breeds. HR differed among months, with means ranging from 57.0 to 77.6 bpm. There were large differences among months in the difference between EE at particular measurement daily times and the average (EEdiff). No climate measure in the preceding 2 or 4 wk was correlated with EE or EEdiff (P > 0.10). The same was true for correlations based on all data of EEdiff and the full-day measurement of climate conditions in the month preceding HR measurement. However, when correlations were conducted separately for each genotype, some relationships for Balady goats were significant while those for Shami goats were nonsignificant. A regression of EEdiff of Balady goats against mean Ta and THI on the preceding HR measurement day revealed a coefficient of 4.17 or 2.78 kJ/kg BW^0.75 per 1 °C or THI unit, respectively. In conclusion, EE of Balady goats appears sensitive to climate conditions, whereas that of Shami goats is not or at least is relatively less impacted. With hot conditions, Balady goats have an advantage in a decreased ME requirement for maintenance and with low Ta, Balady goats have an increased requirement.     

Collection time,cutting age,IBA and putrescine effects on root formation in Corylus avellana L. cuttings

The effects of collection time, cutting age, indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and putrescine application on the rooting of cuttings of Italian hazelnut cultivars ‘Tonda Gentile Romana’, ‘Tonda di Giffoni’ and ‘Nocchione’ were investigated. Samples collected during late June, late July and early September from newly formed and 1-year old part of twigs to be utilized to produce leafy cuttings, after being treated with 1000 and 2000 ppm IBA, respectively. In addition, the September cuttings were also treated, respectively, with 1000 and 2000 ppm IBA and 1600 ppm putrescine. Rooting ability was evaluated 2 months after planting for each treatment and collection time. Satisfactory rooting of hazelnut leafy cuttings was observed when collection time occurred in June and September, whereas leafy cuttings collected in July showed a limited capacity of rooting in all cultivars tested. On average, the rooting of the newly formed leafy cuttings was more than the 1-year old cuttings. Rooting was also promoted by IBA treatments, mainly in ‘Nocchione’ and ‘Tonda di Giffoni’. In contrast, young cuttings collected from ‘Tonda Gentile Romana’ in early September rooted poorly when treated with IBA alone, but showed the best rooting (∼80%) after the application of a combination of 1000 ppm IBA and 1600 ppm putrescine. The current findings confirm that putrescine can be a useful substance for increasing rooting percentage and root quality in cuttings of some hazelnut cultivars as obtained from ‘Tonda Gentile Romana’ cultivar.     

Ketosis in buffalo (Bubalus bubalis): clinical findings and the associated oxidative stress level

As little is known about the oxidant/antioxidant status in buffalo with ketosis, the present study was delineated to assess the oxidative stress level associated with clinical ketosis in water buffalo. A total of 91 parturient buffalo at smallholder farms were studied (61 suspected to be ketotic and 30 healthy). Clinical and biochemical investigations were carried out for each buffalo. Based on clinical findings and the level of beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), buffalo were allocated into ketotic (42), sublinical cases (19). Clinically, there was an association between clinical ketosis and anorexia (p < 0.001), constipation (p < 0.001), decreased milk yield (p < 0.001), ruminal stasis (p < 0.001), and loss of body condition (p < 0.01). Biochemically, in clinical ketosis compared with subclinical and control cases, there was a significant increase (p < 0.05) of BHB, malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), L-alanine aminotransferase (ALT). However, there was a significant decrease of glucose, phosphorus, magnesium,total cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol. There was a positive correlation between BHB and MDA (r = 0.433), BHB and NO (r = 0.37), MDA and NO (r = 0.515), and Glucose and phosphorus(r = 0.521). However, there was a negative correlation between BHB and glucose (r = −0.341) and HDL and NO (r = −0.379). The result of the present study indicates that hyperketonemia in buffalo is associated with an increase of oxidative stress levels. Further studies need to be done on the efficacy of antioxidants as an ancillary treatment to relief the oxidative stress caused by ketosis.     

Identification and Bioactivity of Compounds from the Fungus Penicillium sp. CYE-87 Isolated from a Marine Tunicate

In the course of our continuous interest in identifying bioactive compounds from marine microbes, we have investigated a tunicate-derived fungus, Penicillium sp. CYE-87. A new compound with the 1,4-diazepane skeleton, terretrione D (2), together with the known compounds, methyl-2-([2-(1H-indol-3-yl)ethyl]carbamoyl)acetate (1), tryptamine (3), indole-3-carbaldehyde (4), 3,6-diisobutylpyrazin-2(1H)-one (5) and terretrione C (6), were isolated from Penicillium sp. CYE-87. The structures of the isolated compounds were established by spectral analysis, including 1D (¹H, ¹³C) and 2D (COSY, multiplicity edited-HSQC and HMBC) NMR and HRESIMS, as well as comparison of their NMR data with those in the literature. The compounds were evaluated for their antimigratory activity against the human breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231) and their antiproliferation activity against HeLa cells. Compounds 2 and 6 showed significant antimigratory activity against MDA-MB-231, as well as antifungal activity against C. albicans.     

Breaking seed dormancy in Cupressus atlantica Gaussen, an endemic and threatened coniferous tree in Morocco

Cupressus atlantica Gaussen (Cupressaceae) is an endemic and endangered coniferous tree geographically restricted to the N’Fis valley in South-Western Morocco. Like many forest species, C. atlantica exhibits dormancy which delays and reduces germination. To improveseed germination, different pre-treatments were conducted on C.atlantica seeds after storage for different periods (one, two and five years) including: scarification with sandy paper; soaking seeds in hot distilled water at 60℃and 80℃for 15 min and soaking seeds for 48 h in agibberellic acid (GA3) at 1,000 and 2,000 mg·L-1. Results showed that scarification with sandy paper increased the germination rate of Atlas cypress by up to 67%, indicating that the species possess essentially anexogenous dormancy (physical dormancy) due to the hard seed coat(hardseededness). Exogenous application of gibberellic acid (GA3) at1,000 mg·L-1 was also effective in breaking seed dormancy and germination induction. These two treatments induced faster speed germination expressed by low number of days to first germination (8 10days) and low values of mean germination times (MGT). However,germination rate, under any treatment, is greatly dependent on the year of seed collection. Seeds collected in year 2004 gave the highest value,suggesting that even after five years of storage, the germination capacity of C. atlantica seeds could remain high. This observation is very interesting in the exsitu conservation of such endemic and endangered species where the production of seeds is irregular over the years.     

Effect of Phosphorus Sources and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Inoculation on Growth and Productivity of Snap Bean (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Phaseolus vulgaris</Emphasis> L.)

Phosphorus (P) is the second major plant nutrient required for plant growth. Different sources of water soluble P have been used to increase growth and yield of legumes. In addition, mycorrhizas have a potential role in increasing soil P supply. A factorial experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of different phosphorus sources (monoammonium phosphate, monopotassium phosphate, urea phosphate, calcium superphosphate and phosphate rock fortified Bacillus megaterium) and arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculation (with or without) on growth and productivity of snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cv. Paulista in plastic bags filled with sandy soil during 2014 and 2015 seasons at the Experimental Research Farm of the Horticulture Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Qalyubia Governorate, Egypt. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design with three replications. Results revealed that fertilization with monoammonium phosphate (MAP) significantly increased vegetative growth characteristics, yield, and total carbohydrates and protein content in green pods concomitantly with increases in chlorophyll and nutrients content in the leaves. Moreover, arbuscular-mycorrhizal inoculation significantly increased all above mentioned data compared with non-mycorrhizal inoculation. In addition, plants inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal and fertilized with MAP showed a synergistic effect.     

Activities of Carbon and Nitrogen Metabolism Enzymes of Sorghum (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Sorghum bicolor</Emphasis> L. Moench) During Seed Development

Carbon and nitrogen metabolism pathways are regulated by complex mechanisms in order to optimize growth and development of plants and play a major role in determining the amount of protein stored in cereal grains. This study was conducted to contribute to determine the roles of certain key enzymes of carbon and nitrogen metabolism in developing sorghum seeds. Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench was grown in a growth chamber. Seeds were harvested at various stages of development and used to the analysis of certain key enzymes of carbon and nitrogen metabolism. The results were subjected to stastistical analysis using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by the Tukey test. The results showed that during the seed development the highest activities of glutamine synthetase, glutamate dehydrogenase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, malate dehydrogenase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, and aspartate aminotransferase were detected at the time of maximum seed filling stages (15-20 DAP). Hence, higher activities of these enzymes at the time of maximum seed-filling stages could be effectively linked to amino acids synthesis and therefore the deposition of protein reserves.     

Metabolic behaviour and tissue distribution of nalidixic acid in chickens

The metabolic behaviour and tissue distribution of nalidixic acid in normal and E. coli infected chickens were carried out using spectrofluorimetric and microbiological techniques following a single and multiple oral administration of 25 mg/kg b. wt. The obtained results revealed that free nalidixic acid (free NA) is the major fraction of the total drug concentration in serum, liver and kidneys. The free active nalidixic acid was in a higher concentration than hydroxynalidixic acid (free HNA) and both conjugates of NA and HNA following single and multiple oral administration. The obtained results showed that nalidixic acid was highly distributed in all tissues in normal and E. coli infected chickens, with the highest concentrations in kidneys, liver and heart and lowest concentrations in brain, muscles and intestine following oral administration of 25 mg/kg b. wt. twice daily for 5 successive days. Spectrofluorimetic technique was more sensitive for nalidixic acid determination than microbiological method. Nalidixic acid revealed longer withdrawal time in diseased chickens than in normal chickens.     

Host status effect of cowpea and sunflower on the populations ofMeloidogyne javanica andRotylenchulus reniformis

A highly susceptible cowpea,Vigna sinensis cv. Baladi plants were tested as trap plants for eitherMeloidogyne javanica orRotylenchulus reniformis under greenhouse conditions. The plants were gathered by cutting them above the surface of the soil or by uprooting them, 1/2, 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, 36 and 48 days after nematode inoculation. Both of the mentioned nematodes began to mature and lay eggs after the 12th day from their inoculation. Hence, it is advised to pull up cowpea plants from 3–12 days after nematode inoculation. After planting sunflower,Helianthus annus cv. Miak replacing cowpea, the nematode populations were higher, in most cases, on sunflower plants replacing cutting cowpea than those on sunflower replacing uprooted cowpea. The highest percentages of nematode reduction were 98.55 and 99.57 forM. javanica and 95.09 and 92.90% forR. reniformis on sunflower plants replacing cutting and uprooted cowpea plants after 12 days from nematode inoculation, respectively.M. javanica andR. reniformis decreased the length and weight of sunflower plants as affected by planting time and method of cowpea harvest. This method of nematode control is cheaper, easy and pollution free.