Prophylactic and therapeutic treatment of ascites in broiler chickens.

1. This work examined the effect of using three different feeding regimens in the prophylaxis and treatment of ascites in fastgrowing broilers stressed by exposure to cold (less than 10 degrees C), itself a potent inducer of ascites. 2. Broilers were exposed to cold in tiered cages in a semi-open poultry shed from the age of 24, 29 or 34 d and from day 35 they were given one of three types of food (pellets, pellets with high energy content, mash). Total mortality and mortality with ascites were recorded and erythrocyte packed cell volume (PCV) and relative weight of the right ventricle were measured (both reliable indices of ascites development). 3. Despite relatively low ambient temperatures and consequent high mortality from ascites, the mash diet was effective both in preventing ascites (prophylaxis) and in treating existing ascites.     

Biological control of crystal texture: a widespread strategy for adapting crystal properties to function

Textures of calcite crystals from a variety of mineralized tissues belonging to organisms from four phyla were examined with high-resolution synchrotron x-ray radiation. Significant differences in coherence length and angular spread were observed between taxonomic groups. Crystals from polycrystalline skeletal ensembles were more perfect than those that function as single-crystal elements. Different anisotropic effects on crystal texture were observed for sea urchin and mollusk calcite crystals, whereas none was found for the foraminifer, Patellina, and the control calcite crystals. These results show that the manipulation of crystal texture in different organisms is under biological control and that crystal textures in some tissues are adapted to function. A better understanding of this apparently widespread biological phenomenon may provide new insights for improving synthetic crystal-containing materials.     

Stability in the composition equivalence of grain from insect-protected maize and seed from glyphosate-tolerant soybean to conventional counterparts over multiple seasons, locations, and breeding germplasms

Insect-protected maize MON 810 and Roundup Ready soybean 40-3-2 represent major milestones in the adoption of genetically modified (GM) crops to enhance agricultural productivity. This study provides an assessment of the compositional stability of these products over multiple seasons, multiple germplasms, and diverse geographies encompassing North, Central, and South America and Europe. The compositional assessment evaluated levels of proximates in MON 810 and proximates, antinutrients, and isoflavones in 40-3-2. The means and range values for component levels in the GM crops and their conventional comparators were consistently similar to each other within each corresponding year from 2000 to 2009. To our knowledge, this study represents the first meta-analysis of comparative composition assessments of GM products. This approach, combined with graphical approaches, provided an effective summary of the overall data set and confirmed the continued compositional equivalence of these important crops to their conventional counterparts over time.     

Creating a Community Food System: The Intervale Center

No abstract available for this article.