Trypsin Enzyme from Viscera of Common Kilka (Clupeonella cultriventris caspia): Purification,Characterization, and Its Compatibility with Oxidants and Surfactants

The purification of trypsin from the common kilka (Clupeonella cultriventris caspia) viscera (pyloric caeca) resulted in a 28.3-fold increase and 12% yield by ammonium sulfate precipitation (30–60%), Sephadex G-75, and DEAE-cellulose chromatography. Trypsin showed a molecular weight of 23.2 kDa and appeared as a single band on sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), native-PAGE, and zymography. The trypsin had optimal activity at pH 8.0 and 60°C for the hydrolysis of α-N-benzoyl-DL-arginine-ρ-nitroanilide hydrochloride (BAPNA) substrate. Trypsin was stable up to 50°C and at pH range of 7.0–10.0. Activity was significantly inhibited by soybean trypsin inhibitor (SBTI) and N-ρ-tosyl-L-lysine-chloromethylketone (TLCK) inhibitors (p < 0.05). The enzyme was relatively stable toward oxidizing agents, retaining 59.7 and 98.0% of its initial activity after 1 h incubation in the presence of 15% H₂O₂ and 1% sodium perborate, respectively. Trypsin was significantly activated by surfactants and Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, and Mn²⁺ and inactivated by Fe²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cu²⁺, Al³⁺, Ba²⁺, and Co²⁺ (p < 0.05). Nevertheless, Na⁺ and K⁺ had no significant effect on trypsin activity (p > 0.05). The purified trypsin showed significantly higher catalytic efficiency (k_cat/K_m) than porcine pancreatic trypsin against BAPNA and N-α-p-Tosyl-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (TAME) substrates (p < 0.05).     

Electrospun nanostructures based on polyurethane/MWCNTs for strain sensing applications

Electrically conductive nanofibers were fabricated from elastic polyurethane (PU) and PU/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) nanocomposite by electrospinning method. The nanocomposites were electrospun at various MWCNTs loading. Electron microscopy was used to investigate nanofibers morphology and dispersion of MWCNTs in the electrospun nanofibers. The results showed that the presence of the MWCNTs promoted the creation of fibrous structures in comparison with the PU without MWCNTs. On the other hand, increasing the MWCNTs content resulted in a slight increase in the average fiber diameter. TEM micrographs and mechanical properties of the electrospun mats indicated that the homogeneous dispersion of MWCNTs throughout PU matrix is responsible for the considerable enhancement of mechanical properties of the nanofiber mats. Electrical behavior of the conductive mats was also studied, in view of possible sensor applications. Cyclic experiments were conducted to establish whether the electrical properties were reversible, which is an important requirement for sensor materials.     

Effect of Nutritional Treatments on Physiological Characteristics and Tuberization of Potato Plants under Hydroponic Sand Culture

Under hydroponic condition, number and size of potato tubers are usually controlled by nutritional factors such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and pH. The main objective of the present study was to find an appropriate combination of N, P, and pH (with respect to tuber number) under hydroponic sand culture and to evaluate the physiological traits affected by nutrients and pH. A factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with four replications was conducted. Results showed that higher phosphorus concentration for 10 days increased tuber number per plant, but tuberization was not influenced by nitrogen interruption and intermittent reduction of pH. Neither N, P, nor pH treatments affected total nitrogen concentration of potato leaf, stem, and tuber. Higher phosphorus concentration increased the level of endogenous abscisic acid (ABA) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), induced tuberization and thereby increased net photosynthesis rate of potato plants.     

Evaluation of genetic diversity among Iranian soft-seed pomegranate accessions by fruit characteristics and RAPD markers

Soft-seedness in pomegranate is a desirable trait for fresh consumption of this valuable fruit. At the main Iran pomegranate collection, 21 pomegranate accessions gathered from different parts of Iran are registered as soft-seed genotypes. The aim of this research was to study these soft-seed pomegranate accessions using fruit morphopomological traits and DNA markers to reveal their relatedness. Thirty-six fruit characteristics were measured in these accessions together with applying 29 random decamer primers already reported to be polymorphic on pomegranate. Factor analysis on mean values of fruit characteristics determined 10 main factors and applied for grouping of the accessions using Ward's method. Also 14 of the random primers showed good amplification and polymorphism on these samples, and a total of 43 RAPD markers were produced. Estimates of genetic similarity, using Jaccard's similarity coefficient, ranged from 0.13 to 1.0 using the RAPD data. Grouping based on the fruit traits compared with that based on RAPD data did not produce a significant correlation (r = −0.36). Morphometric measurements and sensory evaluation confirmed that some accessions are hard or semi-hard seeded. This study showed that information based on fruit characteristics and RAPD markers are complementary for genetic discrimination in soft-seed pomegranate accessions. This might be due to the high level of similarity between soft-seed pomegranate accessions.     

Resistance against rhizomania disease via RNA silencing in sugar beet

Rhizomania is one of the most damaging and widely spread diseases in major sugar beet growing regions of the world. The causal agent, beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV), is transmitted via the fungus Polymyxa betae, which retains it in the field for years. In this study, an RNA silencing mechanism was employed to induce resistance against rhizomania using intron‐hairpin RNA (ihpRNA) constructs. These constructs were based on sequences of the BNYVV 5′‐untranslated region of RNA‐2 or the flanking sequence encoding P21 coat protein, with different lengths and orientations. Both transient and stable transformation methods produced effective resistance against rhizomania correlated with the transgene presence. Among the constructs, those generating ihpRNA structures with small intronic loops produced the highest frequencies of resistant events. The inheritance of transgenes and resistance was confirmed over generations in stably transformed plants.     

Trends in the reproductive performance of Holstein dairy cows in Iran

The study was undertaken to determine the trends in the reproductive performance of Holstein dairy cows in Iran during 1994 to 2008. Reproductive performance data for 528,034 lactations of 246,132 cows in 1,822 Holstein dairy herds of Iran were used. The potential effect of calving season, herd, parity, calving year, as well as herd size and 305-day milk production on reproductive performance traits was investigated using multiple regression models. The least squares means of age at first calving decreased by 3.1 (±0.06) days per year from 806.5 (±96.3) days in 1994 to 788 (±89.9) days in 2008. The least squares means of calving interval increased 1.02 (±0.03) days per year from 394.1 (±65) days in 1994 to 413.2 (±81) days in 2008. Greater 305-day milk production was associated with an average increase of 6.55 (±0.08) days in calving interval per 1,000-kg increase in milk yield. Larger herd size was associated with an average decrease of 0.22 (±0.02) days in calving interval per 50 cows per herd. The mean number of days dry was 88.6 (±51.3) days and increased by 0.82 (±0.02) days per year. In conclusion, reproductive performance in Holstein dairy herds has generally decreased, whereas herd size and milk production have increased over time. Producers may make significant improvements in herd reproduction by reviewing management strategies including the sire selection, reproductive management, inseminator training and techniques, and improved estrous detection. Moreover, it may be advisable for the fertility traits to be included in the genetic selection indices to reduce the rate of reproductive decline.     

Effect of vitamin and trace mineral withdrawal from finisher diets on growth performance and immunocompetence of broiler chickens

The present study was carried out to examine the effect of vitamin (V) or trace mineral (TM) mix removal from finisher diet (42-56 d of age) on performance and immunocompetence of broilers. The dietary treatments were: (1) the basal diet with no supplemental V or TM; (2) the basal diet fortified with V mix only; (3) the basal diet fortified with TM mix only; and (4) the basal diet fortified with V and TM mix. At 47 d, four birds from each replicate (20/treatment) were injected with Newcastle disease (ND) antigen and blood samples were collected just before and 9 d after immunisation. The results showed that V and TM mix withdrawal from finisher diet did not impair either weight gain or feed conversion efficiency from d 42 to 56. Feed intake was significantly increased when both mixes were omitted from the diet. Dietary treatments had no effect on carcase yield or proportion of breast and thigh meat and abdominal fat deposition. Packed cell volume (PCV) significantly decreased as a consequence of removal of V, TM and V+TM. Neither heterophil:lymphocyte ratio (H:L ratio), haemagglutination inhibition (HI) nor total antibody titre measured by ELISA were influenced by removal of V or TM supplements. In conclusion, the results from this study suggest that 14-d withdrawal of V or TM mix did not influence the immunocompetence of broilers.     

Morphometry of cervical spinal cord in cat using design-based stereology

The spinal cord harbours nerve fibres that facilitate reflex actions and that transmit impulses to and from the brain. The cervical spinal cord is an area of particular interest in medicine and veterinary due to frequent pathologic alterations in this region. This study describes the morphometric features of the cervical spinal cord in cat using design-unbiased stereological methods. The cervical spinal cords of four male cats were dissected and samples were taken according to systematic uniform random sampling. Each sample was embedded in agar and cut into 60-µm thick sections and stained with cresyl violet 0.1% for stereological estimations. The total cervical spinal cord volume obtained by the Cavalieri estimator was 2,321.21 ± 285.5 mm³. The relative volume of grey matter and white matter was 23.8 ± 1.3% and 76.1 ± 1.3%. The dorsal horn and ventral horn volume were 12.3 ± 1.2% and 11.4 ± 0.7% of the whole cervical spinal cord. The volume of central canal was estimated to 3.8 ± 1 mm³. The total number of neurons was accounted 3,405,366.2 ± 267,469.4 using the optical disector/fractionator method. The number of motoneurons and interneurons was estimated to be 1,120,433.2 ± 174,796.7 and 2,284,932.9 ± 127,261.5, respectively. The average volume of the motoneurons and interneurons was estimated to 1980 µm³ and 680 µm³, respectively, using the spatial rotator method. This knowledge of cat spinal cord findings may serve as a foundation as a translational model in spinal cord experimental research and provide basic findings for diagnosis and treatment of spinal cord disorders.     

Inheritance of the branching in hybrid populations among tetraploid wheat species and the new branched spike line 166-Schakheli

The new branched spike form of wheat was synthesized from a cross between a complex wheat line 171ACS {[(T. durum Desf. × Ae. tauschii Coss.) × S. cereale L. ssp. segetale Zhuk.] × T. aestivum L. ‘Chinese Spring’} (2n = 6x = 42, AABBDD) and durum wheat variety T. durum Desf. ‘Bereketli-95’ (2n = 4x = 28, AABB). This branched spike form is distinguished significantly from the other branched spike forms known so far. Later on basis of these plants have been developed the branched spike lines. This study was aimed to generate the segregating populations from reciprocal (F₁–F₃) and backcross (BC₁F₁–BC₁F₃) crosses between one of such lines—166-Schakheli (2n = 4x = 28, AABB) and tetraploid wheat species (T. polonicum L., T. turanicum Jakubz., T. durum Desf.) for revealing the inheritance character of this branching trait and study meiotic behavior in reciprocal (F₁, F₂) and backcross (BC₁F₁) progenies. Results showed that this trait is controlled by a single recessive gene despite certain irregularity against Mendelian law in F2 generations and does not depend on gene dosage, i.e., number of chromosomes.