Reassessment of phosphorus and nitrogen discharge from commercial carp feeds

ABSTRACT:   The present study, one in a series to clarify the phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) loading from carp culture, evaluated four commercial diets. The total and available P in these diets varied from 1.57 to 1.86% and from 0.38 to 0.87%, respectively. The control diet, selected based on an earlier experiment, contained 1.40% total P and 0.68% available P. The 7-week feeding trial was performed with juvenile carp. Superior feed gain ratio was obtained for the control diet (1.00) and it varied from 1.19 to 1.56 among the commercial diet groups. Similarly, the control diet showed higher rates of P absorption (43.8%) and retention (33.1%) than the rest (absorption: 18.1–40.9%; retention: 10.7–18.7%). Total P loading (kg/t production) was 10.0 for the control group but ranged from 19.1 to 25.0 among the commercial diet groups. Nitrogen absorption was not markedly different; however, fluctuations in retention resulted in N loading (kg/t production) that ranged between 47.1 and 66.3 among the commercial diets, higher than the 34.8 obtained for the control diet. The available P in the commercial diets rarely matched the requirement level, thereby negatively affecting the waste loading. The superior performance of the control diet underscores the fact that effective formulations help in keeping emission levels low.     

Different combinations of protein ingredients in carp diets for reducing phosphorus loading

ABSTRACT: This study was conducted to gather data on the reduction of environmental phosphorus (P) loading through the formulation of carp diets with different combinations of protein ingredients. Five experimental diets were formulated by substituting fishmeal (FM; 10–20%) with alternative protein sources such as meat meal (MM; 5–15%), blood meal (BM; 5–7%), and defatted soybean meal (dSBM; 6–10%). The control diet used was a commercial carp diet selected based on earlier experiments. Each diet was fed to duplicate groups of juvenile carp three times a day, until satiation for 12 weeks. Feed performance was proportional to the increase in dietary FM levels. Phosphorus absorption ranged between 41.6% and 52.0% among the experimental groups and was 42.6% for the control group, but there were no marked differences in nitrogen (N) absorption rates. Phosphorus retention ranged from 31.4% to 35.7% for the test diets, whereas N retention increased proportionally with dietary FM levels and ranged from 34.7% to 41.7%. The P and N retention values of the control diet were 27.6% and 41.2%, respectively. The total P loading (T-P) increased at the higher FM levels (9.1–10.7 kg/t production), whereas lower FM levels produced higher total N loading (T-N, 34.6–43.1 kg/t production), the figures for the control being 13.9 T-P kg/t production and 35.6 T-N kg/t production. These results indicate that the reduction of FM levels to 10–20% by replacing it with MM, BM, and dSBM in carp diets was effective in reducing the loading of P and N.     

Breaking the crossability barriers between disomic tetraploid Solanum acaule and tetrasomic tetraploid S. tuberosum

Summary A combination of compatible second pollinations and embryo rescue was applied for systematic production of true tetraploid hybrids from crosses between disomic tetraploid Solanum acaule and tetrasomic tetraploid potato, S. tuberosum. Several genotypes of tetraploid potatoes were pollinated with S. acaule, and the compatible second pollinations were made on the following day, with a genotype of S. phureja, IvP 35 to promote fruit development. Embryo rescue was carried out in 21 families, 14 to 27 days after the first pollination. A total of eight plants were obtained from the embryo rescue and their chromosome numbers were counted in the root tips. Three of the eight plants were identified as tetraploid, and five others as diploid. Morphology, isozyme banding patterns, and pollen stainability, as well as potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) resistance, indicated the hybrid nature of the three plants. This is the first report of successful tetraploid hybrid production between disomic tetraploid S. acaule (4x) and tetrasomic tetraploid potatoes. Seed set from the crosses between one of hybrids and diploid potatoes indicated workable levels of both male and female fertility for introgression of valuable genes from S. acaule into the cultivated potato gene pool. The methodology used may be applied to other disomic tetraploid tuber-bearing Solanum species and with some modifications also to distantly related solanaceous species and genera.     

Separation of sardine oil without heating from surimi waste and its effect on lipid metabolism in rats

Sardine oil was obtained by centrifugation of surimi wastewater without heating or chemical refining. This oil (CE) showed light yellow color and the peroxide value was less than 1.0 meq/kg. The main lipid class of CE was triacylglycerol (TG) (>99%). These features indicate that CE can be directly used as food materials without further purification. Commercial sardine oil (CO) is usually prepared via some kind of refining process with high temperature (250 degrees C) and chemical treatment. The comparative study on the physiological effects of these sardine oils (CE and CO) revealed that the dietary sardine oils were more effective in reducing abdominal fat pads, plasma total cholesterol, and TG levels of rats than was a soybean oil diet (control). Furthermore, these effects were greater in CE than CO, although there was little difference in the fatty acid composition of both oils. Although the main lipid class of CE was TG (>99%), CE was prepared by centrifugation from surimi waste and directly used as dietary fat without further purification. Therefore, CE may contain some kinds of minor components, which could be attributed to the higher physiological activity of CE. To reveal the involvement of the minor compounds in CE, we prepared TG from CE by column chromatography and measured its effect on lipid metabolism of rats. TG from CE also showed the reducing effects on abdominal fad pads and plasma lipid levels. The effect of TG from CE was almost the same as that of original CE, suggesting that the higher nutritional activity of CE than CO may not be due to the minor compounds in CE.     

The Physcomitrella genome reveals evolutionary insights into the conquest of land by plants

We report the draft genome sequence of the model moss Physcomitrella patens and compare its features with those of flowering plants, from which it is separated by more than 400 million years, and unicellular aquatic algae. This comparison reveals genomic changes concomitant with the evolutionary movement to land, including a general increase in gene family complexity; loss of genes associated with aquatic environments (e.g., flagellar arms); acquisition of genes for tolerating terrestrial stresses (e.g., variation in temperature and water availability); and the development of the auxin and abscisic acid signaling pathways for coordinating multicellular growth and dehydration response. The Physcomitrella genome provides a resource for phylogenetic inferences about gene function and for experimental analysis of plant processes through this plant's unique facility for reverse genetics.     

低温冷害对黑龙江省不同水稻品种产量的影响及防御措施

分析了黑龙江省自20世纪80年代以来生产中广泛使用的47份水稻品种(系)在低温处理下对照与处理间产量的相互关系,分析了近3年生产上应用品种的耐寒性,并提出了相应的冷害防御措施.     

Cathepsin K-dependent toll-like receptor 9 signaling revealed in experimental arthritis

Cathepsin K was originally identified as an osteoclast-specific lysosomal protease, the inhibitor of which has been considered might have therapeutic potential. We show that inhibition of cathepsin K could potently suppress autoimmune inflammation of the joints as well as osteoclastic bone resorption in autoimmune arthritis. Furthermore, cathepsin K-/- mice were resistant to experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Pharmacological inhibition or targeted disruption of cathepsin K resulted in defective Toll-like receptor 9 signaling in dendritic cells in response to unmethylated CpG DNA, which in turn led to attenuated induction of T helper 17 cells, without affecting the antigen-presenting ability of dendritic cells. These results suggest that cathepsin K plays an important role in the immune system and may serve as a valid therapeutic target in autoimmune diseases.     

Ordering in a fluid inert gas confined by flat surfaces

High-resolution transmission electron microscopy images of room-temperature fluid xenon in small faceted cavities in aluminum reveal the presence of three well-defined layers within the fluid at each facet. Such interfacial layering of simple liquids has been theoretically predicted, but observational evidence has been ambiguous. Molecular dynamics simulations indicate that the density variation induced by the layering will cause xenon, confined to an approximately cubic cavity of volume approximately 8 cubic nanometers, to condense into the body-centered cubic phase, differing from the face-centered cubic phase of both bulk solid xenon and solid xenon confined in somewhat larger (>/=20 cubic nanometer) tetradecahedral cavities in face-centered cubic metals. Layering at the liquid-solid interface plays an important role in determining physical properties as diverse as the rheological behavior of two-dimensionally confined liquids and the dynamics of crystal growth.