Environmental impacts of a Japanese dairy farming system using whole‐crop rice silage as evaluated by life cycle assessment

The objectives of this study were to assess and compare the environmental impacts of two types of dairy farming systems, one of which makes use of whole‐crop rice silage and the other of which is conventional, using life cycle assessment (LCA). The functional unit was defined as 1 kg of 4% fat‐corrected milk (FCM). The processes associated with the dairy farming life cycle, such as feed production, feed transport, animal management including biological activity of the animal, and waste treatment were included within the system's boundaries. Environmental impacts of the rice silage‐using and conventional dairy farming systems were 987 and 972 g CO₂ equivalents for global warming, 6.87 and 7.13 g SO₂ equivalents for acidification, 1.19 and 1.23 g PO₄ equivalents for eutrophication, and 5.53 and 5.81 MJ for energy consumption, respectively. Our results suggest that the dairy farming system using rice silage in Japan has smaller environmental impacts for acidification, eutrophication, and energy consumption, and a larger impact for global warming compared with conventional farming. Further interpretation integrating these impact categories suggested 1.1% lower environmental impact of the rice silage‐using dairy farming system as a whole.     

Toxicity of Residual Chlorines from Hypochlorite-treated Seawater to Marine Amphipod Hyale barbicornis and Estuarine Fish Oryzias javanicus

To assess possible adverse effects of residual chlorines from hypochlorite-treated seawater to non-target marine organisms, bioassays were carried out on marine amphipod Hyale barbicornis and estuarine fish Oryzias javanicus. Acute toxicity tests were first conducted using various concentrations of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) followed by a long-term exposure to residual chlorines from a test water treated with 1 mg L^?1 NaOCl. Results showed that NaOCl was acutely toxic to both organisms. However, long-term exposure to residual chlorines from NaOCl-treated waters caused no major adverse effects to both organisms under laboratory conditions since free chlorines in the treated water was reduced to about 10% by 23-h holding and 1-h aeration. No H. barbicornis died but residual chlorine-exposed juveniles had significantly shorter body lengths at the end of exposure. Residual chlorine-exposed O. javanicus also showed no significant differences to that of the control in all measured endpoints except for hatching time. The results suggest that using 1 mg L^?1 NaOCl for disinfection of ballast waters will produce residual chlorines that is far below the LC50 and EC50 of H. barbicornis and O. javanicus even on a long-term basis.     

小鼠卵子突变基因功能表达的研究

近交系小鼠DDK具有一种奇异的繁殖特性(DDK综合症).这种特性是由于DDK卵子细胞质物质和其它品系精子因子之间存在的一种不亲合性引起的,它们二者均受到位于小鼠第11条染色体的卵子突变(OvumMutant或Om)位点上的1对等位基因所控制.本文介绍的研究成果包括:1)发现了存在于C57BL/6(B6)品系小鼠遗传背景中新的修饰基因,其使得杂合型(Om/ )雌鼠的胚胎死亡率增加,并提出了运用“等位基因排斥”理论解释修饰基因作用机理的假说;2)论证了DDK品系本身遗传背景中不具有使杂合型(Om/ )雌鼠胚胎死亡率降低的修饰基因;3)证明了小鼠遗传背景中,不存在通过杂合型(Om/ )雄鼠的精子影响DDK(Om/Om)雌鼠胚胎死亡率高低的修饰基因;4)通过不同亚种间近交系小鼠的杂交发现,在欧洲起源的DDK品系(Mus musculus domesticus)和日本起源的MOM品系(M.m.molossinus),以及和菲律宾起源的CASP品系(M.m.castaneus)之间,不存在卵子细胞质物质和精子的不亲合性,但CASP品系的卵子细胞质物质与B6品系的精子间可能存在着不亲合性.     

Pharmacokinetics in plasma and alveolar regions of a healthy calf intramuscularly administered a single dose of orbifloxacin

This study analyzed the pharmacokinetics of orbifloxacin (OBFX) in plasma, and its migration and retention in epithelial lining fluid (ELF) and alveolar cells within the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Four healthy calves received a single dose of OBFX (5.0 mg/kg) intramuscularly. Post-administration OBFX dynamics were in accordance with a non-compartment model, including the absorption phase. The maximum concentration (C_max) of plasma OBFX was 2.2 ± 0.1 μg/ml at 2.3 ± 0.5 hr post administration and gradually decreased to 0.3 ± 0.2 μg/ml at 24 hr following administration. The C_max of ELF OBFX was 9.3 ± 0.4 μg/ml at 3.0 ± 2.0 hr post administration and gradually decreased to 1.2 ± 0.1 μg/ml at 24 hr following administration. The C_max of alveolar cells OBFX was 9.3 ± 2.9 μg/ml at 4.0 hr post administration and gradually decreased to 1.1 ± 0.2 μg/ml at 24 hr following administration. The half-life of OBFX in plasma, ELF, and alveolar cells were 6.9 ± 2.2, 7.0 ± 0.6, and 7.8 ± 1.6 hr, respectively. The C_max and the area under the concentration-time curve for 0–24 hr with OBFX were significantly higher in ELF and alveolar cells than in plasma (P<0.05). These results suggest that OBFX is distributed and retained at high concentrations in ELF and alveolar cells at 24 hr following administration. Hence, a single intramuscular dose of OBFX (5.0 mg/kg) may be an effective therapeutic agent against pneumonia.     

The influence of dietary phospholipid level on the performances of juvenile amberjack, Seriola dumerili, fed non-fishmeal diets

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of dietary phospholipid (PL) level on growth and feed intake of juvenile amberjack ( Seriola dumerili ) fed non-fishmeal (non-FM) diet containing alternative protein sources; soybean protein isolate, tuna muscle by-product powder and krill meal. Three non-FM diets were prepared to contain three levels (14, 37 and 54 g kg⁻¹ dry diet) of PL (soybean lecithin acetone insoluble, 886 g kg⁻¹) and growth performance was monitored in a 30-day growth trial by using 2.6 g of fish. The results indicated that final body weight, weight gain and feed intake significantly increased with increasing dietary PL level. At the highest dietary PL level (54 g kg⁻¹ dry diet), the fish consumed 14.8% and 10.2% as much feed as those fish fed diets containing 14 g kg⁻¹ dry diet and 37 g kg⁻¹ dry diet PL, respectively. An increasing tendency with increasing dietary PL level on feed efficiency was observed. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that dietary PL supplementation could increase feed intake, and improve the growth of juvenile S. dumerili fed non-FM diets. Therefore, purified PL might be a good candidate to stimulate the growth of fish through enhancing the feed intake when they are fed diets containing alternative protein sources.     

Population structure of the climbing perch,Anabas testudineus,in the lower Mekong River basin

Abstract Genetic variation in the climbing perch Anabas testudineus (Bloch) was investigated by sequencing 1047 base pairs of the mitochondrial ND2 gene. A total of 367 fish samples were collected from the Mekong River. The samples were separated into two genetically differentiated intra‐specific groups, the Laotian and Cambodian group, showing a population structure roughly in accordance with geographical location. Genetic differentiation between groups was confirmed by high pairwise F‐statistic values (0.52–0.98). Molecular clock analysis indicated that both populations were separated approximately 240 000 years ago. Additionally, samples within both groups could be divided into several regional small populations. Their genetic variation might have been supported not only by environmental factors including physical barriers, but also by historical events such as migration routes and/or timing of invasions into the Mekong River. These results could be valuable in identifying management units for the conservation of the species and its resource.     

Interactive effects of dietary vitamin C and phospholipid in micro‐bound diet for growth,survival, and stress resistance of larval red sea bream,Pagrus major

This study was conducted to examine the effects of dietary ascorbic acid (AsA) and phospholipid (PL) and their interaction on growth, survival, and stress resistance in red sea bream larvae. Twenty‐six days old red sea bream were fed nine micro‐bound diets supplemented three levels of AsA (0, 800 and 1600 mg kg^?1 diet) and PL (0, 20 and 40 g kg^?1 diet) for 15 days. Dietary AsA and PL were both significant factors on survival rates. There was also an interaction between dietary AsA and PL on survival rate (P < 0.05). The larvae fed 800 or 1600 mg kg^?1 AsA with 40 g kg^?1 PL diets showed the highest survival rate, with values similar to those of the live‐food supplemented group. Stress resistance against low salinity exposure significantly increased with increased dietary level of AsA and PL. However, significant interaction of AsA and PL was not detected. The larvae fed 1600 mg kg^?1 AsA with 40 g kg^?1 PL diet showed the highest stress resistance among all diets, but it was not significantly different than that of larvae fed 800 mg kg^?1 AsA with 40 g kg^?1 PL diet. This study clearly demonstrated that combined use of AsA and PL can improve survival of 26–40 days posthatching red sea bream larvae. Moreover, the present study suggested that 800 mg kg^?1 AsA with 40 g kg^?1 PL in diet was needed for producing high quality seedling under the stressful conditions.     

Collection,preservation and distribution of Oryza genetic resources by the National Bioresource Project RICE (NBRP-RICE)

Biological resources are the basic infrastructure of bioscience research. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a good experimental model for research in cereal crops and monocots and includes important genetic materials used in breeding. The availability of genetic materials, including mutants, is important for rice research. In addition, Oryza species are attractive to researchers for both finding useful genes for breeding and for understanding the mechanism of genome evolution that enables wild plants to adapt to their own habitats. NBRP-RICE contributes to rice research by promoting the usage of genetic materials, especially wild Oryza accessions and mutant lines. Our activity includes collection, preservation and distribution of those materials and the provision of basic information on them, such as morphological and physiological traits and genomic information. In this review paper, we introduce the activities of NBRP-RICE and our database, Oryzabase, which facilitates the access to NBRP-RICE resources and their genomic sequences as well as the current situation of wild Oryza genome sequencing efforts by NBRP-RICE and other institutes.     

Efficacy of a novel in ovo-attenuated live vaccine and recombinant vaccine against a very virulent infectious bursal disease virus in chickens

Infectious bursal disease (IBD) causes severe economic damage to the poultry industry worldwide. To prevent IBD virus (IBDV) infection, live virus vaccines have been widely used in chickens having wide-ranging levels of maternally derived antibodies. But, the risks of infection with other pathogens because of lesions related to atrophy of the bursa of Fabricius in vaccinated chickens are a concern. To resolve the problems, a recombinant turkey herpesvirus (HVT) vaccine expressing IBDV-VP2 protein (rHVT-IBD) has been developed. However, the induction of neutralizing antibodies by rHVT-IBD against a virulent IBDV might be delayed compared with that by the live IBD vaccine, leading to the high risks of IBDV infection for young chickens. To find the best selection of IBDV vaccine for the onset of immunity, we examine the protective efficacy of a novel in ovo-attenuated live IBDV (IBD-CA) vaccine and the rHVT-IBD vaccine in young chickens challenged with a very virulent IBDV (vvIBDV) strain. We show that the protective efficacy of IBD-CA vaccine was higher than that of the rHVT-IBD vaccine in 14-day-old chickens challenged with the vvIBDV strain, leading to the risk of IBDV infection for young chickens when vaccinated with rHVT-IBD. Our results suggest that farmers should select the best vaccines to maximize vaccine efficacy in consideration of the vaccine characteristics, prevalence levels of IBDV in the areas, and initial MDA levels of the chickens since the attenuated live and recombinant vaccines play a role in the different vaccine efficacies.