Effects of supplementation of coated crystalline amino acids on growth performance and body composition of juvenile kuruma shrimp Marsupenaeus japonicus

Supplementation of crystalline amino acids (CAA) in shrimp diets is unsuccessful in most cases. In the present study, various pre‐coated CAA were developed to minimize the leaching losses from diets in water and assessed using kuruma shrimp Marsupenaeus japonicus juveniles. Experimental diets were supplemented with coated CAA or non‐coated CAA to simulate the dietary amino acid profile to that found in the whole body protein of shrimp. The four diets contained CAA coated with either carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) (diet 1), zein (diet 2), k‐carrageenan (diet 3) or agar (diet 4), respectively. Another four diets contained CMC‐coated CAA with the addition of either zein (diet 5), casein‐gelatin (diet 6), zein and k‐carrageenan (diet 7), or casein‐gelatin and k‐carrageenan (diet 8), respectively. The 8 weeks feeding trial demonstrated that the diets containing coated CAA gave significantly higher weight gains than diets containing non‐coated CAA, with the highest value for the diet 6. The diets containing coated CAA also yielded higher feed conversion efficiency, protein efficiency ratio, and specific growth rate than diets containing non‐coated CAA. Leaching trials suggested that shrimp growth performance was improved partly due to the retardation or reduction of CAA leaching by coating them with specific binders.     

Voluntary food intake variation in chickens on lysine-free diet is attributed to the plasma lysine concentration

1. Growing chickens decrease their voluntary food intake when they receive a diet deficient in a single essential amino acid. Our previous studies suggest that the decreased food intake was associated with some metabolic changes.

2. In order to reveal the involvement of plasma lysine fluctuations in the reduction of food intake, we examined whether maintaining the plasma lysine concentration in chickens on a lysine-free diet (the purified diet contained no lysine) restored the food intake to that of the control (lysine hydrochloride 11.9 g/kg) group.

3. Male egg-type chickens at 21 d of age were injected with lysine at doses of 0.1 g/ml one hour after presenting the lysine-free diet. This injection increased the plasma lysine concentration one hour later and kept it similar to that of the control group for the following 2 h. Chickens ate the lysine-free diet as much as the control diet when their plasma lysine concentration was kept at a similar level to the control group. Injection of saline or alanine (0.12 g, isonitrogenous to lysine 0.1 g) into the crop of chickens on the lysine-free diet did not bring about the variations of food intake and plasma lysine concentrations as observed in those with lysine.

4. These findings show that the food intake variation was attributed to the plasma lysine concentration in the chickens on the lysine-free diet.     

Leavened dough processing by supercritical fluid extrusion (SCFX)

Yeast-leavened dough processing is semicontinuous due to the requirement for fermentation at constant temperature and humidity. Also, new regulations on the emission of alcohols are becoming burdensome on the baking industry. Extrusion processing of dough with supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO(2)) is envisioned to alleviate emission problems and to decrease production time by eliminating fermentation. A bread dough formulation with 50% (w/w) moisture was leavened by injecting 1.5% (w/w) SC-CO(2) in a twin-screw extruder at 37 degrees C. Specific mechanical energy input was 260 kJ/kg. The operating apparent shear rate range was 60-260 s(-1). SCFX-leavened dough density (420-430 kg/m(3)) was in good agreement with values reported for similar doughs. The flow behavior index, obtained by an on-line slit rheometer, was 0.49 for the nonleavened control and 0.63 for the SCFX-leavened dough. Apparent viscosity of the SCFX-leavened dough varied from 37 to 23 Pa-s. This new continuous process offers attractive possibilities for industrial applications if further developed.     

Impact of intensive agricultural management on carbon and nitrogen dynamics in the humid tropics

ABSTRACT

The concern about global climate change continues to increase research interest regarding carbon and nitrogen dynamics in the soil. This is based on their role in maintaining soil fertility, which can instead be a source of greenhouse gas emissions if not managed properly, while threatening food security. Humid tropical conditions enable intensive agricultural cultivation with various cropping systems to fulfill the demand for agriculture products. Such climate accelerates the soil organic matter decomposition rate so that it strongly influences soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics. However, inappropriate implementation of intensive agricultural systems that does not consider the balance between carbon and nitrogen input and output, negatively affects soil fertility, mainly decreasing soil organic carbon and total soil nitrogen, changing the composition of carbon and nitrogen owing to the loss of soil organic matter through erosion and leaching, thus, causing soil degradation. Mitigation strategies can be performed by using organic matter and crop residue, crop rotation and improvement of crop pattern, soil tillage and fertilization, cover crops and mulch. Sustainable land management for maintenance of soil organic carbon and total soil nitrogen dynamics should be locally and globally developed and adopted for a more sustainable agricultural system. Recovery of soil capacity to accumulate carbon is a strategic step to reduce the impact of climate change. Hence, an intensive study on efficient soil organic carbon management is required to improve food production and mitigation of climate change to attain sustainable development goals in 2030.     

Homestead forest resources and their role in household economy: A case study in the villages of Gazipur Sadar Upazila of central Bangladesh

This study examines the species composition, diversity and economic importance of homestead forests in the household economy of central Bangladesh. The study documents 57 homestead forest species and their main usage in 90 households across three villages of Gazipur Sadar Upazila. Homestead forests in Bangladesh comprise a mixture of fruit, timber and bamboo species. While superficially homestead forestry appears unimportant in rural livelihoods, in reality the contribution is huge, both as a source of food security and for other necessary household materials. A clear understanding of the physical characteristics and economic role of homestead forests in rural livelihoods is vital for ensuring sustainable resource management. Income and production of homestead forestry on a per hectare basis are found to vary widely between landholding size classes. Significant relationships are identified between forest performance (production and income) and species richness and education level. Homestead forestry appears to be a potential subsistence income generating land-use practice in the study area. The economic scope of homestead forestry can be further enhanced provided the appropriate species composition of the forest is achieved and the education of forest owners is ensured through targeted management and policy interventions.     

In vitro reconstruction of the respiratory central pattern generator of the mollusk Lymnaea

Most rhythmic behaviors such as respiration, locomotion, and feeding are under the control of networks of neurons in the central nervous system known as central pattern generators (CPGs). The respiratory rhythm of the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis is a relatively simple, CPG-based behavior for which the underlying neural elements have been identified. A three-neuron network capable of generating the respiratory rhythm of this air-breathing mollusk has been reconstructed in culture. The intrinsic and network properties of this neural ensemble have been studied, and the mechanism of postinhibitory rebound excitation was found to be important for the rhythm generation. This in vitro model system enables a better understanding of the neural basis of rhythm generation.     

Recalibrating plant water status of winter wheat based on nitrogen nutrition index using thermal images

Precision Agriculture - Accurate and timely assessment of crop water status is imperative for in-season irrigation scheduling in crop production. The canopy water stress index and water deficit...     

The effect of ethylene and of inhibitors of protein and nucleic acid syntheses on dormancy break and subsequent sprout growth

Summary Cycloheximide inhibited dormancy break and subsequent sprout growth of potato buds in the presence or absence of ethylene. Dormancy break was relatively insensitive to treatment with actinomycin D, in marked contrast to the inhibition observed with cycloheximide; however, sprout elongation was inhibited by actinomycin D treatment. This suggests that dormancy release may depend on protein synthesis but not on nucleic acid synthesis. Total protein analysis revealed that two high molecular weight polypeptide bands appeared during dormancy break in the presence or absence of ethylene. The response was consistent in the two cultivars used in this study. Cycloheximide treatment blocked the synthesis of any new polypeptides in response to ethylene in the tuber tissue. This indicates that dormancy release of potato buds may be associated with the regulation of protein synthesis.     

Silicate Minerals as a Source of Arsenic Contamination in Groundwater

The dynamic behavior of water quality and quantity in the Egyptian drains is often viewed as a disruption to the normal operation and performance of the process of water reuse in irrigation. The control of such behavior has been challenging and often elusive in practice. Therefore, this paper presents a framework to advance the understanding and opportunities for improving the reuse process by developing a multivariate process control model. The model starts with preliminary analysis for water quality data that are collected at the reuse site on the examined drain. This phase comprises investigating data distribution and dependency. Then, univariate control charts are used to investigate the state of control for the independent and normally distributed variables. For dependent variables, principal components analysis is used as a method of synthesizing the variables information. In this case, principal component scores are displayed using multivariate control charts. If in-control case existed, process capability index is used to provide a numerical measure of whether or not the reuse process is capable of producing water that satisfies the irrigation quality standards. Since the model will only detect assignable causes if out-of-control or in-capable case existed, management, operational, and/or engineering action will usually be necessary to sustain the reuse process. In these cases, an action plan in response to the model signals will be vital. The main function of the proposed model is to safely manage the reuse practice using statistical quality control techniques. The model was demonstrated using water quality data collected during the period from January 2006 to July 2011 from Hanut (EH02) and El-Salam 3 (ESL03) pump stations along Hadus drain, Eastern Nile Delta-Egypt. The recommended model is automatic, algorithmic, self-tuning, and computerizable.     

Effect of Raillietina echinobothrida infection on blood values and intestinal tissues of domestic fowls of Bangladesh

An examination of the blood profile of domestic fowls infected with Raillietina echinobothrida revealed anaemia with a significant increase of total leukocyte counts and decrease of total serum protein. The pathological changes in the intestines were characterised by villous atrophy, enteritis with cellular infiltration and formation of characteristic granulomas.