Effect of supplementation of Simada sheep with graded levels of concentrate meal on feed intake,digestibility and body-weight parameters

The experiment consisting of 7 days of digestibility and 90 days of feeding trial was conducted at Wogda (Ethiopia) to determine the effect of supplementation of graded levels of concentrate mix (CM) on feed intake, digestibility, and body weight (BW) change in hay-based feeding of Simada sheep. Twenty-yearling Simada sheep with a mean initial BW of 17.9 ± 0.81 kg (mean ± SD) were used in randomized complete block design arranged into five blocks of four animals. The four dietary treatments that consisted of hay alone (T1), hay +150 g dry matter (DM; T2, low), hay +250 g DM (T3, medium), and hay +350 g DM (T4, high) CM were randomly assigned to each sheep within a block. The CM consisted of wheat bran (WB), noug seed (Guizotia abyssinica) meal and safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) seed meal at the ratio of (2:1:1), respectively. Supplementation with T2 and T3 increased (P < 0.001) total DM and organic matter intake than the control treatment. Overall, supplementation improved (P < 0.001) crude protein intake, digestibility, feed conversion efficiency, BW gain, and profitability compared to the control, whereas sheep on the high than the low and medium level of supplementation performed better in these parameters among the supplemented treatments. From the results of this study, T4 is recommended as the best level of supplementation since it resulted in better nutrient utilization, animal performance, and profitability.     

A colorimetric quantification of softened polylactic acid and polyester filament knitted fabrics to ‘Water-spotting’

Water droplets falling onto finished fabrics can create spots which can spoil the appearance of the fabric. This study compares the propensity of softened filament polylactic acid and polyester fabrics to exhibit the adverse affects of ‘water-spotting’, and to identify suitable softeners and methods for their application to minimise and eliminate the problem. The degree of water spotting was greater on softened polylactic acid fabrics than on softened polyester fabrics. Polylactic acid and polyester fabrics with hydrophobic properties did not exhibit any water spotting. Softeners applied by an exhaustion process resulted in a finished fabric which exhibited no water spotting for either dyed polylactic acid or dyed polyester fabrics. The softening active agent was not responsible for the water spotting. The other components in the softener formulation (such as emulsifier, wetting agent), which carries the unfixed dyes with water, were found to be responsible. The water spot halo disappeared after a single machine laundering process.     

A specialist-generalist classification of the arable flora and its response to changes in agricultural practices

Background  

Theory in ecology points out the potential link between the degree of specialisation of organisms and their responses to disturbances and suggests that this could be a key element for understanding the assembly of communities. We evaluated this question for the arable weed flora as this group has scarcely been the focus of ecological studies so far and because weeds are restricted to habitats characterised by very high degrees of disturbance. As such, weeds offer a case study to ask how specialization relates to abundance and distribution of species in relation to the varying disturbance regimes occurring in arable crops.     

Outbreak of Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning Associated with Mussels,British Columbia,Canada

In 2011, a Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP) outbreak occurred in British Columbia (BC), Canada that was associated with cooked mussel consumption. This is the first reported DSP outbreak in BC. Investigation of ill individuals, traceback of product and laboratory testing for toxins were used in this investigation. Sixty-two illnesses were reported. Public health and food safety investigation identified a common food source and harvest area. Public health and regulatory agencies took actions to recall product and notify the public. Shellfish monitoring program changes were implemented after the outbreak. Improved response and understanding of toxin production will improve management of future DSP outbreaks.     

Berberine attenuates oxidative stress and hepatocytes apoptosis via protecting mitochondria in blunt snout bream <Emphasis Type="Italic">Megalobrama amblycephala</Emphasis> fed high-fat diets

High-fat diets may have favorable effects on growth and cost, but high-fat diets often induce excessive fat deposition, resulting in liver damage. This study aimed to identify the hepatoprotective of a Chinese herb (berberine) for blunt snout bream (Megalobrama amblycephala). Fish were fed with a normal diet (LFD, 5 % fat), high-fat diet (HFD, 15 % fat) or berberine-supplemented diets (BSD, 15 % fat with berberine 50 or 100 mg/kg level) for 8 weeks. After the feeding, histology, oxidative status and mitochondrial function of liver were assessed. The results showed that HFD caused fat accumulation, oxidative stress and apoptosis in hepatocytes of fish. Hepatocytes in HFD group appeared to be hypertrophied, with larger liver cells diameter than these of LFD group. Berberine-supplemented diets could attenuate oxidative stress and hepatocytes apoptosis. HFD induced the decreasing mitochondrial complexes activities and bulk density and surface area density. Berberine improved function of mitochondrial respiratory chain via increasing the complex activities. Moreover, the histological results showed that berberine has the potential to repair mitochondrial ultrastructural damage and elevate the density in cells. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that berberine has attenuated liver damage induced by the high fat mainly via the protection for mitochondria.     

Effects of light quality on conidiophore formation of the melon powdery mildew pathogen <Emphasis Type="Italic">Podosphaera xanthii</Emphasis>

The lengths of conidiophores in fungal colonies of the melon powdery mildew pathogen Podosphaera xanthii Pollacci KMP-6 N cultured under greenhouse (natural) conditions differed markedly from those cultured in a growth chamber. We hypothesized that light wavelength was responsible for the differences in conidiophore length. In this study, we examined the effects of light-emitting diode (LED) irradiation (purple, blue, green, orange, and red light) and white light on colony development and conidiophore formation in KMP-6 N using a stereomicroscope and a high-fidelity digital microscope. Colonies on leaves were flat under greenhouse conditions and under red LED light irradiation but were stacked under growth chamber conditions and under purple, blue, green, and orange LED light irradiation. In addition, KMP-6 N formed catenated conidia comprising six conidia per conidiophore under greenhouse conditions and red light but more than seven conidia per conidiophore under growth chamber conditions and purple, blue, green, and orange light. Furthermore, almost none of the conidia on top of the conidiophores grown under blue light were fully constricted. Therefore, these fungi could not scatter their conidia and spread infection. This is the first report of the effects of LED lights on conidiophore formation in the melon powdery mildew fungus P. xanthii. The results provide insight into the mechanisms underlying the responses of conidiophores to light of specific wavelengths and conidial scatter from conidiophores of melon powdery mildew fungi.     

Effect of nitrogen root zone fertilization on rice yield,uptake and utilization of macronutrient in lower reaches of Yangtze River,China

Improper application of nitrogen (N) has led to high N losses and low N use efficiency in the lower reaches of Yangtze River in China. An effective method to solve such problems is the deep fertilized N in root zone (RZF). Limited information is available on the effect of RZF on the uptake of macronutrients (N, P and K) and rice yield. Field experiments, conducted from 2014 to 2015, compared the farmer fertilizer practice (FFP, with 225 kg ha^?1 of N, split into three doses) and RZF using the same rate but placing N 5 cm away from rice roots in holes 10 cm deep (RZF10) or 5 cm deep (RZF5) as a single application. The highest mean yield (10.0 t ha^?1) was obtained in RZF10, which was 19.5% more than that in FFP. Root zone fertilization of urea (whether 10 cm deep or 5 cm deep) resulted in greater accumulation of N, P and K in stem, leaf sheaths, leaf blades and grains compared to that in FFP in sandy and in loam soils. The uptake of N, P and K was the highest in RZF10 (average at 176.7, 66.2 and 179.1 kg ha^?1, respectively), higher than that in FFP by 45.0, 17.0 and 22.6%, respectively. N apparent recovery efficiency was markedly higher in RZF10 (53.1%) than in FFP (27.5%). RZF10 significantly increased the N, P, K uptake compared with FFP under different N rates in both sandy and loam soils. These results suggest that the N, P and K input amount should be re-determined under RZF.     

Development of a label-free immunosensor system for detecting oocyte maturation-inducing hormone in fish

A label-free immunosensor for detecting the oocyte maturation-inducing hormone 17, 20β-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (DHP), was developed. A principle of the sensor system was based on differences in electrochemical activity changed by an immunoreaction in the absence and presence of DHP. For preparation of the immunosensor, anti-DHP IgG was immobilized on an Au working electrode modified with a self-assembled monolayer of 3-mercaptopropionic acid. The sensor was immersed into a sample solution containing DHP. DHP was determined by cyclic voltammetry. The immunosensor showed a specific response to DHP, and the oxidation peak current linearly decreased in the range of 7.8–500 pg ml⁻¹ with a correlation coefficient of 0.996. The sensor system was applied to determine the DHP levels in plasma of goldfish and was compared with the DHP levels of the same samples determined using an ELISA as the conventional method. Good correlation was obtained between values determined using both methods in the range of 0.1–7.7 ng ml⁻¹ (correlation coefficient 0.876). These findings suggest that the proposed label-free immunosensor can be used to analyze DHP levels in fish plasma samples.     

First report of leaf spot caused by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Alternaria alternata</Emphasis> on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drimia maritima</Emphasis>

Drimia maritima (squill) is a historically important medicinal plant. During the spring of 2016, small, yellow leaf spots, which became brown and finally necrotic, were observed on squill plants in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Provinces in Iran. A fungus was consistently isolated from infected leaves and identified as Alternaria alternata based on morphological and phylogenetic analyses. Pathogenicity tests confirmed A. alternata to be the causal agent of the newly observed leaf spot disease. This is the first report of leaf spot on D. maritima caused by A. alternata in the world.     

Consequences of a large-scale fragmentation experiment for Neotropical bats: disentangling the relative importance of local and landscape-scale effects

Context

Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation are widespread drivers of biodiversity decline. Understanding how habitat quality interacts with landscape context, and how they jointly affect species in human-modified landscapes, is of great importance for informing conservation and management.

Objectives

We used a whole-ecosystem manipulation experiment in the Brazilian Amazon to investigate the relative roles of local and landscape attributes in affecting bat assemblages at an interior-edge-matrix disturbance gradient.

Methods

We surveyed bats in 39 sites, comprising continuous forest (CF), fragments, forest edges and intervening secondary regrowth. For each site, we assessed vegetation structure (local-scale variable) and, for five focal scales, quantified habitat amount and four landscape configuration metrics.

Results

Smaller fragments, edges and regrowth sites had fewer species and higher levels of dominance than CF. Regardless of the landscape scale analysed, species richness and evenness were mostly related to the amount of forest cover. Vegetation structure and configurational metrics were important predictors of abundance, whereby the magnitude and direction of response to configurational metrics were scale-dependent. Responses were ensemble-specific with local-scale vegetation structure being more important for frugivorous than for gleaning animalivorous bats.

Conclusions

Our study indicates that scale-sensitive measures of landscape structure are needed for a more comprehensive understanding of the effects of fragmentation on tropical biota. Although forest fragments and regrowth habitats can be of conservation significance for tropical bats our results further emphasize that primary forest is of irreplaceable value, underlining that their conservation can only be achieved by the preservation of large expanses of pristine habitat.