禽用谷物品质的预测和改善

小麦、大麦和黑小麦等谷物在营养价值方面(例如代谢能)的变化已被业界人士广为了解,这种营养价值的变异造成了肉鸡料肉比不可预测及在某些情况下能产生粘湿的粪便.现已充分认识到,上述谷物中所含的可溶性长链阿拉伯木聚糖和β-葡聚糖是引起肠道食糜高粘性等问题的主要原因.非淀粉多糖酶,如木聚糖酶和β-葡聚糖酶,能通过部分的破坏上述物质的纤维结构从而有效地减少肠内的粘性.这种作用的衍生效应是成倍的,而最终结果是增加了养分的利用率.自80年代末期开始,使用小麦、大麦和黑小麦作为饲料能源谷物的国家便已经商业化地使用非淀粉多糖酶来提高养殖的经济效益,而最近研发的小麦品质快速测定法(芬兰饲料国际公司的AvicheckTM 应用软件)能使饲料厂根据小麦的品质和用量来优化酶制剂的最佳添加量,从而达到最大的利润.     

Spectroscopic Observation of the Formyl Cation in a Condensed Phase

The formyl cation, HCO+, has long been believed to be an important intermediate in the chemistry of carbon monoxide (CO) in acidic environments, but its spectroscopic observation in solution has been elusive. This species was generated by the reaction of CO with the liquid superacid hydrofluoric acid-antimony pentafluoride (HF-SbF5) under pressure and was observed by nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared spectroscopy. Equilibria between CO in the gas phase, CO dissolved in HF-SbF5, the SbF5 adduct of formyl fluoride, and HCO+ associated with several equilibrating anions of the type [SbxF5x+1]- are proposed to describe the system.     

Predatory Dinosaurs from the Sahara and Late Cretaceous Faunal Differentiation

Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) fossils discovered in the Kem Kem region of Morocco include large predatory dinosaurs that inhabited Africa as it drifted into geographic isolation. One, represented by a skull approximately 1.6 meters in length, is an advanced allosauroid referable to the African genus Carcharodontosaurus. Another, represented by a partial skeleton with slender proportions, is a new basal coelurosaur closely resembling the Egyptian genus Bahariasaurus. Comparisons with Cretaceous theropods from other continents reveal a previously unrecognized global radiation of carcharodontosaurid predators. Substantial geographic differentiation of dinosaurian faunas in response to continental drift appears to have arisen abruptly at the beginning of the Late Cretaceous.     

α‐6 Integrin Expression in Bovine Spermatogonial Cells Purified by Discontinuous Percoll Density Gradient

The study of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) provides a model to better understand adult stem cell biology. Besides the biomedical potential to perform studies of infertility in many species, SSCs hold a promising application at animal transgenesis. Because stem cells are thought to be associated with basement membranes, expression of α‐6 integrin has been investigated as a marker of type A spermatogonial cells, which are considered SSCs because of their undifferentiated status and self‐renewal ability. In this manner, the aim of this study was to isolate type A SSCs from adult bulls by a two‐step enzymatic procedure followed by a discontinuous Percoll density gradient purification and verify the expression of α‐6 integrin by flow cytometry and real‐time RT‐PCR before and after Percoll purification. Spermatogonial cells were successfully obtained using the two‐step enzymatic digestion. An average of 1 × 10⁵ viable cells per gram of testis was isolated. However, the discontinuous Percoll did not purify isolated cells regarding α‐6 integrin expression. Flow cytometry analysis demonstrated no differences in the α‐6 integrin expression between cell samples before and after Percoll purification (p = 0.5636). The same was observed in the real‐time PCR analysis (p > 0.05). In addition to α‐6 integrin, the expression of GFRa‐1 and PGP9.5, known bovine SSCs markers, was detected in all samples studied. Considering that Percoll can reduce cell viability, it is possible to conclude that Percoll density gradient is not suitable to purify bovine SSC, according to α‐6 integrin expression.