Morphological and oil content variation in seeds of Azadirachta indica A. Juss. (Neem) from northern and western provenances of India

Seed morphology (seed length and 20 seed weight) and oil content was studied in Azadirachta indica A. Juss. (Neem) of five provenances of northern and western India. Trees with wide ranges of girths were considered for study. Maximum average oil content was observed in trees from Hisar provenance. Seed oil content in most of the provenances was not consistently and significantly correlated with morphological parameters of seeds. Age of the tree had no significant effect on the oil yield.     

Radial variations of wood properties in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Casuarina equisetifolia</Emphasis> growing in Bangladesh

Radial variations of wood properties (basic density, fiber length, vessel element length, and compression strength) in plantation-grown Casuarina equisetifolia in Bangladesh were investigated for effective utilization of the wood. Samples disks at breast height were randomly collected from trees in a 10-year-old plantation in Cox’s Bazar Forest Division, Bangladesh. The basic density showed a near-constant value up to 30 mm from the pith and then rapidly increased up to 60 mm from the pith. The fiber length and vessel element length gradually increased from the pith to bark. When radial variation of wood properties was determined according to relative distance from the pith, similar radial patterns were observed among the sample trees, indicating that the wood properties in C. equisetifolia may be related to the growth rate. The compression strength parallel to the grain (CS) increased from the pith to bark. A significant positive correlation was found between the air-dried density and the CS. The results obtained indicated that wood around the pith has a relatively low density, and wood outside the pith area has a relatively high density, suggesting that it could be used as structural lumber. Part of this report was presented at the 58th Annual Meeting of Japan Wood Research Society, Tsukuba, March 2008     

孟加拉国丘陵地带桔园和灌木林地土壤物理性质的比较评价

The physical properties of soil on two hill slopes of 35% and 55% in orange orchard cultivated by the Mro tribe of Chittagong Hill Tracts （CHTs） were evaluated and compared with those of bushy hill forests. Soil samples were collected from three different depths （0-5 cm, 5-15 cm and 15-30 cm）, digging three profiles in each land use for determining moisture content, organic matter content and particle density. Maximum water holding capacity, field capacity, dry and moist bulk density and porosity were determined only for the surface soils. Moisture content at all the soil depths was significantly higher （p≤ 0.05） in orange orchard than in forest on both the slopes. Orange orchard contained lower mean soil organic matter than forest on 55% slope, while it contained higher values on 35% slope compared to forest. The highest value of the above two properties was found at surface soil in both the land uses on both the slopes, decreasing with the increase of soil depth. On both the slopes maximum water holding capacity and porosity of surface soil and particle density at all soil depths were lower in orange orchard compared to those in forest. Field capacity values of surface soil did not show consistency in trend for the differences between the two land uses on both the slopes. Bulk density value of moist and dry surface soil was higher in orange orchard than in forest on both the hill slopes.     

Liver metabolomic analysis in broiler chicks: Profiling the metabolites after oral administration of l-citrulline

Hypothermia is directly linked to metabolism; however, it is still unknown how the overall metabolism is altered by oral administration of hypothermic agent, l -citrulline (l -Cit). The present study aimed to determine the characteristics of liver metabolites of chicks orally administered l -Cit to provide a greater understanding of its metabolism. Capillary electrophoresis–time-of-flight mass spectrometry (CE-TOFMS) and liquid chromatography–time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-TOFMS) were conducted on liver samples after oral administration of l -Cit. A total of 361 liver metabolites were identified. Although a small number of samples were used for each group, a principal component analysis and heatmap patterns confirmed that the composition of metabolites could be segregated from each other. Of the 361 compounds detected in the liver, 41 compounds, including amino acids related to the Cit-arginine (Arg) cycle, argininosuccinic acid, Arg, ornithine, and Cit, as well as gamma aminobutyric acid, glycine, histidine, and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide were abundant in l -Cit-treated livers. In contrast, 24 compounds containing fatty acids, amino acids, and cyclic adenosine monophosphate were lower in the l -Cit group. These data imply that the active Cit-Arg cycle, TCA cycle metabolism, and a low activity in fatty acid metabolism occur in l -Cit-treated broiler chicks.     

Effect of dietary probiotic Biogen® supplementation as a growth promoter on growth performance and feed utilization of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus (L.)

Probiotic microbial feed supplements are gaining wide acceptance in livestock production, and may be applicable to aquaculture production systems. The present study was conducted to examine probiotic treatment in the fingerling diet of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus (L.). A total of 240 of Nile tilapia fingerlings (weight ranged from 22.96 to 26.40 g) were divided into five experimental groups. The experiment was conducted for 120 days. Experimental diets were identical in all, except for the variation in probiotic levels. A probiotic (Biogen^®) was used at 0% (diet 1), 0.5% (diet 2), 1.5% (diet 3), 2.0% (diet 4) and 2.5% (diet 5) inclusion rates in the experimental diets. The growth performance and nutrient utilization of Nile tilapia including weight gain, specific growth rate, protein efficiency ratio, protein productive value and energy retention were significantly (P≤0.01) higher in the treatment receiving probiotic (Biogen^®) than the control diet. No differences were observed for moisture, ash and protein content (P≤0.01) among the experimental diets. The lowest gross energy and lipid contents were recorded for fish fed the diet containing 0.5% Biogen^® (P≤0.01). The production performance and subsequent cost–benefit analyses clearly indicated that the diets containing probiotic biogen recorded the highest net return and the lowest total cost compared with the control diet.     

Epidermal electronics

We report classes of electronic systems that achieve thicknesses, effective elastic moduli, bending stiffnesses, and areal mass densities matched to the epidermis. Unlike traditional wafer-based technologies, laminating such devices onto the skin leads to conformal contact and adequate adhesion based on van der Waals interactions alone, in a manner that is mechanically invisible to the user. We describe systems incorporating electrophysiological, temperature, and strain sensors, as well as transistors, light-emitting diodes, photodetectors, radio frequency inductors, capacitors, oscillators, and rectifying diodes. Solar cells and wireless coils provide options for power supply. We used this type of technology to measure electrical activity produced by the heart, brain, and skeletal muscles and show that the resulting data contain sufficient information for an unusual type of computer game controller.     

Salt-tolerance in Brassica juncea L. I. In vitro selection,agronomic evaluation and genetic stability

Summary In vitro selection of salt tolerant plants of Brassica juncea L. (Indian mustard) cv. Prakash has been accomplished by screening highly morphogenic cotyledon explant cultures on high NaCl media. Out of a total of 2,620 cotyledons cultured on high salt medium, 3 survived, showed sustained growth and regenerated shoots. They were multiplied by axillary bud culture on NaCl free medium. The salt-selected shoots retained salt tolerance following 3 month of growth and multiplication on control medium. While two of these somaclones flowered and set seeds, third one grew slowly, had abnormal leaf morphology and was sterile. The seed of the two fertile plants were sown in the field to raise R₁ segregating generation. Data were recorded for field, other agronomic components and oil content. The somaclonal lines, both selected salt-tolerant and non-selected, showed tremendous amount of variation for all the characters studied. One of the two tolerant somaclones invariably showed reduced height, longer reproductive phase and higher 1000 seed weight. Based on the agronomic performance of R₁ plants of these somaclones, some plants were selected and their progeny were evaluated for agronomic performance under standard field conditions and salt-tolerance in the greenhouse using sand pot culture method. Most of the lines bred true for their specific characteristics. In the greenhouse, selected salt-tolerant somaclones (SR-2 and SR-3) performed better for plant growth, yield and other agronomic traits at higher salt treatments, indicating thereby that salt-tolerance trait selected in vitro was expressed in the whole plants and is genetically stable and transmitted onto the progeny. The two tolerant lines, however, differed in their salt-tolerance during vegetative and reproductive phases as indicated by their salt-tolerance and stress susceptibility indices. The mechanism of salt-tolerance is not clear and needs to be further investigated.     

Effect of totally or partially replacing fish meal by alternative protein sources on growth of African catfish Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) reared in concrete tanks

A 12‐week feeding trial was carried out in concrete tanks to examine complete and partial replacement (75%) of fish meal (FM) with poultry by‐product meal (PBM), meat and bone meal (MBM) and soybean meal (SBM) in practical feeds for African catfish Clarias gariepinus. Triplicate groups of fish (initial body weight ranged from 90.33 to 93.93 g fish⁻¹) were fed seven isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets of 20% digestible protein and 300 kcal 100 g⁻¹ of digestible energy. The control contained 25% herring meal, whereas in the other six diets, PBM, MBM and SBM replaced 75% or 100% of the FM. Final body weight (FBW) and specific growth rate (SGR) of the fish fed diets containing PBM (75% and 100%), SBM (75% and 100%) and MBM (75%) were all higher, but not significantly different than those for fish fed the control diet. Replacing 100% of the FM by MBM significantly lowered FBW and SGR. Concerning whole body composition, there were no significant differences in ash and gross energy content of whole‐body among fish; fish fed diets containing PBM‐100% recorded significantly lower protein content compared with the control diet, while fish fed diet SBM‐100% recorded significantly lower moisture content compared with the control diet. Also fish fed diets SBM‐100% and PBM‐75% recorded higher lipid and gross energy contents compared with the control diet. The study revealed that satisfactory growth and feed utilization responses could be achieved through the replacement of FM by PBM, SBM and MBM in the diet of African catfish.