The activity of avian Rhodanese

1. A survey of rhodanese activity (thiosulphate : cyanide sulphur transferase) in the tissues of the domestic fowl revealed that the highest activity occurred in the kidney, approximately twice that in the liver, 316 and 141 μmol SCN formed/min g protein, respectively.

2. In sparrows, pigeons and ducks, liver and kidney activities tended to be similar and increased with body size.

3. Relationships were found between enzyme activity and body weight to a fractional power, indicating relatively higher activity in smaller birds.     

Evaluation of Major Dietary Ingredients in Diverse Oats (Avena sativa L.) Germplasm

Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology - Oat (Avena sativa L.) is one of the world’s most important cereal crops, owing to its use as an important source of essential nutrients for both...     

Desorption Characteristics of Three Mineral Oxides and a Non-crystalline Aluminosilicate for Supplying Phosphate in Soilless Root Media

The objective was to evaluate phosphate desorption characteristics of synthetic hematite, goethite, and allophane and commercial alumina after loading at maximum adsorbed phosphate levels to determine their potential to release phosphate at a constant, low level to sustain plant growth in soilless media and reduce phosphate leaching. Desorption isotherms were measured at pH 6.4 ± 0.1 using a continuously stirred-flow reactor. The time period during which dissolved phosphate was maintained within the range of 5–0.2 mg·L^?1 phosphate-P decreased in the order: allophane (12.4 d) > alumina (4.6 d) > goethite (3.6 d) > hematite (1.9 d). Allophane released the most phosphate during the desorption process (40% of maximum adsorbed phosphate; 12.7 mg?g^?1) followed by alumina and goethite (19–20%; ≈2.5 mg?g^?1) and lastly hematite (5%; 0.1 mg?g^?1). Allophane demonstrated the greatest potential as a phosphate-charged source for soilless root media, in amount and duration of phosphate release.     

Growth performance,oxidative stress,and non-specific immune responses in juvenile sablefish, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Anoplopoma fimbria</Emphasis>, by changes of water temperature and salinity

Juvenile sablefish, Anoplopoma fimbria (mean length 15.5 ± 1.9 cm, mean weight 68.5 ± 4.8 g), were used to evaluate the effects on growth, oxidative stress, and non-specific immune responses by changes of water temperature (8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20 °C) and salinity (100 (35.0), 90 (31.5), 80 (28.0), 70 (24.5), 60 (21.0), 50 (17.5), and 40% (14.0) (‰)) for 4 months. The growth performance was significantly increased at the temperature of 12 and 14 °C, and the feed efficiency was notably decreased at the temperature of 18 °C. The growth performance and feed efficiency were also significantly decreased at low salinity. The antioxidant responses such as superoxide dismutase and catalase were significantly increased by the high temperature and decreased by the low salinity. The immune responses such as lysozyme and phagocytosis were elevated by the temperature of 18 °C and decreased by the salinity of 50%. The results of this study indicate that the growth performance of juvenile sablefish, A. fimbria, is influenced by the temperature and salinity, and the excessive temperature and salinity levels can affect the antioxidant and immune responses.     

Larval Development and Rearing of Longtooth Grouper Epinephelus bruneus in Jeju Island, Korea

Eggs and sperm were obtained from a female (6.3 kg/BW) and a male (8.4 kg/BW) longtooth grouper Epinephelus bruneus following HCG injection in July 2003. The eggs were fertilized artMcially with the sperm and incubated in one of two 50-m³ tanks after washing the fertilized eggs. The fertilized eggs were 830–950 pn (average 900 ± 2 μm) in diameter and the respective fertilization and hatching rates were 97.7 ± 0.6% and 96.8 ± 0.5% at a water temperature of 25.0 ± 0.5 C. With this regime, the survival rate by day 93 was 7.5% in the 50-m³ tank. The elapsed time from hatching to opening the mouth was 3 d at 25 C. The initial mouth size (z) of the larvae was 0.22–0.23 mm. The newly hatched larvae were 2.02 ± 0.02 mm TL; this increased to 4.12 ± 0.09 mm TL by day 11. By day 54, the larvae had metamorphosed into juveniles and reached 41.12 ± 1.20 mm TL, and by day 93 the juveniles reached 93.78 ± 1.98 mm TL. In all, 49.5% of the larvae were malformed and the type of malformation was diverse.     

Estimation of individual leaf area,fresh weight,and dry weight of hydroponically grown cucumbers (Cucumis sativus L.) using leaf length,width, and SPAD value

Non-destructive and mathematical approaches of modeling can be very convenient and useful for plant growth estimation. To predict individual leaf area, fresh weight, and dry weight of a cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), models were developed using leaf length, leaf width, SPAD value, and different combinations of these variables. Eight regression equations, commonly used for developing growth models, were compared for accuracy and adaptability. The three nonlinear models developed were as follows: individual leaf area (LA) = −210.61 + 13.358W + 0.5356LW (R² = 0.980^***), fresh weight (FW) = −2.72 + 0.0135LW + 0.00022LWS (R² = 0.956^***), and dry weight (DW) = 0.25 − 0.00102LS + 0.000077LWS (R² = 0.956^***), where L is the leaf length, W the leaf width, S the SPAD value, and LWS = L × W × S. For validation of the model, estimated values for individual leaf area, fresh weight, and dry weight showed strong agreement with the measured values, respectively. Leaf dry weight, especially, was estimated with a higher degree of accuracy through the use of a SPAD value, as well as leaf length and width. Therefore, it is concluded that models presented herein may be useful for the estimation of the individual leaf area, fresh weight, and dry weight of a cucumber with a high degree of accuracy.