Palm kernel meal (Elaeis guineensis) as a substitute for corn (Zea mays) in diets of Tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum)

Two experiments were carried out to evaluate the effects of palm kernel meal (Elaeis guineensis) as corn (Zea mays) substitutes in tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) diets based on zootechnical performance, health, characteristics of the muscle, yield and economic efficiency. The first one was carried out in a recirculation aquaculture system for 75 days wherein tambaquis received diets with 0% (T0), 25% (T25), 50% (T50), 75% (T75) and 100% (T100) of corn replacement by palm kernel meal. The second experiment, conducted in ponds for 184 days, tambaquis were fed T0 and T25 diets (selected because showed greater weight gain without health damage). Final weight and weight gain of tambaquis were impaired by the increasing levels of this ingredient on diets, and the feed conversion ratio was worse. The protein efficiency ratio and specific growth rate gradually reduced, while the total number of leucocytes and neutrophils gradually increased. Cholesterol and triglycerides decreased in T75 and T100. Variables analysed in experiment 2 were not affected by treatment, except muscle lipids. Palm kernel meal can replace up to 25% of corn in tambaqui diets since it maintains a balance in economic and zootechnical performance of production.     

副猪嗜血杆菌感染的诊断和防制策略

通过预防性免疫接种和抗生素治疗,可以防制副猪嗜血杆菌感染。但是,要成功地防制全身性疾病,就必须作出准确的诊断,并要了解受害猪群中副猪嗜血杆菌的流行病学。     

The Tetrahydrofuran Motif in Polyketide Marine Drugs

Oxygen heterocycles are units that are abundant in a great number of marine natural products. Among them, marine polyketides containing tetrahydrofuran rings have attracted great attention within the scientific community due to their challenging structures and promising biological activities. An overview of the most important marine tetrahydrofuran polyketides, with a focused discussion on their isolation, structure determination, approaches to their total synthesis, and biological studies is provided.     

Chemical composition of oleo-gum-resin from Ferula gummosa

The chemical composition of oleo-gum-resin from Ferula gummosa collected in the northern part of Iran has been studied. The fraction of oleo-gum-resin soluble in ethanol (ca 67 wt.%) is composed by three major fractions: (i) monoterpenes and monoterpenoids (ca 15 wt.% fraction), (ii) sesquiterpenes and sesquiterpenoids (ca 30 wt.%) and (iii) triterpenes and triterpenoids (ca 55 wt.%). The major families of terpenes and terpenoids were identified employing gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry detector (GC-MS). Almost 25 wt.% of oleo-gum-resin was insoluble in ethanol and, according to wet chemistry analyses, assigned to arabinogalactane structurally associated with protein complex (AGP). This arabinogalactan possessed the molecular weight of ca 30 kDa, as revealed by size exclusion chromatography, and the main backbone was constituted by β-(1 → 3)/β-(1 → 3,6)-linked d-galactopyranosyl residues ramified predominantly by terminal α-l-arabinofuranosyl and β-d-glucuronopyranosyl residues, as assessed by 1D/2D ¹H NMR.     

Effect of Organic Acids on Physical-Mechanical and Antifungicidal Properties of Anchovy Protein Films

The use of active biodegradable films from renewable sources like anchovy, with the incorporation of organic acids, such as sorbic acid (SA) and benzoic acid (BA), is an alternative to decrease environmental pollution and minimize the development of fungi in foods. This study investigated the respective influences of SA and BA at 0, 0.50, 0.75, and 1.50% on the growth of Aspergillus flavus and Rhizopus oryzae and on Argentine anchovy protein film properties (L*, a*, b*, tensile strength, elongation at break, solubility in water, water vapor permeability, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR)). Results showed that the incorporation of SA or BA at different levels significantly increased the water vapor permeability, water solubility, and elongation at break of the films, but decreased the tensile strength and L* parameter (p < 0.05). FTIR evidenced an interaction between the BA and Argentine protein isolate. Also, the influences of the SA or BA concentration on antifungal activity was observed. The greatest effectiveness was obtained for films containing SA against R. oryzae compared to BA film treatments. In conclusion, the Argentine anchovy protein films could retain their antifungal property by incorporation of these organic acids.     

Effect of the grain protein content locus Gpc-B1 on bread and pasta quality

Grain protein concentration (GPC) affects wheat nutritional value and several critical parameters for bread and pasta quality. A gene designated Gpc-B1, which is not functional in common and durum wheat cultivars, was recently identified in Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccoides. The functional allele of Gpc-B1 improves nitrogen remobilization from the straw increasing GPC, but also shortens the grain filling period resulting in reduced grain weight in some genetic backgrounds. We developed isogenic lines for the Gpc-B1 introgression in six hexaploid and two tetraploid wheat genotypes to evaluate its effects on bread-making and pasta quality. In common wheat, the functional Gpc-B1 introgression was associated with significantly higher GPC, water absorption, mixing time and loaf volume, whereas in durum wheat, the introgression resulted in significant increases in GPC, wet gluten, mixing time, and spaghetti firmness, as well as a decrease in cooking loss. On the negative side, the functional Gpc-B1 introgression was associated in some varieties with a significant reduction in grain weight, test weight, and flour yield and significant increases in ash concentration. Significant gene × environment and gene × genotype interactions for most traits stress the need for evaluating the effect of this introgression in particular genotypes and environments.     

Radiography and computed tomography of the heart and lower respiratory tract in toco toucans (Ramphastos toco)

This study aimed to evaluate normal features of the heart and lower respiratory tract in toco toucans by means of radiography and helical computed tomography (CT) scanner. Fifteen healthy adult toco toucans (Ramphastos toco), 10 females and 5 males, average body mass of 650 g were studied. CT examination as well as right lateral and ventrodorsal radiographic examinations of the coelomic cavity were performed under chemical restraint. Heart, lungs, air sacs, trachea and syrinx were analysed. The mean values of heart length, heart width and thoracic cavity in radiographs were, respectively, 23.76 mm, 25.94 mm and 48.87 mm. In both X-rays and CT scans, the lung parenchyma had honeycomb-like pattern. The topographic areas of the anterior and posterior air sacs were visualized as dark and air-filled spaces in X-rays. On CT evaluation, the air sacs occupied a larger area in the coelomic cavity compared to X-ray. In the lateral radiographic view, the cervical part of the trachea was positioned more ventrally in the transition from cervical to thoracic regions showing a V-shaped appearance. In all CT planes was visible division of the trachea into the right and left main bronchi at the level of 3rd thoracic vertebra. The syrinx was difficult to visualize in X-rays, but on CT it was easily identified in axial slice. In conclusion, the normal features of toco toucan's heart and lower respiratory tract that were determined on X-rays and CT scans are useful to compare with sick toco toucans, as well as other bird species.     

Effect of water recirculation rate and initial stocking densities on competent larvae and survival of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas in a recirculation aquaculture system

The present study evaluated the effect of initial stocking density and water recirculation rate on larval yield (percent of initially stocked larvae alive at the end of the experiment) and production of competent larvae (percent of initially stocked larvae alive at the end of the experiment retained on a sieve with mesh size 239 μm) of Crassostrea gigas in a recirculation aquaculture system (RAS). Different initial larval stocking densities (80, 160 and 320 larvae mL^?1) and water flow rates (100, 200 and 300 mL min^?1, totalling renewal rates of 60, 120 and 180 times day^?1 of water volume in culture tanks, respectively) were evaluated in 2.4-L tanks using a completely randomized design in a factorial scheme. The physicochemical parameters of the water (temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen and conductivity) were stable in all treatments during the experimental period. Our results demonstrated that the production of C. gigas larvae was feasible at the proposed densities. However, the water renewal rate affected both yield and competent larvae in the recirculation aquaculture system. Oyster cultures with densities of 160 larvae mL^?1 and flow of water of 300 mL min^?1 showed the best yield (89.34 ± 18.43%) and rate of competent larvae (84.09 ± 16.38%) and are therefore recommended with the aim of optimizing larvae cultivation.

     

Rough virulent strain of Brucella ovis induces pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in reproductive tissues in experimentally infected rams

The ovine brucellosis caused by Brucella ovis has tropism for reproductive tissues but until now the mechanism of bacterial persistence is not understood. Cytokine expression profiles were studied for 8 months in rams after being experimentally infected with the rough virulent strain of B. ovis (R-B. ovis) to study the pathogenesis of B. ovis and immune mechanism possibly associated to bacteria tropism and persistence. The messenger RNA (mRNA) expression levels of interleukin-1α (IL-1α), IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, interferon-γ (INF-γ) and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) cytokines were quantified by real-time quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) in reproductive tissues (epididymus, testicles, ampolae, vesicular glands and bulbourethral glands), and non-reproductive (liver, spleen and kidneys) tissues at 30, 60, 120 and 240 days post infection (dpi). During the acute phase of infection at 30 dpi, the host immune response was most notable demonstrating an up-regulation of several cytokines in reproductive tissues, including the epididymus (IL-6, IL-1β and IL-1α), testicles (INF-γ and IL-12), bulbourethral glands (IL-6 and TNF-α) and ampolae (INF-γ, IL-10, IL-1β and IL-1α). During the development of infection, cytokine gene expression levels decreased, providing evidence of immunosuppression and evidence of immune evasion that favoured persistence of chronic R-B. ovis infection. During the chronic phase of R-B. ovis infection (120 and 240 dpi), cytokine production was down-regulated in the epididymus (IL-1β and IL-1α), testicles (INF-γ and IL-12), and ampolae (INF-γ, IL-10, IL-1β and IL-1α), with the exception of the bulbourethral glands (IL-6 and TNF-α) and epididymus (IL-6); in these tissues, R-B. ovis infection resulted in up-regulation of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6. Herein, we report cytokine expression profiles in tissues of rams experimentally infected with the rough strain of B. ovis, which are associated with bacterial persistence and macrophage activation.     

Mate selection in aquaculture breeding using differential evolution algorithm

An algorithm to perform mate selection in aquaculture breeding using a computational optimization procedure called “differential evolution” (DE) was applied under optimum contribution selection and mate selection scenarios, to assess its efficiency in maximizing the genetic merit while controlling inbreeding. Real aquaculture data sets with 8,782 Nile tilapias from five generations and 79,144 coho salmon from eight generations were used to optimize objective functions accounting for coancestry of parents and expected genetic merit and inbreeding of the future progeny. The mate selection results were compared with those from the realized scenario (real mates), truncation selection and optimum contribution selection method. Mate selection allowed reducing inbreeding up to 73% for Nile tilapia, compared with truncation selection, and up to 20% for coho salmon, compared with realized scenario. There was evidence that mate selection outperformed optimum contribution selection followed by minimum inbreeding mating in controlling inbreeding under the same expected genetic gain. The developed algorithm was computationally efficient in maximizing the objective functions and flexible for practical application in aquaculture breeding.