Cross-taxon congruence and environmental conditions

Background  

Diversity patterns of different taxa typically covary in space, a phenomenon called cross-taxon congruence. This pattern has been explained by the effect of one taxon diversity on taxon diversity, shared biogeographic histories of different taxa, and/or common responses to environmental conditions. A meta-analysis of the association between environment and diversity patterns found that in 83 out of 85 studies, more than 60% of the spatial variability in species richness was related to variables representing energy, water or their interaction. The role of the environment determining taxa diversity patterns leads us to hypothesize that this would explain the observed cross-taxon congruence. However, recent analyses reported the persistence of cross-taxon congruence when environmental effect was statistically removed. Here we evaluate this hypothesis, analyzing the cross-taxon congruence between birds and mammals in the Brazilian Cerrado, and assess the environmental role on the spatial covariation in diversity patterns.     

Gut melatonin response to microbial infection in carp <Emphasis Type="Italic">Catla catla</Emphasis>

The purpose of present study was to demonstrate the response of gut melatoninergic system to Aeromonas hydrophila infection for 3 or 6 days and search for its correlation with the activity of different antioxidative and digestive enzymes to focus their interplay under pathophysiological conditions in carp (Catla catla). Microscopic study of gut in infected fish revealed degenerative changes in the tunica mucosa and lamina propria layers with sloughed off epithelial cells in the lumen. The activity of each digestive enzyme was reduced, but the levels of melatonin, arylalkylamine-N-acetyl transferase protein, the key regulator of melatonin biosynthesis, and different enzymatic antioxidants in gut were gradually and significantly increased with the progress of infection. Gut melatonin concentrations in A. hydrophila challenged carp by showing a positive correlation with the activity of each antioxidative enzyme, and a negative correlation with different digestive enzymes argued in favor of their functional relation, at least, during pathological stress. Moreover, parallel changes in the gut and serum melatonin titers indicated possible contribution of gut to circulating melatonin. Collectively, present carp study provided the first data to suggest that endogenous gut melatonin may be implicated to the mechanism of response to microbial infections in any fish species.     

Replacement of soybean meal with levels of inclusion of soya waste in the diet of growing goats

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of replacing soybean meal with soya waste at different levels on intake, digestibility and growth in goats. Eighteen male goat kids with initial body weight (BW) of 13.0 kg were distributed equally to three dietary groups. They were fed Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) and concentrate mixture, and each goat was assigned to an individual pen. Soybean meal in the concentrate mixture was replaced with soya waste at 0% (T1), 50% (T2) and 100% (T3) levels in respective dietary groups. These diets were isocaloric and isonitrogenous. Results showed that animals fed T3 diet exhibited higher Napier grass intake than those fed T1 or T2 diet. There was no influence on total intakes of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), metabolic BW, per cent BW and metabolisable energy by the dietary groups. However, there was an increasing trend on intake and digestibility of neutral detergent fibre (NDF) with increasing levels of soya waste in the diets. Animals fed T3 diet showed higher intake and digestibility of NDF than those fed T1 diet. There was no influence of the dietary groups on digestibilities of DM, OM and CP. Similarly, there was no effect of them on the final BW, total BW gain, daily BW gain, feed conversion ratio and feed cost. Soya waste can replace 100% soybean meal in diets for growing goats, because no change was observed in nutrient intake, digestibility and growth performance; inclusion of soya waste enhanced the intake and digestibility of NDF.

     

中美牧草种质资源联合评价试验网中国试验区试验报告

在中国内蒙古高原中西部地区和美国西部落基山区建立亚洲及北美牧草资源评价试验网,对选自中美双方的禾本科,豆科牧草和灌木进行为期４－７年的联合评价。中国试验区试验结果指出,产于中国的冰草属牧草,豆科小半灌木和草本植物在典型昌原和荒漠草原的建标量率和生物产量显著优于引自北美的草种。中国的羊草和北美的牧冰草在典型草原的适应性相近,但羊草的牧草稳产性显著优于北美牧冰草。美国的耐盐、挞盐禾草在内蒙古黄河灌溉区     

Intestinal parasites in various animals at a zoo in Malaysia

A survey was undertaken to investigate the prevalence of intestinal parasites from different groups of mammals housed in a zoological garden in Malaysia. A total of 197 faecal samples were collected randomly from various primates (99), hoofed mammals (70) and feline (28). It was discovered that 89.3% of feline, 54.5% of primates and 45.7% of hoofed mammals were infected with intestinal parasites. Intestinal parasites found in primates were Balantidium coli (19.2%), Cryptosporidium spp. (14.1%), hookworm (10.1%), Trichuris spp. (5.1%), Ascaris (4.0%) and Blastocystis spp. (2.0%). For hoofed mammals, hookworm had the highest prevalence (34.3%) followed by Trichuris spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. (5.7%). Meanwhile, for feline, Toxocara cati was the most prevalent (64.3%), followed by Cryptosporidium spp. (14.3%), Spirometra spp. (7.1%), and hookworm (3.6%). Animals that were infected were all asymptomatic with low parasite load. Routine monitoring of the presence of parasites in animals kept in the zoo is imperative in assisting zoo management in the formulation and implementation of preventive and control measures against the spread of infectious parasitic diseases among animals within the zoo or to humans.     

基于小鼠粪便气味信息的牛乳清蛋白功能效果的鉴别区分

以电子鼻气敏传感器阵列跟踪牛乳清蛋白干预小鼠粪便气味,以期建立基于气味信息无损评价牛乳清蛋白功能的新方法.动物实验结果表明,与NS组比较,给药牛乳清蛋白试验组血清中的超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活性上升,丙二醛(MDA)含量显著下降,牛乳清蛋白在小鼠血清中具有抗氧化的能力.电子鼻实验单因素方差分析发现,样品量、顶空生成时间...     

Mechanical and thermal properties of recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) reinforced newspaper fiber composites

This study presents the mechanical and thermal properties of environment-friendly composites made from recycled newspaper fibers reinforced recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) (rPET) resin with the addition of styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene grafted maleic anhydride (SEBS-g-MA) as compatibilizer. The effect of SEBS-g-MA addition (i.e., 10 phr) by using a twin-screw extruder to the rPET resin, followed by different fiber content (5, 10 and 15 wt.%) on the tensile, flexural and impact properties of the composites were determined. Stiffness of composites increased significantly compared to those of rPET/SEBS-g-MA blend. Fiber addition resulted in moderate increases in both tensile and flexural strength of the composites. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) photomicrographs of the impact fracture surfaces demonstrate good adhesion at 5 and 10 % fiber content. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed that the presence of newspaper fibers enhanced the nonisothermal crystallization kinetics and crystallinity. Thermal stability of the composites was improved as indicated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).     

Epidemiological studies on intestinal helminth parasites of the patagonian grey fox (Pseudalopex griseus) in Tierra del Fuego, Patagonia Argentina

The present work was performed to study the intestinal helminths of the patagonian grey fox (Pseudalopex griseus) and to obtain information about its possible role in the sylvatic life cycle of Echinococcu granulosus in Tierra del Fuego, Patagonia Argentina. Eighty-one foxes were captured and subject to post-mortem analysis. Thirty-one foxes (38.3%) harboured helminths. A total of six helminth species were recovered. Only one adult of E. granulosus was found in the studied samples. The current study is the first report of the intestinal helminths of the patagonian grey fox in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina and showed that this specie is probably not an important reservoir host for E. granulosus.