Increased total nitrogen content of poultry manure by decreasing water content through composting processes

Microbial mineralization of urea and uric acid in poultry litter can lead to loss of nitrogen (N) content and its value as a fertilizer. To minimize the loss of N in the composting processes, controlling the water content in litters is a key to reduce the mineralization processes of N compounds. The N content of litter may be influenced by diets, hen age and the type of poultry houses used. The objectives of the present study were i) to determine the relationship between the water content and the decomposition rate of uric acid in poultry litter and ii) to investigate the effect of hen age and crude protein (CP) percentages in diets on the N content of poultry litter. A layer feeding trial was conducted in two poultry farms with windowless and open-floor houses. An incubation study of poultry litter was performed under different levels of water content. Our study found that the diet CP percentage (16.5–18%) and the growth stage of laying hens did not have a significant effect on the amount of total N (52–56?g?kg^?1) and uric acid-N (26–31g?kg^?1) in fresh litters. At the 7^th day of litter incubation study, the concentration of uric acid-N was 22 g kg^?1 in litters with a water content of 35%, whereas it further decreased to less than 1.3 g kg^?1 in litters with a water content of 55% and higher levels. The decomposition rate of uric acid-N in litter was 0.3–3.1g?kg^?1?day^?1 in the windowless house and 3.1–7.1g?kg^?1?day^?1 in the open-floor house. Decomposition of uric acid in litters was positively correlated to the litter moisture content that is controlled to be lower in windowless houses (40–50%) than in open-floor houses (55–80%) during the composting period. Our study suggests that the use of windowless houses for layer chicken production is effective for producing poultry manure with a high N content.     

Physiological and Mineralogical Properties of Arsenic-Induced Chlorosis in Barley Seedlings Grown Hydroponically

The experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of arsenic (As) on the physiological and mineralogical properties of barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. ‘Minorimugi’). The plants were grown in nutrient solution treated with 0, 6.7, 33.5, and 67 μ M As (0, 0.5, 2.5, and 5 ppm As, respectively) in the phytotron. Dry matter yield of shoots and roots decreased significantly with the As treatments, indicating that barley plants are As-sensitive and As-toxicity depends on the As concentration in the rooting medium. Necrosis in older leaves and chlorosis symptoms (whitish color) in the fully developed young leaves were observed at the 33.5 and 67 μ M As treatments. Arsenic concentration, accumulation, and translocation increased with the increase of As concentration in the rooting medium. Arsenic was mostly concentrated in roots and a little amount was moved to shoots, indicating that As was not easily translocated to shoots of barley seedlings. Concentrations and accumulations of phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), and copper (Cu) decreased significantly in shoots for 33.5 and 67 μ M As treatments as compared to the 0 μ M As treatment. Concentrations of P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, and Cu decreased in roots, but Zn concentration increased in roots at 67 μ M As treatment. Accumulations of P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Zn, and Cu in roots also decreased significantly at 67 μ M As treatment. Accumulation of P and the cations showed negative relationship with As. Concentration of Fe decreased in shoots at 33.5 and 67 μ M As treatments where chlorosis was induced in the young leaf but increased in roots at 33.5 and 67 μ M As treatments. It was suggested that As might induce iron (Fe)-chlorosis in the plants. Among the micronutrients, Fe translocation was more affected than others by As. Phytosiderophore (PS) accumulation in roots, which is a symptom of Fe-deficiency in grasses, did not change significantly between 0 and 33.5 μ M As treatments; indicating that As-induced chlorosis did not enhance PS accumulation in roots and decreased due to As-toxicity at 67 μ M As treatment.     

Changes in fatty acid composition with age and environment in different types of peat profiles in Japan

Fatty acid composition of the crude lipid fraction of peat was investigated using several typical peat profiles in Japan. Fatty acid composition varied with the peat layers accumulated in a peat profile since 32,000 years BP. Deposition of long-range transported volcanic ash tephras also affected the composition remarkably due to the acceleration of decomposition. Fatty acid composition differed among high moor, transitional moor, and low moor peat profiles sampled in several locations in Hokkaido, Japan. The difference in the plants involved in the formation of peat was considered to be a very important factor determining the fatty acid composition. For example, arachidic acid was considered to be a good indicator for the presence of reed, while the percentage of stearic acid tended to be high in the high moor peat profiles dominated by sphagnum. As the fatty acids with a longer chain length were more stable than those with a shorter chain length, the percentage of longer fatty acids (C24 and C26) tended to increase and that of shorter fatty acids (CI4 and CI6) to decrease in the lower peat profiles. The drying of peatland also exerted a similar effect on the fatty acid composition.     

Distribution of benzimidazole-resistant strains of the onion gray-mold neck rot pathogens,Botrytis aclada and Botrytis allii,in Hokkaido,Japan

Botrytis aclada and Botrytis allii, associated with onion gray-mold neck rot and isolated in Hokkaido, were tested for sensitivity to benzimidazole. Of the B. aclada strains, 59% were highly resistant and the remaining 41% were sensitive; all strains of B. allii were sensitive. Resistant strains were widespread in Hokkaido. We analyzed the sequences of the β-tubulin gene of resistant strains and detected the replacement of glutamic acid (GAG) by lysine (AAG) at codon 198. This is the first report of benzimidazole resistance in B. aclada. This study revealed a difference in fungicide sensitivity between the two Botrytis species.

     

Biosafety assessment of transgenic poplars overexpressing xyloglucanase (AaXEG2) prior to field trials

We performed biosafety assessments of transgenic poplars prior to field trials. Constitutive expression of the Aspergillus aculeatus xyloglucanase in Populus alba increased the cellulose content and specific gravity of its stem, the leaves of which were visibly greener, thicker, and smaller than those of the wild-type plant. Although the young transgenic poplars grew faster than the wild type in a growth chamber, there was no distinguishable difference in growth between the poplars when they were placed in a special screened greenhouse. Allelopathic tests showed that the transgenic poplars do not produce harmful substances. Based on all the biosafety assessments and the scientific literature on poplar species, we came to the conclusion that transgenic poplars probably do not disturb the biological diversity of the surrounding environment, even when they are submitted to field trials.     

Direct Extraction of Volatiles of Rice During Cooking Using Solid-Phase Microextraction

An apparatus that allows extraction and enrichment of flavor volatiles of rice during cooking using solid-phase microextraction (SPME) was designed and tested in the Japanese rice cultivar Akitakomachi. Because it is a solvent-free technique, no solvent contaminants were extracted during sampling. This technique enables one to place the fiber of SPME in the effluent of the flavor volatiles of the rice during cooking and it can also be used for simultaneous extraction of those volatiles in the course of the cooking process. Therefore, variations in the composition and amount of volatile compounds of rice during cooking can be determined. The overall flavor volatiles of rice during cooking have been analyzed by using this SPME method. Compounds that have been previously highlighted as flavor volatile markers, such as volatiles from oxidative degradation of lipids, products from thermal decomposition, and fatty acids existing in rice, were extracted directly by SPME in conjunction with this apparatus.     

Differences in oxygen and carbon stable isotope ratios between hatchery and wild pink salmon fry

We examined differences in otolith oxygen (δ¹⁸O_otolith) and carbon (δ¹³C_otolith) stable isotope ratios between hatchery and wild pink salmon fry. The δ¹⁸O_otolith values of hatchery and wild fry were ?7.7 ± 0.2 ‰ and ?8.3 ± 0.3 ‰ (1σ), respectively. This difference reflected differences in temperature conditions experienced by each fry. The δ¹³C_otolith values of hatchery and wild fry were ?19.2 ± 0.3 ‰ and ?11.1 ± 1.8 ‰ (1σ), respectively. The lower δ¹³C_otolith values of hatchery fry were probably related to their intake of artificial diets. Discriminant analysis of δ¹⁸O_otolith and δ¹³C_otolith values demonstrated a highly significant difference between hatchery and wild fry with 95.8 % classification accuracy. Therefore, analysis of δ¹⁸O_otolith and δ¹³C_otolith precipitated in the fry stage may be useful for discriminating the origin of returning adult pink salmon. The discrimination method for returning adult fish would provide important information for evaluating the effect of hatchery release and their impact on the wild population.     

Effect of the squid viscera hydrolysate on growth performance and digestion in the red sea bream <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pagrus major</Emphasis>

The improvement in feed efficiency is one of the most important subjects in fish culture. The development of feed, in terms of good intake, high growth performance, and high feed efficiency is needed. Squid viscera are one of the candidates for alternative material in improving feed efficiency in fish culture. In the present study, we described the dietary effect of the squid viscera hydrolysate (SVH) on the growth performance of the red sea bream. The addition of SVH to feed caused significant increases in feed intake, fork length, and body weight and produced a marked improvement in feed conversion after 4 weeks of feeding. Furthermore, the results of this feeding revealed that low dietary levels of SVH promote growth performance in the red sea bream. We physiologically analyzed digestion and appetite in fish fed diet containing SVH. SVH promoted the activity of hepatic trypsin and lipase, gene expression of stomach pepsin, hepatic lipase, and pyloric caeca trypsin, thereby improving the nutrient availability in red sea bream. Moreover, the mRNA expression of appetite regulating factor, such as brain NPY and stomach ghrelin was significantly improved by dietary SVH. Our current results indicate that dietary SVH as alternative material produced excellent effects on growth performance, which is dependent on the promoting effect on digestion and appetite in red sea bream.