Improvement of seedling establishment under flood condition by seed coating with molybdenum compounds for wheat and barley

Wheat and barley are often cultivated also in paddy fields in winter in Japan. The drainage of paddy fields is often poor. The seedling establishment of wheat and barley is more prone to become poor if it rains heavily after sowing. The flooding damage on seedling establishment is thought to be caused by many factors. The generation of sulfide ions in flooded and reduced soil is thought to be one factor of the flooding damage. In this study, the effect of seed coating with molybdenum compounds, which suppress the generation of sulfide ions, on the flooding damage of wheat and barley seedling establishment. Two poorly soluble molybdenum compounds were coated on wheat or barley seeds at different amounts. Coated seeds were sown in soil and soon flooded for 2 d at 20 °C. When seeds were not coated with molybdenum compounds, rates of seedling establishment were no more than 32%. However, when any molybdenum compounds of .05–.5 mol-Mo kg^?1 were coated, seedling establishment was significantly improved and rates of seedling establishment were no less than 54%. However, when sown seed were not flooded, the establishment rates of the seeds, which were coated with a molybdenum compound of no less than .1 or .2 mol-Mo kg-1, were significantly decreased. Accordingly, coating of molybdenum compounds could improve the seedling establishment of coated seeds under flooded condition, but might impair the seedling establishment of coated seeds under unflooded condition.     

Determination of nucleotides in infant formula by ion-exchange liquid chromatography

Nucleotide-supplemented infant formula has been shown to positively modify the composition of intestinal microflora, emulating the attribute of human milk. Quantification of nucleotides in infant formula is of interest because of its applicability in quality and safety assessments. There is no standard method for the analysis of nucleotides in infant formula. In the present study, ion-exchange liquid chromatography (IELC)- and centrifugal ultrafiltration (CUF)-based protocols were developed for routine determination of additive nucleotides in infant formula. Five target nucleotides, guanosine 5'-monophosphate (GMP), inosine 5'-monophosphate (IMP), uridine 5'-monophosphate (UMP), cytidine 5'-monophosphate (CMP), and adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP) were measured by IELC with a mobile phase of 50 mM diammonium hydrogen phosphate buffer, pH 4.0, with UV detection at 254 nm. The calibration was linear over the range 0.5-50 microg/mL; R(2) = 0.999. The calculated LOD and LOQ were 0.01-0.05 microg/mL and 0.05-0.5 microg/mL, respectively. Recovery values (spiked concentration levels: 0.5, 5, and 10 microg/mL) ranged from 85.0 +/- 1.4% to 92.3 +/- 2.1% using only CUF preparation. This was applied to measure the concentration of five nucleotides in common infant formulas.     

Effects of aggregate size,soil compaction,and bovine urine on N2O emissions from a pasture soil

The dominant N₂O emission source in New Zealand, calculated using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change methodology, is agricultural soils. The largest source of N₂O emissions in New Zealand occurs as a result of excreta deposition onto pasture during grazing. There is a dearth of studies examining the effect of soil compaction and soil aggregate size on N₂O emissions from urine patches in grazed pastures. In this study, we repacked soil cores with four different soil aggregate sizes (<1.0–5.6 mm diameter), applied bovine urine, and then subjected the soil cores to four levels of soil compaction. Fluxes of N₂O were monitored for 37 days after which soil cores were allowed to dry out prior to a rewetting event. There was an interaction between aggregate size and soil compaction with the cumulative loss of N₂O over the first 37 days ranging from 0.3% to 9.6% of the urine-N applied. The highest N₂O emissions occurred from the smallest and most compacted aggregates. Even under the highest levels of compaction the N₂O loss from the large aggregates (4.0–5.6 mm diameter) was <1% of the urine-N applied. Reasons for the observed differences in the N₂O flux from the different-sized aggregates included varying gas diffusivities and higher rates of denitrification in the smallest aggregates, as evidenced by the disappearance of nitrate.     

Purification of curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin by high-speed countercurrent chromatography

Curcuminoids are substances of great interest because of their important pharmacological activities, particularly anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, and anti-Alzheimer's activities. In this study, we report the first procedure and effect of processing for the high, efficient, and useful purification of curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin from turmeric powder. Purification involves high-speed countercurrent chromatographic (HSCCC) separation of these curcuminoids using a simple two-phase solvent system composed of n-hexane/chloroform/methanol/water (5/10/7.5/2.5, v/v). The HSCCC-fractionated effluent peaks indicated that the peak resolutions were 1.7 between curcumin and demethoxycurcumin and 2.1 between demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin for 25 mg of loaded turmeric powder. These purified substances were analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with scan and daughter scan negative modes, and the wide absorbance from 200 to 500 nm was monitored by photodiode array detection. The separation yielded 1.1 mg of curcumin, 0.6 mg of demethoxycurcumin, and 0.9 mg of bisdemethoxycurcumin (>98% purity). Moreover, the antioxidant effect of curcuminoids was measured by a 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazil assay. The order of antioxidant activity was purified curcumin > purified demethoxycurcumin > purified bisdemethoxycurcumin > turmeric powder. Curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin can be used for various evaluations of their pharmacological activities.     

Flow cytometric analysis of thymocyte subpopulations in mice after whole-body X-irradiation.

To determined the cellular kinetics of thymocyte subpopulations in DBA1 mice after whole-body 6.8 Gy X-irradiation, they were analyzed for the expression of several cell surface antigens using flow cytometry. The results show that i) The majority of thymocytes rapidly depleted by irradiation was CD4+8+ cells. ii) radioresistant CD4+8- and CD4-8+ survived 18-48 hr after X-irradiation were considered to be relatively mature type, since they expressed high levels of CD3 and LECAM-1. iii) CD3-positive cells were detected in CD4-8- cells at 72 hr after irradiation.     

B220 is expressed on apoptotic thymocytes induced by X-irradiation.

CD45 is cell surface glycoprotein and expressed on all haematopoietic cells except mature erythrocytes and platelets. Eight isoforms of CD45 are generated by alternative splicing of exons 4-6. B220 including all three exons is expressed specifically on pan-B cell lineage. Recently, it was reported that B220 was expressed on apoptotic T cells induced by staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB). In the present study, we investigated the expression of B220 on murine thymocytes after whole-body X-irradiation. We used the forward light scattering of flow cytometry as a parameter of cell size, and defined two populations; FSChigh (normal cell size) and FSClow (correspond to apoptotic cell in size) fraction. B220+ cells in FSChigh fraction reached a maximum value (35%) at 18 hr after irradiation. In FSClow fraction, 40-60% cells were positive for B220 at any time points. These results suggest that B220 is expressed on thymocytes in the pre-apoptotic stage, because B220 was expressed on not only FSClow cells but also FSChigh cells.     

Transform high seas management to build climate resilience in marine seafood supply

Climate change is projected to redistribute fisheries resources, resulting in tropical regions suffering decreases in seafood production. While sustainably managing marine ecosystems contributes to building climate resilience, these solutions require transformation of ocean governance. Recent studies and international initiatives suggest that conserving high seas biodiversity and fish stocks will have ecological and economic benefits; however, implications for seafood security under climate change have not been examined. Here, we apply global‐scale mechanistic species distribution models to 30 major straddling fish stocks to show that transforming high seas fisheries governance could increase resilience to climate change impacts. By closing the high seas to fishing or cooperatively managing its fisheries, we project that catches in exclusive economic zones (EEZs) would likely increase by around 10% by 2050 relative to 2000 under climate change (representative concentration pathway 4.5 and 8.5), compensating for the expected losses (around ?6%) from ‘business‐as‐usual’. Specifically, high seas closure increases the resilience of fish stocks, as indicated by a mean species abundance index, by 30% in EEZs. We suggest that improving high seas fisheries governance would increase the resilience of coastal countries to climate change.     

Long‐term selection using a single trait criterion,non‐destructive deformation,in White Leghorns: Effect over time on genetic parameters for traits related to egg production

Although non‐destructive deformation is relevant for assessing eggshell strength, few long‐term selection experiments are documented which use non‐destructive deformation as a selection criterion. This study used restricted maximum likelihood‐based methods with a four‐trait animal model to analyze the effect of non‐destructive deformation on egg production, egg weight and sexual maturity in a two‐way selection experiment involving 17 generations of White Leghorns. In the strong shell line, corresponding to the line selected for low non‐destructive deformation values, the heritability estimates were 0.496 for non‐destructive deformation, 0.253 for egg production, 0.660 for egg weight and 0.446 for sexual maturity. In the weak shell line, corresponding to the line selected for high non‐destructive deformation values, the heritabilities were 0.372, 0.162, 0.703 and 0.404, respectively. An asymmetric response to selection was observed for non‐destructive deformation, egg production and sexual maturity, whereas egg weight decreased for both lines. Using non‐destructive deformation to select for stronger eggshell had a small negative effect on egg production and sexual maturity, suggesting the need for breeding programs to balance selection between eggshell traits and egg production traits. However, the analysis of the genetic correlation between non‐destructive deformation and egg weight revealed that large eggs are not associated with poor eggshell quality.     

稻鸭共生对鸭肉品质和屠宰性能的影响

以云南麻鸭为试验材料,分别在稻鸭共生(稻鸭组)和常规网上平养(常规组)两种饲养模式下饲养至体重达1.8 kg,测定其常规肉品质和部分屠宰性能.结果表明:①两组间鸭肉失水率、嫩度、熟肉率、肉色亮度值和红度值无显著差异(P＞0.05);稻鸭组的pH值显著高于常规组(P＜0.05);肉色黄度值B极显著高于常规组(P＜0.01).②两组间屠宰率、半净膛率、全净膛率、胸肉率差异不显著(P＞0.05);稻鸭组的皮脂厚、腹脂率比常规组分别降低了18.52%、11.76%(P＜0.05);腿肉率提高了11.40%(P＜0.05).③稻鸭组的生长速度明显慢于常规组.