In ovo injection of flavanone on bone quality characteristics,biochemical parameters and antioxidant enzyme status of blood in daily chicks

In ovo injection (IOI) of Naringin (N), flavanone was examined on post‐hatch blood biochemical parameters, antioxidant status and bone characteristics. Fertile eggs (n = 700) were distributed in seven groups with 100 eggs. On 14th and 17.5th days of incubation, four groups were injected using 15 or 30 mg active ingredient levels of naringin/0.5 ml saline/egg, low and high level, into amnion sac. Controls include sham (injected normal saline, 0.5 ml/egg on day 14 and 17.5th) and un‐injected group. IOI of high naringin and saline on 14th day of incubation resulted in lower hatchability and then higher mortality in last week of embryonic life. On day hatch, high levels of injected groups more body weight compared to the control. Chick length was increased at high levels of naringin on day 17.5th compared to control and saline injected. Quality traits of bones were improved in naringin‐injected groups compared to control. IOI of naringin influenced thyroid hormones on 14th day of incubation. Naringin groups influenced the Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Calcium (Ca), superoxide dismutase (SOD), blood biochemical and lipids. Totally, amniotic IOI of naringin in last days of developing embryo may be useful for hatched chick, development of leg long bone or effect on biochemical metabolites by levels of flavanone that it needs more research.     

水分胁迫对扁桃砧木干物质和叶绿素含量的影响

以新疆常用的扁桃砧木石头扁桃和毛桃的1年生实生苗为材料,设置土壤相对含水量分别为田间最大持水量的100%、80%、60%、40%和20%5个处理,研究了不同水分胁迫条件对其干物质和叶绿素含量的影响。水分胁迫处理第10、20、30天后取样,测定其叶绿素含量;在水分胁迫处理第30天取样测定其干物质含量。结果表明:2个供试品种对水分胁迫的反应一致。在土壤相对含水量为80%时,总干物质含量和叶质量比最高,土壤相对含水量较多或较少都会减少干物质的积累,石头扁桃总干物质含量和叶质量比的下降幅度大于毛桃。根质量比和根冠比在土壤相对含水量为80%时最低,随着水分胁迫程度的加剧,根质量比和根冠比升高,石头扁桃的升高幅度大于毛桃。在土壤相对含水量为80%时叶绿素a和叶绿素(a b)的含量最高,随着胁迫程度的加剧和时间的延长,叶绿素a和叶绿素(a b)的含量降低,石头扁桃的降低幅度大于毛桃。     

Current progress in studying blackleg disease (Leptosphaeria maculans and L. biglobosa) of canola in Iran: Where do we stand now?

Blackleg, caused by a complex of Leptosphaeria species (L. maculans and L. biglobosa), is a fungal disease on Brassica species, especially important in canola (Brassica napus). Since the first report of L. biglobosa in Iran in 2007 and L. maculans in 2008, both species are now of major importance in Iran affecting 10 provinces and 30 regions, with a higher prevalence in the northern provinces of Mazandaran and Golestan. Despite the rapid progression of the disease and the emergence of new Leptosphaeria races in Iran, the research into this pathogen has not progressed at the same rate and is limited to phenotypic characterization studies, pathogenicity research, and to a lesser extent, disease management research. Given the rapid increase in canola cultivation in Iran and changes in the genetic diversity of the pathogen populations, it is likely that blackleg disease will increasingly become a severe threat to Iran’s canola production. Therefore, systematic and prospective studies, along with fundamental research on the pathogen's biology, epidemiology, and genetic diversity, would provide critical information for the development of disease management strategies. Here, we review the research that has been carried out to date on blackleg disease in Iran and describe the extent of progress towards disease control, especially in disease-prone regions.     

INFLUENCE OF NITROGEN AND SULFUR ON YIELD AND SEED QUALITY OF THREE CANOLA CULTIVARS

In order to investigate the effect of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) fertilizers on yield and seed quality of three canola cultivars, a factorial based on randomized complete block experiment was conducted during 2005–2006 in Iran. Treatments included four nitrogen rates (0, 75, 150, and 225 kg N ha^?1 source of urea), four sulfur rates (0, 100, 200, and 300 kg S ha^?1), and three cultivars (‘Pf’, ‘Option-500’, and ‘Hyola-401’). Results indicated cultivar had a significant effect on all studied traits. ‘Option-500’ and ‘Hyola-401’ cultivars had the highest seed yield, protein content, and N:S ratio in seed. The levels of 150 and 220 kg N ha^?1 resulted in the maximum protein content. Increasing N levels resulted in N content and decreased the oil content. The interaction effect between S and N levels showed the highest N content in seed was obtained with 300 kg S ha^?1 and 225 kg N ha^?1.     

Evaluation of a commercial intravaginal thermometer to predict calving in a Hungarian Holstein-Friesian dairy farm

In this study, the utility of a commercial intravaginal thermometer was evaluated as an automated method for the prediction of calving in a total of 257 healthy pregnant Holstein–Friesian female cattle. The accuracy and the sensitivity of predicting calving within 48 hr before calving were also evaluated. The intravaginal temperature changes from 72 hr before and up to calving were significantly (p ≤ .001) affected by parity, season (summer vs. autumn), the time of day (8 a.m. or 8 p.m.) and the 6-hr time intervals (38.19°C: first interval 0 to 6 hr before calving vs. 38.78°C: twelfth interval 66 to 72 hr before calving), while the gender (p = .943), and the weight of the calf (p = .610), twinning (p = .300), gestation length (p = .186), foetal presentation (p = .123), dystocia (p = .197) and retention of foetal membranes (p = .253) did not affect it significantly. The sensitivity of the SMS of expecting calving within 48 hr and the positive predictive value were 62.4% and 75%, respectively, while the sensitivity and the positive predictive value for the SMS of expulsion reached 100%. It can be concluded that the investigated thermometer is not able to predict calving within 48 hr accurately; however, imminent calving can be accurately alerted.     

Cryopreservation of Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) sperm: effects of cryoprotectants,antioxidant, membrane stabilizer,equilibration time and dilution ratio on sperm motility and fertility

Three experiments were performed to develop protocols for cryopreservation of Persian sturgeon Acipenser persicus, sperm. In the first experiment, sperm from six males was individually split in three subsamples and cryopreserved using Modified Tsvetkova's extender (mT) supplemented with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), methanol (MeOH), glycerol (Gly) and ethylene glycol (EG) at concentration of 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%. In the second set of experiments, the effects of six equilibration times (0, 5, 10, 20, 40 and 60 min) and dilution ratios (volume sperm: volume extender 1:0.5, 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:5 and 1:10) and the additive advantage of bovine serum albumin (BSA; 0, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg mL^?1) and ascorbic acid (0, 2.5, 5 and 10 U mL^?1), on the post‐thaw survival of sperm (triplicate set of six fish) were evaluated. Then, sperm was diluted in 1:1 mT extender with 10 mg mL^?1 BSA with selected cryoprotectants (15% MeOH and 10% DMSO) for 5 min. After a month of storage in liquid nitrogen, post‐thawed sperm motility; fertilization and hatching rate and viability of derived larvae were measured (Exp.3). Evaluation of cryoprotectants efficiency showed that MeOH 15% and DMSO 10% were suitable for cryopreservation of Persian sturgeon sperm. Gly and EG resulted in very low post‐thaw motility rates even at lowest concentration. No significant difference was observed among the four different equilibration times (0, 5, 10, 20 min) (P > 0.05) although higher equilibration times than 20 min resulted low post‐thaw motility (P < 0.05). The motility of frozen–thawed sperm did not significantly change when dilution ratio was increased from 1:0.5 to 1:3 (P > 0.05). However, higher dilution ratios (1:5 and 1:10) reduced the percentage of motile sperm. Supplementation of the cryoprotectant solution with 10 mg mL^?1 BSA significantly improved post‐thaw motility (P < 0.05), but ascorbic acid did not improve post‐thaw motility (P > 0.05). The results of experiment 3 showed that the highest fertilization (30.2 ± 5.75) and hatching rates (28.2 ± 5.25) were observed when samples were frozen with 15% MeOH (P > 0.05). Our study indicates that the use of mT extender consisting of 10 mg mL^?1 BSA in 15% MeOH diluted with sperm at 1:1 ratio for 5 min can be recommended cryopreservation method for Persian sturgeon sperm.     

Supplementation effect(s) of organic acids and/or lipid to plant protein‐based diets on juvenile yellowtail,Seriola quinqueradiata Temminck et Schlegel 1845, growth and,nitrogen and phosphorus excretion

A feeding experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of organic acids and/or lipid supplementation on growth, utilization and environmental loading of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in juvenile yellowtail fed fishmeal (FM) and plant protein (PP) diets. Six diets as FM (FM‐based), FM+P (FM with inorganic P), FM+L (FM with lipid), PP+CA (PP with citric acid), PP+L+CA (PP with lipid and citric acid) and PP+L+FA (PP with formic acid) were formulated. Yellowtails were fed each of the diets in duplicate groups; once a day, 6 days a week to near satiation at water temperature 19.0–25.0 °C for 16 weeks. Fishmeal with inorganic P gave the best growth while PP+L+FA the lowest. However, growth increased in PP+CA and PP+L+CA. Addition of lipid significantly increased N and P retention resulting in significant reduction in N and P excretion. Citric acid and FA supplementation to PP diets also increased retention of P; hence, its excretion was lowered. Thus, CA, FA and lipid in juvenile yellowtail diets can help to partially replace FM with PP sources and reduce inorganic P use to minimize environmental loading from aquafeeds.     

Effects of supplemental dietary l‐carnitine and ractopamine on the performance of juvenile rainbow trout,Oncorhynchus mykiss

This study was carried out to investigate a possible protein‐sparing action of l ‐carnitine and ractopamine in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss. An 8‐week feeding trial was carried out to evaluate the effects of supplementation of three levels of l ‐carnitine (0, 1 and 2 g kg^?1) and two levels of ractopamine (0 and 10 mg kg^?1) on growth performance, fillet fatty acid compositions and blood biochemical parameters in a 3 × 2 factorial experimental design. Ractopamine and 1 g kg^?1 carnitine improved the specific growth rate (1.03% and 1.05% day^?1), feed conversion ratio (FCR, 1.3 and 1.29), protein efficiency ratio (PER, 1.88 and 1.85) of fish and crude protein (73.5 and 73.8) content of fish fillet. l ‐carnitine and ractopamine increased the levels of albumin, total protein and globulin in the serum of fish. Apart from eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, other fatty acids of fish fillet were increased by ractopamine, while total saturated fatty acids were almost intact. However, the total n‐3 poly unsaturated fatty acids were reduced by l ‐carnitine supplementation (P<0.05). The present study showed that 1 g kg^?1l ‐carnitine and 10 mg kg^?1 ractopamine each can improve the performance of rainbow trout and their combination in diet could enhance the protein level and change the fatty acids profile in fillet muscle.     

Effect of dietary protein level on the reproductive performance of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (L.)

The effects of five dietary protein levels (25%, 30%, 35%, 40% and 45%) on the individual spawning frequency and the egg production of 135 tagged female Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (L.), were studied from 8 May to 19 November 1996 in outdoor concrete tanks. Virtually identical spawning patterns were found in all treatments, but there was a great deal of variation in the frequency of spawning and egg production. Overall, individual spawning frequency varied from one to 14 and individual egg production from 31 to 2828 eggs per spawning. The average number of spawnings and average number of eggs per spawning for fish receiving dietary protein levels of 25%, 30%, 35%, 40% and 45% were 8.0 ±1.6, 8.4 ± 2.2, 8.5 ± 2.7, 8.4 ± 2.5 and 9.4 ± 2.1 spawnings, and 1167 ± 305, 1082 ± 410, 1288 ± 324, 1145 ± 389 and 1328 ± 311 eggs per spawning, respectively. Fish receiving 45% dietary protein spawned more frequently than fish receiving 25% dietary protein. The total number of eggs produced per female was significantly higher for females fed 45% protein feed than females receiving 25% and 30% protein feeds. No definite trend was found in the number of eggs produced per spawning and the number of eggs produced per gram in females fed at different protein levels. Based on weekly checking, the time interval between spawnings varied from 7 to 77 days, and mean spawning intervals ranged from 15.8 to 17.1 days. Sixty per cent of females spawned after an interval 14 days, 15% after 21 days, 13.6% after 7 days, 7.2% after 28 days, 1.8% after 35 days and 1.0% after 42 days, and the time interval was 49-77 days for the rest of the females (1.5%). In all treatments, maximum spawning activity was recorded from May to August, and thereafter, it gradually decreased and no spawning females were found in November.