Effect of cycling temperature on growth,energy metabolism and nutrient retention of individual male turkeys

1. Each week, from 12 to 20 weeks of age, male turkeys of a heavy strain were subjected to cool (C; 16°C), hot (H; 29°C), and cycling temperatures, and fed on a standard diet ad libitum for 4 d. Lighting was intermittent, 3 h on, 3 h off. Food was given when lights were on. Those given cycling temperatures (3 h C; 3 h H) were given food and light during the cool (eat‐when‐cool, EC) or hot (EH) periods.

2. Birds in all treatments gained similar amounts of weight from 12–14 weeks of age. Thereafter, birds in C maintained gains, the body weight gains of birds in EC and EH declined moderately and birds in H lost weight.

3. Birds in C produced more metabolic heat. Those in H showed increased heat production as they became older.

4. Protein retention was greater in turkeys in C, EC and EH. It was lower in H, becoming negative between 18–20 weeks of age. Birds in H suffered body fat losses which increased with age.

5. Birds in EH and EC gained similar amounts of body weight. Birds in EH exhibited lower heat production and greater energy retention than those in EC.

6. Body temperatures were higher in H than in the other environments.     

The role of ion transport in the formation of sub‐embryonic fluid by the embryo of the Japanese quail

1. Using a modification of the method of New (1955) explanted blastoderms of the Japanese quail were cultured for up to 72 h, and the role of ions in the formation of sub‐embryonic fluid (SEF) investigated.

2. Culture media deficient in either sodium or chloride ions reduced the volume of SEF secreted by up to a quarter. Ionic composition of the fluid was little altered, and sodium was transported against a concentration gradient.

3. Amiloride, an inhibitor of Na⁺/H⁺ exchange, reduced SEF production by half, whereas ionic composition and osmolality of the fluid was unchanged.

4. Likewise, acetazolamide, an inhibitor of carbonic anhydrase, reduced SEF production by the blastoderm, and left the ionic composition and osmolality of the fluid unaltered.

5. Neither furosemide or 4,4´‐diisothiocyanatostilbene‐2,2´‐disulfonic acid at the concentrations used changed the volume of SEF formed or its ionic composition.

6. It is concluded that the secretion of SEF is dependent upon the active transport of sodium across the blastoderm; an amiloride‐sensitive Na⁺/H⁺ exchanger and carbon dioxide hydration catalysed by carbonic anhydrase are also involved.

7. Furthermore, it is proposed that fluid transport across the blastoderm is the result of local osmotic gradients, not from a sub‐embryonic fluid hyperosmotic to albumen, as has been suggested previously.     

Detectability of supernova neutrinos with an existing proton decay detector

The 8000-ton water IMB nucleon decay detector has good sensitivity to the neutrino burst associated with the collapse of stars. It is particularly sensitive to the v(e) charged current interactions with protons but can also record other neutrino interactions through ve scattering. Signal, noise, physics objectives, and detector modifications that would enhance burst detection are discussed. The objectives include astrophysical questions about the pulse structure and power. It also may be possible with a distant source to study neutrino masses and neutrino oscillations.     

Mechanisms of nitrogen retention in forest ecosystems: a field experiment

Intensive forest management led to elevated losses of nitrogen from a recently harvested loblolly pine plantation in North Carolina. Measurements of nitrogen-15 retention in the field demonstrated that microbial uptake of nitrogen during the decomposition of residual organic material was the most important process retaining nitrogen. Management practices that remove this material cause increased losses of nitrogen to aquatic ecosystems and the atmosphere.     

Inherently safe reactors and a second nuclear era

The Swedish PIUS reactor and the German-American small modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor are inherently safe-that is, their safety relies not upon intervention of humans or of electromechanical devices but on immutable principles of physics and chemistry. A second nuclear era may require commercialization and deployment of such inherently safe reactors, even though existing light-water reactors appear to be as safe as other well-accepted sources of central electricity, particularly hydroelectric dams.     

Geological rhythms and cometary impacts

Time-series analysis reveals two dominant, stable long-term periodicities approximately equal to 33 +/- 3 and 260 +/- 25 million years in the known series of geological and biological upheavals during the Phanerozoic Eon. Because the cycles of these episodes agree in period and phase with the cycles of impact cratering on Earth, these results suggest that periodic comet impacts strongly influence global tectonism and biological evolution. These two periodicities could arise from interactions of the solar system with interstellar clouds as the solar system moves cyclically through the Galaxy.     

Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-dioxins and Dibenzofurans in Sediments from Siskiwit Lake, Isle Royale

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans were found in sediment from Siskiwit Lake on Isle Royale, Lake Superior, a location which can receive only atmospheric inputs. The source of these compounds is the atmospheric transport of dioxins and furans formed by combustion of domestic and chemical waste.