Study of some factors affecting the growth and development of myoga (Zingiber mioga Roscoe)

In order to optimise production of the edible flower buds produced by myoga (Zingiber mioga Roscoe) a greater understanding of the growth and development of the plant and factors influencing flower initiation and development are required. The vegetative growth phase in myoga was characterised by a distinct period of pseudostem development from the planted rhizome piece followed by an extended period of rhizome growth from both the base of pseudostems and the planted rhizome piece. The transition from pseudostem formation to the initiation of rhizome growth occurred at the same time as the dry weight of the planted rhizome piece ceased to decline. Flower bud initiation and development occurred over an extended period, beginning soon after the commencement of new rhizome growth and ending prior to foliage senescence. Flower buds were observed at the terminal meristem of first, second, third and fourth order rhizomes. Increasing temperatures stimulated both increased vegetative growth and flower bud initiation and development. Low flower bud yields recorded under conditions of low temperature were the result of reduced rate of floral initiation and not abortion of flower buds. Increased shading of plants grown under glasshouse conditions resulted in reduced flower bud yield and similarly the response resulted from decreased initiation rather than abortion.     

Dietary supplementation with Acanthopanax senticosus extract enhances gut health in weanling piglets

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of Acanthopanax senticosus extract (ASE) as a dietary additive on gut health in weanling piglets by examining diarrhea frequency, intestinal microbiota and morphology. A total of 96 Duroc× (Landrace × Yorkshire) piglets weaned at 21 days of age with an average initial body weight (BW) of 5.6 ± 0.4 kg were randomly assigned to 3 treatment groups with 4 duplicates of 8 piglets each. The piglets were fed basal diet to which had been added 0 or 1 g/kg of ASE, or 0.7 g/kg antibiotics, respectively. Fecal consistence was monitored twice daily and the frequency of diarrhea was calculated. On day 21 after the initiation of supplementation, 8 piglets were randomly selected from each treatment group (2 piglets per pen) and slaughtered. The jejunum, ileum, colon and cecum were then excised and fixed in 10% neutral formalin solution to determine villus height and crypt depth, after their contents were collected to determine microbiota. The results showed that dietary supplementation with ASE increased (P < 0.05) the density of bacterial populations that co-migrated with Lactobacillus amylovorus, Lactobacillus salivarius, Bacillus subtilis, and Clostridium lituseburens, but decreased (P < 0.05) those co-migrating with Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, Ruminococcus forques, and E. coli O157:H7 in the PCR-DGGE profiling analysis when compared with the control group. The villus height of the duodenum, jejunum and ileum increased (P < 0.05) by 14.8, 13.7 and 10.0%, while the crypt depth decreased (P < 0.05) by 17.9, 9.1 and 12.1%, respectively, in response to dietary ASE supplementation. Additionally dietary supplementation with ASE or an antibiotic decreased (P < 0.05) the frequency of diarrhea by 55.6 and 52.2%, respectively, compared with the control group. In conclusion, these findings suggest that dietary supplementation with ASE could regulate the microbiota composition and maintain a normal morphology of gut mucosa in weanling piglets, thereby decreasing diarrhea that resulted from weaning stress.     

Instrumental conditioning of jugular self-infusion in the rhesus monkey

A technique is described for self-infusion of pharmacologic agents in solution through a permanently indwelling jugular catheter in the rhesus monkey. The results of an experiment utilizing this technique demonstrate that an instrumental lever response can be conditioned, extinguished, reconditioned, and brought under stimulus control and reward-schedule control with saline self-infusion as the reinforcing stimulus.     

Hypoxemia and the sudden infant death syndrome

Infants with known chronic hypoxemia before death retained a large proportion of the brown fat cells that are normally replaced by white fat cells after birth. Many of these hypoxemic infants also had an abnormal retention of extramedullary hematopoiesis. These same abnormalities were found in many victims of the sudden infant death syndrome.     

Extrapituitary gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) binding sites in goldfish

In teleosts, as in other vertebrates, the secretion of pituitary gonadotropin (GTH) is mediated by the hypothalamic decapeptide, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). Recent findings in teleosts indicate that GnRH receptors are not restricted to the pituitary gonadotropes and are also associated with somatotropes as well as being present in a number of other tissues. In the present study, we provide novel information on GnRH binding in a number of extrapituitary tissues in goldfish. However, we do not intend to provide full characterization of GnRH binding sites in various extrapituitary tissues in goldfish as this would clearly be outside the scope of this paper. In this study we examined GnRH binding in a number of extrapituitary tissues in goldfish and observed specific binding in ovary, testis, brain, liver and kidney. No specific GnRH binding was observed in muscle, skin, gut, gill and heart. In general, the present findings together with the results of other studies carried out in our laboratory demonstrate that mature goldfish ovary and testis contain two classes of GnRH binding sites, high affinity/low capacity and low affinity/high capacity sites with binding characteristics similar to those of the pituitary GnRH receptors. The brain of goldfish was also found to contain two classes of GnRH binding sites, a super-high affinity/low capacity and a low affinity/high capacity sites. Furthermore, study of goldfish liver and kidney demonstrated the presence of a single class of GnRH binding sites with characteristics different from those of pituitary, ovary, testis and brain. Overall, it is evident that goldfish contains a family of GnRH binding sites which can be classified into four groups based on binding affinities: 1) A class of high affinity binding sites present in the pituitary, ovary and testis, 2) a class of super high affinity sites so far only detected in the brain, 3) a class of intermediate-affinity GnRH binding sites in the liver and kidney, and 4) a class of low affinity binding sites present in all the tissues containing specific GnRH binding sites except for liver and kidney.     

Pleistocene climates in the atlantic and pacific oceans: a reevaluated comparison based on deep-sea sediments

Variations of the Globorotalia menardii complex in cores from the Indian Ocean can be interpreted as indicating climatic changes that are opposite to trends exhibited by the total planktonic fauna. The questionable value of correlations between different water masses based on a single species can be shown by Neogloboquadrina dutertrei subcretacea in cores obtained off the coast of California and Baja California. This information, in addition to previous correlations between Quaternary cores of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, indicates that the Pleistocene history of the two oceans was parallel.     

Inherent differences in response of douglas fir families to nitrogen and phosphorus supply levels

Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziessi [Mirb.] Franco) seedlings from a half diallel mating design showed significant family by nutrient interactions when grown in a 3N × 3P × 15 family factorial experiment for 2 yr. Differences in response of these families to N and P treatment levels were related to nutrient productivity (dry matter production nutrient⁻¹ time⁻¹), but unrelated to the proportion of dry matter allocated to root growth, or to nutrient net uptake rate. Significance of general combining ability for N and K productivity showed clonal control of these characters. Evidence for genetic control of tissue N% and K%, shoot:root ratio and N uptake rate were also shown.     

How do hedgerows influence soil organic carbon stock in livestock‐grazed pasture?

Hedgerows have the potential to influence ecosystem function in livestock‐grazed pasture. Despite this, they are often ignored when quantifying farmland ecosystem service delivery. In this study, we assess the contribution of hedgerows to the ecosystem function of carbon (C) storage, with a particular emphasis on soil organic carbon (SOC). We measured SOC stock (kg C m^?2), on an equivalent soil mass basis, at 0–0.15 m depth in pasture adjacent to 38 hedgerows (biotic) and 16 stone walls or fences (abiotic controls) across ten farms in the county of Conwy, Wales, UK. Pasture SOC stock (~7 kg C m^?2) was similar adjacent to biotic and abiotic field boundaries, positively associated with soil moisture and negatively with soil bulk density (BD). For biotic boundaries, two further variables were significantly associated with SOC stock, distance from hedgerow (decrease in SOC stock) and slope orientation (upslope SOC stock greater than downslope). For pasture adjacent to hedgerows, a model combining the aforementioned variables (BD, soil moisture, distance from hedgerow, slope orientation) explained 78% of variation in SOC stock. This study demonstrates that whilst hedgerows do have subtle positive effects on SOC stock in adjacent pasture, SOC storage adjacent to field boundaries is influenced more by soil moisture content and BD than field boundary type.     

Management of inflammatory polyps in 37 cats

The case records of 37 cats treated for nasopharyngeal or aural inflammatory polyps were reviewed. Thirty of them were managed conservatively with the polyp being removed by traction alone. Long-term follow-up information was available for 22 cats, of which 13 (59 per cent) had no recurrence of clinical signs. The remaining nine cats required recurrent polyps to be removed surgically. Cats with only nasopharyngeal polyps were nearly four times more likely to be cured by traction alone than cats with aural polyps, and none of the cats that was treated with prednisolone after traction suffered a recurrence. Cats with more severe aural signs were more likely to require surgery.     

Effects of exogenous neurohormone, gonadotropin (GtH) and dopaminergic drugs on the serum GtH content and ovulatory responsiveness of wild catfish, Silurus asotus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Wild female catfish Silurus asotus (Linnaeus, 1758) were injected with domperidone (DOM) alone, [d ‐Ala⁶, Pro⁹ Net]‐luteinizing hormone‐releasing hormone (LHRH‐A) alone once or twice, LHRH‐A plus DOM once or twice simultaneously at 6‐h intervals, LHRH‐A plus carp pituitary extract (CPE) twice simultaneously at 6‐h intervals and LHRH‐A plus human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) twice simultaneously 6 h apart respectively. The results indicated that injection of LHRH‐A at a dosage of 0.01–0.02 μg g^?1 body weight (BWt) alone induced a low but significant increase in serum gonadotropin (GtH) (P<0.05) and resulted in a very low ovulation rate, while DOM at a dosage of 5 μg g^?1 BWt alone did not induce an increase in the serum GtH levels and ovulation; in contrast, LHRH‐A at a dosage of 0.01 μg g^?1 BWt plus DOM at a dosage of 5 μg g^?1 BWt (termed the Linpe technique) increased the serum GtH (P<0.05) significantly and induced an ovulatory rate of 100%, while LHRH‐A plus CPE or HCG resulted in an increase in the serum GtH (P<0.05) and high ovulatory rate, although the latency period was longer when fish were given LHRH‐A plus HCG or CPE.