Presence of infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) in tissues of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., collected during three separate outbreaks of the disease

Abstract. Infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) is a viral disease of farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., in Norway. The enveloped virus particles (100nm) believed to be the causative agent of the disease have been observed budding from endothelial cells in heart blood vessels. However, it is not known if the virus propagates in endothelial cells in all tissues/organs, if other target cells exist or if material collected from different salmon farms with natural outbreaks of ISA contain the same virus particles. Salmon smolts from three hatcheries with no history of disease were taken into the laboratory and experimentally challenged with ISA collected from Atlantic salmon during natural outbreaks of the disease in three different fish farms outside Bergen. Norway. Tissues for TEM studies were Collected from: (1) organs that showed clinical signs of ISA (i.e. used in the diagnosis of the disease); (2) tissues believed to be important in transmission of the virus (integument, kidney, urinary bladder, gut and somatic muscle); and (3) hormone-producing tissues (pituitary gland, saccus vasculosus, thymus, thyroid, ultimobranehial gland, gonad, head kidney, heart and ventral aorta). The same virus as that believed to be the causative agent of ISA was found in all tissues examined from the challenged fish, i.e. a multiorgan infection with the same virus present in salmon from all three fish farms. The virus particles are about 100 nm in diameter, consisting of a slightly pleomorphic unit membrane envelope within which are a number of granules about 10–12nm in diameter. The granules seemed to be arranged in two concentric circles (spheres). The virus was seen budding from the surface of endothelial cells in blood vessels/sinus only. However, the virus was found intracellularly in both endothelial cells and in leucocytes.     

On the relationship between the Oyashio front and saury fishing grounds in the north-western Pacific: a forecasting method for fishing ground locations

The relationships between fishing ground locations of Pacific saury (Cololabis saira) and the two Oyashio fronts, the offshore front between 146^oE and 155^oE and the coastal Oyashio intrusion, before the saury fishing season, were examined using data from 1971 to 1991. Interannual geographical shifts of both the offshore Oyashio front and saury fishing grounds had a dominant interdecadal fluctuation. In years when the offshore front shifted north (south), the fishing grounds were formed relatively nearshore (offshore). When the offshore front shifted north, the fishing grounds were formed further nearshore in years the coastal Oyashio intrusion extended south. When the offshore front shifted south, on the other hand, the southward extension of the coastal intrusion did not necessarily cause formation of coastal fishing grounds. These results showed that locations of the fishing grounds depend not only on local and instantaneous oceanographic environments around the fishing grounds, but also on oceanographic conditions over an extensive range of the Oyashio area. This might indicate that the ecology of the saury's northward migration, through mixed water regions between the Kuroshio and Oyashio fronts in spring and summer, has a close relation to the shift of the offshore Oyashio front over a time range of months. A practical forecasting method for locations of saury fishing grounds is proposed based on the oceanography before the fishing season.     

Reassessment of phosphorus and nitrogen discharge from commercial carp feeds

ABSTRACT:   The present study, one in a series to clarify the phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) loading from carp culture, evaluated four commercial diets. The total and available P in these diets varied from 1.57 to 1.86% and from 0.38 to 0.87%, respectively. The control diet, selected based on an earlier experiment, contained 1.40% total P and 0.68% available P. The 7-week feeding trial was performed with juvenile carp. Superior feed gain ratio was obtained for the control diet (1.00) and it varied from 1.19 to 1.56 among the commercial diet groups. Similarly, the control diet showed higher rates of P absorption (43.8%) and retention (33.1%) than the rest (absorption: 18.1–40.9%; retention: 10.7–18.7%). Total P loading (kg/t production) was 10.0 for the control group but ranged from 19.1 to 25.0 among the commercial diet groups. Nitrogen absorption was not markedly different; however, fluctuations in retention resulted in N loading (kg/t production) that ranged between 47.1 and 66.3 among the commercial diets, higher than the 34.8 obtained for the control diet. The available P in the commercial diets rarely matched the requirement level, thereby negatively affecting the waste loading. The superior performance of the control diet underscores the fact that effective formulations help in keeping emission levels low.     

Different combinations of protein ingredients in carp diets for reducing phosphorus loading

ABSTRACT: This study was conducted to gather data on the reduction of environmental phosphorus (P) loading through the formulation of carp diets with different combinations of protein ingredients. Five experimental diets were formulated by substituting fishmeal (FM; 10–20%) with alternative protein sources such as meat meal (MM; 5–15%), blood meal (BM; 5–7%), and defatted soybean meal (dSBM; 6–10%). The control diet used was a commercial carp diet selected based on earlier experiments. Each diet was fed to duplicate groups of juvenile carp three times a day, until satiation for 12 weeks. Feed performance was proportional to the increase in dietary FM levels. Phosphorus absorption ranged between 41.6% and 52.0% among the experimental groups and was 42.6% for the control group, but there were no marked differences in nitrogen (N) absorption rates. Phosphorus retention ranged from 31.4% to 35.7% for the test diets, whereas N retention increased proportionally with dietary FM levels and ranged from 34.7% to 41.7%. The P and N retention values of the control diet were 27.6% and 41.2%, respectively. The total P loading (T-P) increased at the higher FM levels (9.1–10.7 kg/t production), whereas lower FM levels produced higher total N loading (T-N, 34.6–43.1 kg/t production), the figures for the control being 13.9 T-P kg/t production and 35.6 T-N kg/t production. These results indicate that the reduction of FM levels to 10–20% by replacing it with MM, BM, and dSBM in carp diets was effective in reducing the loading of P and N.     

Activities of mesencephalic nucleus neurons during fictive swimming of the carp Cyprinus carpio

ABSTRACT:   Fish swim by undulatory contractions of the axial trunk musculature. It has been presumed that a descending signal from the brainstem activates central pattern generators in the spinal cord to make the swimming rhythm. In the carp the electrical or chemical stimulation of a mesencephalic nucleus, the nucleus fasciculi longitudinalis medialis (Nflm), could initiate swimming. However, it has not been established what signals originate from the Nflm in order to make the fish swim. The activity of the Nflm neurons was therefore examined electrophysiologically during fictive swimming in paralyzed carp. Three types of neuronal activities closely related to the swimming rhythms were obtained. The first type was a continuous tonic firing throughout an episode of fictive swimming. Neurons involved in this tonic activity may project to the spinal cord and contribute to the activation of spinal neurons to initiate fish swimming. The second type was accompanied by continual phasic firings occurring in rhythm with the activity of spinal motoneurons. Supposing that the swimming rhythm originates in the spinal cord, the synchronous activity in the brain neurons may suggest that in the nucleus there is a relay neuron conveying the rhythm information from the cord to other neurons there or in the brain. The third type exhibited reduced firing rates during fictive swimming. It is possible that the neurons engaged in this activity may be inhibitory and suppress the activities of other neurons in the nucleus and spinal cord during rest or during decelerating swimming.     

Structural unit of xylans from sugi (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cryptomeria japonica</Emphasis>) and hinoki (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Chamaecyparis obtusa</Emphasis>)

Arabinoglucuronoxylans (AGXs) isolated from the holocellulose of sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) and hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa) contained one 4-O-methyl-d-glucopyranosyluronic acid (4-O-Me-d-GlcAp) residue per 6.2 d-xylopyranose (d-Xylp) residues and one 4-O-Me-d-GlcAp residue per 3.8 d-Xylp residues. These AGXs were subjected to partial acid hydrolysis. Analyses by size exclusion chromatography and electrospray-ionization mass spectroscopy of the neutral sugar fractions in the hydrolysates showed the presence of xylooligosaccharides having a degree of polymerization of 2-8 in addition to d-Xyl, suggesting that the AGXs from sugi and hinoki contained unsubstituted chains consisting of at least eight d-Xyl residues. The acidic sugars in the hydrolysates were separated into two series of aldouronic acids composed of 4-O-Me-d-GlcAp and d-Xylp by ion-exchange chromatography. The first series included aldouronic acids from aldobiouronic acid (4-O-Me-d-GlcAp-Xyl) to aldopentaouronic acids (4-O-Me-d-GlcAp-Xyl₄). The second series were aldouronic acids composed of two 4-O-Me-d-GlcAp residues and 2-4 d-Xyl residues. In these acidic sugars, the uronic acid side chains were located on two contiguous d-Xyl residues. These facts indicated that AGXs from sugi and hinoki had a structural unit containing two 4-O-Me-d-GlcAp residues on two contiguous d-Xyl residues as well as AGXs from spruce and larch.     

Analysis of concrete strength effective factors of diagonal strutmechanism on frame exterior beam-column joints

This paper uses the strut-truss model to analyze the shear strength of reinforced concrete frame exterior joints through thirty-five shear failure type joints without beam flexural yield and six shear failure joints after beam flexural yield.It discusses the influence of parameters including concrete compressive strength,column axial-compression ratio,amount of joint horizontal or vertical hoop,and angle of strut mechanism etc.,on concrete strength effective factor ρ of diagonal strut mechanism.The analysis results show that ρ value deterioration ratio at peak load increases with the increase od concrete strength.The effect of joint hoop on ρ value deterioration is more significant using ordinary strength concrete than the case using high strength concrete.The contribution of strut mechanism to joint shear force is more than 80% when joint shear reinforcement ration is less than 0.3%.The joint strength equation is proposed based on the analysis results of the factor ρ,and the calculated values agree well with the experimental results.     

DNA methylation analysis on satellite I region in blastocysts obtained from somatic cell cloned cattle

Many observations have been made on cloned embryos and on adult clones by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), but it is still unclear whether the progeny of cloned animals is presenting normal epigenetic status. Here, in order to accumulate the information for evaluating the normality of cloned cattle, we analyzed the DNA methylation status on satellite I region in blastocysts obtained from cloned cattle. Embryos were produced by artificial insemination (AI) to non‐cloned or cloned dams using semen from non‐cloned or cloned sires. After 7 days of AI, embryos at blastocyst stage were collected by uterine flushing. The DNA methylation levels in embryos obtained by using semen and/or oocytes from cloned cattle were similar to those in in vivo embryos from non‐cloned cattle. In contrast, the DNA methylation levels in SCNT embryos were significantly higher (P < 0.01) than those in in vivo embryos from non‐cloned and cloned cattle, approximately similar to those in somatic cells used as donor cells. Thus, this study provides useful information that epigenetic status may be normal in the progeny of cloned cattle, suggesting the normality of germline cells in cloned cattle.