Imbalanced lysine to arginine ratios reduced performance in juvenile cobia (Rachycentron canadum) fed high plant protein diets

Cobia (8.4 ± 0.1 g body weight) were fed to satiation with three test diets of high plant protein‐based ingredients and different lysine to arginine ratios, and one commercial diet (currently used for cobia rearing in Vietnam as a control for growth) for 6 weeks. The test diets contained 206 g marine ingredients kg^?1, including fishmeal, krill meal and fish protein concentrate (in order of high to low inclusion), while the rest of the dietary protein was a blend of soya and pea protein concentrate, wheat protein and sunflower meal. Crystalline lysine and arginine were added in the test diets to produce either a balanced lysine to arginine ratio (BL/A; 1.1) and a high or low lysine to arginine ratio (HL/A; 1.8 and LL/A; 0.8, respectively). There were no significant differences in final body weight, weight gain, feed conversion ratio or protein gain between cobia fed BL/A‐ and commercial control diet (CCT). Cobia fed BL/A diet performed better than fish fed either HL/A‐ or LL/A diet. This was partly due to a higher feed intake and protein and lipid gain in cobia fed BL/A diet as compared to HL/A‐ and LL/A diet.     

Effects of salinity on osmoregulation,growth and survival in Asian swamp eel (Monopterus albus) (Zuiew 1793)

The Asian swamp eel Monopterus albus is normally considered a freshwater species, but can also occasionally be found in brackish water. It is an obligate air‐breather with highly reduced gills, making its osmoregulation physiology interesting because the gills normally represent the primary site of osmoregulation in teleosts. Being a popular fish for human consumption, the swamp eel is cultured extensively in freshwater ponds in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. However, very little is known about its salinity tolerance, which is becoming topical due to the increasing salt‐water intrusions into tropical deltas. We therefore studied how increased salinity affects survival, growth, blood pressure, heart rate, blood osmolality and plasma ions. All eels survived prolonged exposure to 5 and 10 g L^?1, although plasma osmolality increased significantly at 10 g L^?1. Further elevation to 15 and 20 g L^?1 was associated with significantly elevated mortality, with a corresponding increase in plasma osmolality and ion con‐centrations. Our results show that swamp eels thrive in 0–10 g L^?1 with an optimum growth between 0 and 9 g L^?1, indicating that utilization of low saline brackish waters for aquaculture is possible.     

Mass selection for small‐sized cysts in Artemia franciscana produced in Vinh Chau salt ponds,Vietnam

Unidirectional mass truncation selection for small‐sized cysts was carried out on brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana Kellogg 1906), Vinh Chau strain, Vietnam, through cyst sieving and then culturing the selected individuals (<5% of the population) under field and laboratory conditions over two successive generations (F₁ and F₂). The results showed that at both culture scales, the cyst size of the selected line was smaller (P < 0.05) compared with the control (non‐selected) line, illustrating that there was a response to selection. The cyst size decreased about 3% per generation and the accumulated gain on the target trait was in the range 5.82–6.07% at the end of the selection process compared with the base population. The realized heritability estimation (h²) for cyst size was 0.23 ± 0.06 and 0.74 ± 0.19 in the field trials and 0.34 and 0.51 in the laboratory test for the F₁ and F₂ generation respectively. The variations found between the respective trials may be explained as the result of environmental interaction with the selection process, but the results show that a selection program for small‐sized cysts in Artemia by mass selection is possible.     

Fate and Transport of Nursery-Box-Applied Tricyclazole and Imidacloprid in Paddy Fields

The fate and transport of tricyclazole and imidacloprid in paddy plots after nursery-box application was monitored. Water and surface soil samples were collected over a period of 35 days. Rates of dissipation from paddy waters and soils were also measured. Dissipation of the two pesticides from paddy water can be described by first-order kinetics. In the soil, only the dissipation of imidacloprid fitted to the simple first-order kinetics, whereas tricyclazole concentrations fluctuated until the end of the monitoring period. Mean half-life (DT₅₀) values for tricyclazole were 11.8 and 305 days, respectively, in paddy water and surface soil. The corresponding values of imidacloprid were 2.0 and 12.5 days, respectively, in water and in surface soil. Less than 0.9% of tricyclazole and 0.1% of imidacloprid were lost through runoff during the monitoring period even under 6.3 cm of rainfall. The pesticide formulation seemed to affect the environmental fate of these pesticides when these results were compared to those of other studies.     

Evidence of Long-Range Transport of Pollutants from the Size-Fractionated Ionic Composition of Aerosols in the Jeju Island of Korea

The ionic composition of total suspended particulate (TSP) and fine (PM_2.5) fractions was investigated from an 1,100 site in the middle of Mt. Halla in Jeju Island, Korea from March to November 2006. The sum concentrations of cation and anion species in TSP fraction were 205 ± 170 and 183 ± 164 neq m^?3, respectively, while those for PM_2.5 as 118 ± 129 and 88.5 ± 89.3 neq m^?3, respectively. In TSP, the concentration of the major ions changed in the order of SO₄ ^2? > NH₄ ⁺ > Ca²⁺ > Na⁺ > NO₃ ^? > Mg²⁺ > K⁺ > Cl^?, while its PM_2.5 counterpart as NH₄ ⁺ > SO₄ ^2? > Ca²⁺ > NO₃ ^? > Na⁺ > Mg²⁺ > K⁺ > Cl^?. Inspection of the temporal variabilities of ionic components indicated that most ions peaked in spring or fall months. The back trajectory analysis showed that the atmospheric composition of the major ionic species was affected fairly sensitively by long-range transport from China under the favorable meteorological conditions. In contrast, the lowest ionic concentration levels were seen most abundantly, when air masses passed from South Sea. Hence, the analysis of ionic concentration data suggests that their distributions are controlled by the combined effects of various source processes including the most prominent Chinese origin and the meteorological condition favorable for such transport.     

Gut ecology, feed digestion and performance in weaned piglets fed liquid diets

Gut environment and microflora, digestibility, and performance were studied in weaned piglets in Central Vietnam fed a dry control diet (CO), a naturally fermented liquid diet (FE), and a liquid diet with inclusion of rice distiller's residue (RDR). Digesta samples were collected at the start (day 0) and at the end of experiment (day 42). Diet FE had a lower pH than diet RDR, contained more organic acids, had the lowest counts of E. coli and total coliforms (P < 0.05), and the highest counts of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) (P < 0.05). Piglets fed diets FE and RDR had lower pH (P < 0.05), and higher concentrations of organic acids in the stomach, ileum and mid-colon (P < 0.05) than piglets fed diet CO. Counts of LAB in stomach and ileum were higher in animals fed diets FE and RDR than CO (P < 0.05), while the number of E. coli and total coliforms along the gastrointestinal tract was reduced. The ileal digestibility of crude protein and organic matter was improved in piglets fed diet RDR (P < 0.05) compared with piglets fed diet CO. Piglets fed diet RDR had a higher weight gain (P < 0.05) and a better feed utilization (P < 0.05) than piglets fed the other diets. The present findings support the contention that fermented diets and/or fermented feedstuffs can be used for dietary manipulation to improve gut health and animal performance.     

Bordetella bronchiseptica aroA mutant as a live vaccine vehicle for heterologous porcine circovirus type 2 major capsid protein expression

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) infections cause important respiratory diseases in the pig industry and are associated with many bacterial, mycoplasmal, and viral complications. In this study, a heterologous PCV2 major capsid protein (MCP) was expressed in the Bordetella bronchiseptica aroA mutant strain (BBS-MCP) and used as a live vaccine vehicle. Mice and pigs were immunized with live BBS-MCP via the intranasal route. The antibodies against MCP were induced successfully in the serum as determined by ELISA. In the PCV2 challenge experiment, viral DNA was removed successfully from the lymph nodes of pigs vaccinated with live BBS-MCP. Overall, BBS-MCP is believed to be a good candidate for the development of a live-attenuated vaccine against PCV2 infections.     

Propagation of Asian isolates of canine distemper virus (CDV) in hamster cell lines

Backgrounds

The aim of this study was to confirm the propagation of various canine distemper viruses (CDV) in hamster cell lines of HmLu and BHK, since only a little is known about the possibility of propagation of CDV in rodent cells irrespective of their epidemiological importance.

Methods

The growth of CDV in hamster cell lines was monitored by titration using Vero.dogSLAMtag (Vero-DST) cells that had been proven to be susceptible to almost all field isolates of CDV, with the preparations of cell-free and cell-associated virus from the cultures infected with recent Asian isolates of CDV (13 strains) and by observing the development of cytopathic effect (CPE) in infected cultures of hamster cell lines.

Results

Eleven of 13 strains grew in HmLu cells, and 12 of 13 strains grew in BHK cells with apparent CPE of cell fusion in the late stage of infection. Two strains and a strain of Asia 1 group could not grow in HmLu cells and BHK cells, respectively.

Conclusion

The present study demonstrates at the first time that hamster cell lines can propagate the majority of Asian field isolates of CDV. The usage of two hamster cell lines suggested to be useful to characterize the field isolates biologically.     

Protecting effect of vitamin E supplementation on submaximal exercise-induced oxidative stress in sedentary dogs as assessed by erythrocyte membrane fluidity and paraoxonase-1 activity

The aim of this placebo-controlled study was to investigate the effects of oral vitamin E supplementation for 10 weeks on exercise-induced oxidative damage in untrained dogs. Eight dogs were randomly assigned to a supplementation (n = 4) or control (n = 4) group and underwent two isolated submaximal exercise sessions, 10 weeks apart. Blood was collected during each session to measure erythrocyte membrane fluidity (EMF), paraoxonase-1 (PON1) activity, plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) and vitamin E concentrations. These biomarkers were measured in venous blood samples collected before (t₀), just after (t, EMF only) and 1 d (t + 1 d) and 7 d (t + 7 d) after the dogs ran on a treadmill.Prior to vitamin E supplementation, exercise induced a significant decrease in PON1 activity, EMF, vitamin E concentration and a significant increase in MDA concentration at t + 1 d. After a 10 week vitamin E supplementation period, these exercise-induced changes in PON1 activity, EMF and MDA concentration were still significant in the control group, but not in the supplemented group. These results suggested that vitamin E supplementation had a protective effect on submaximal exercise-induced oxidative damage in sedentary dogs.