Onion Powder in the Diet of the Olive Flounder,Paralichthys olivaceus: Effects on the Growth,Body Composition,and Lysozyme Activity

This study tested the onion powder (OP) supplementation in the diet of the olive flounder on the growth, body composition, and lysozyme activity. Thirty‐five fish averaging 5.1 g were randomly stocked into 18 individual 180‐L flow‐through tanks. A commercially available OP was used as a dietary additive. Six experimental diets were prepared to contain OP at the concentrations of 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, and 5% for diets OP‐0, OP‐0.5, OP‐1, OP‐2, OP‐3, and OP‐5, respectively. After the 8‐wk feeding trial, 20 fish from each tank were infected with Edwardsiella tarda and mortality was monitored for the following 96 h. No distinctive improvement in survival, weight gain, or feed efficiency of fish was observed at the end of the 8‐wk feeding trial. Lysozyme activity in fish fed the OP‐0.5 diet was higher than that of fish fed the OP‐0, OP‐1, OP‐2, OP‐3, and OP‐5 diets. The cumulative mortality of fish fed the OP‐0.5, OP‐1, OP‐2, OP‐3, and OP‐5 diets was lower than that of fish fed the OP‐0 diet at 72 h after E. tarda infection. Dietary inclusion of 0.5% OP was effective at improving lysozyme activity of fish, and OP seemed to be an effective immunostimulant to lower mortality upon E. tarda infection.     

Vascular cambial sucrose metabolism and growth in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) in relation to transplanting stress

Sucrose synthase (SS) was the dominant enzyme of sucrose metabolism in both stem and root vascular cambial zone tissues of nursery-grown loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) seedlings. Acid invertase (AI) and neutral invertase (NT) activities were generally less than 10% of the SS activity in both tissues. In both cambial tissues, seasonal patterns of enzyme activity were observed for SS but not for AI or NI. The seasonal patterns of SS activity in stem and root cambia paralleled the periodic growth of stems and roots. Stems had high SS activity and growth during summer and early fall. Roots had substantial SS activity and growth during summer and fall, but SS activity and growth were even higher in winter. When seedlings were transplanted, about eight months elapsed before stem and root cambia resumed rates of growth and sucrose metabolism similar to those in control nontransplanted seedlings. Two months after transplanting, root SS was at its lowest, whereas AI activity in transplants was 50% higher than in control nontransplanted seedlings. In stems, SS activity decreased in response to transplanting, whereas AI and NI activities did not change appreciably. In loblolly pine tissues, SS was specific for uridylates, whereas the nucleotide triphosphate-dependent phosphofructokinase (NTP-PFK) had similar activity with either UTP or ATP. Except in winter, the NTP-PFK was less active than the pyrophosphate-dependent phosphofructokinase (PPi-PFK) during all seasons. The PPi-dependent PFK activity in nontransplanted seedlings followed similar seasonal and spatial patterns to those of SS activity. In actively growing tissues, such as stem cambial tissues in summer and root cambial tissues in winter, the measured total PFK to SS ratio ranged between 1.5/1 and 3/1. In contrast, in less actively growing tissues or transplanted seedlings, a greater decrease occurred in SS than in PFK activity, hence the ratio rose to as high as 12/1. It was concluded that: (1) SS was the dominant enzyme for sucrose metabolism in root and stem cambial tissues of loblolly pine seedlings; (2) both SS and PPi-PFK in the cambial tissues can be used as biochemical indicators of growth sink strength in stems and roots; and (3) both enzymes can be used as indicators of seedling stress caused by events such as transplanting and winter freezing.     

Biological evaluation of neopeptins isolated from a Streptomyces strain

BACKGROUND: Microbial secondary metabolites are a rich source of antifungal agents and have merit as alternatives to synthetic fungicides. To develop disease control agents against powdery mildew, the lipopeptide antibiotic neopeptins were identified from the culture broth of a Streptomyces sp., and in vivo control efficacy of the compounds was evaluated on cucumber plants under glasshouse conditions. RESULTS: The Streptomyces sp. KNF2047 antagonistic against powdery mildew development in cucumber plants was isolated from a soil sample. Antifungal compounds were purified from the culture broth and identified as neopeptin A and B. In vitro microtitre assays revealed the inhibitory activities of the compounds in the range 128-512 microg mL(-1) against the mycelial growth of Alternaria mali, Botrytis cinerea, Cladosporium cucumerinum, Colletotrichum lagenarium, Didimella bryoniae and Magnaporthe grisea. Although neither compound showed remarkable in vitro antifungal activity against other plant pathogenic fungi, a mixture of neopeptins (484 mg of neopeptin A and 290 mg of neopeptin B per gram of partially purified powder) showed potent protective and curative activity against cucumber powdery mildew in vivo. The disease control activity of the neopeptins at a concentration of 2.4 mg L(-1) was 92.1%, which was similar to that of the commercial fungicide fenarimol (89.3% at 63 mg L(-1)) and that of the commercial biocontrol agent Actinovate (67.4% at 2 x 10(7) cfu L(-1)). CONCLUSION: Neopeptin mixtures isolated from Streptomyces sp. KNF2047 showed potent disease control activity against powdery mildew development on cucumber plants. .     

Isolation and antifungal activity of lignans from Myristica fragrans against various plant pathogenic fungi

BACKGROUND: In a search for plant extracts with potent in vivo antifungal activity against various plant diseases, we found that treatment with a methanol extract of Myristica fragrans Houttyn (nutmeg) seeds reduced the development of various plant diseases. The objectives of the present study were to isolate and determine antifungal substances from My. fragrans and to evaluate their antifungal activities. RESULTS: Three antifungal lignans were isolated from the methanol extract of My. fragrans seeds and identified as erythro-austrobailignan-6 (EA6), meso-dihydroguaiaretic acid (MDA) and nectandrin-B (NB). In vitro antimicrobial activity of the three lignans varied according to compound and target species. Alternaria alternata, Colletotrichum coccodes, C. gloeosporioides, Magnaporthe grisea, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Acidovorax konjaci and Burkholderia glumae were relatively sensitive to the three lignans. In vivo, all three compounds effectively suppressed the development of rice blast and wheat leaf rust. In addition, EA6 and NB were highly active against the development of barley powdery mildew and tomato late blight, respectively. Both MDA and NB also moderately inhibited the development of rice sheath blight. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to demonstrate the in vitro and in vivo antifungal activities of the three lignans from My. fragrans against plant pathogenic fungi.     

Hypoglycemic effects of a phenolic acid fraction of rice bran and ferulic acid in C57BL/KsJ-db/db mice

Rice bran contains many phenolic acids, the most abundant of which is the antioxidant, ferulic acid (FA). We evaluated the hypoglycemic effects of a phenolic acid fraction (the ethyl acetate fraction, EAE) of rice bran and of FA in C57BL/KsJ db/db mice. Type 2 diabetic mice were allocated to a control group, an EAE group, or an FA group. Animals were fed a modified AIN-76 diet, and EAE or FA was administered orally for 17 days. There was no significant difference in body weight gain between groups. Administration of EAE and FA significantly decreased blood glucose levels and increased plasma insulin levels. EAE or FA groups had significantly elevated hepatic glycogen synthesis and glucokinase activity compared with the control group. Plasma total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol concentrations were significantly decreased by EAE and FA administration. These findings suggest that EAE and FA may be beneficial for treatment of type 2 diabetes because they regulate blood glucose levels by elevating glucokinase activity and production of glycogen in the liver.     

母猪妊娠期和哺乳期的理想氨基酸平衡

1摘要 对于限饲条件下的妊娠母猪以及采食量有限的哺乳母猪来说,改善蛋白质利用效率很重要。母猪在妊娠后期维持胎儿和乳腺发育以及在哺乳期促进乳腺生长和产奶的能力不足,特别是在第一个哺乳期。进行一系列研究来测定这些营养需要量以及氨基酸的理想比率,包括：1）胎儿生长;2）妊娠期母猪乳腺生长;3）妊娠母猪母体组织增重;4）哺乳母猪的乳腺生长;5）哺乳期母猪母体组织增重。     

Shortening the Postpartum Anoestrous Interval in Suckled Crossbred Dual Purpose Cows Using Progestagen Intravaginal Sponges plus eCG and PGF2α

One hundred and twenty‐six suckled crossbred cows (Bos taurus × Bos indicus), with body condition score ≥3 (1–5 point scale), were employed in the present study to evaluate the effectiveness of intravaginal progestin‐releasing sponges (IVS) for shortening anoestrous interval. Fifty‐four cows were assigned to control group. Seventy‐two cows were treated with IVS impregnated with 250 mg of medroxy‐acetate‐progesterone (MAP) as follows: day 0, IVS plus 5 mg of 17β‐E and 50 mg of MAP i.m.; day 6, 500 IU of equine chorionic gonadotropin and 25 mg prostaglandin F_2α i.m.; day 8, IVS withdrawal and day 9, 1 mg 17β‐E i.m. Cows were also grouped according to postpartum days (dpp) at treatment: MAP <70 days (n = 25); control <70 days (n = 22); MAP >70 days (n = 47); control >70 days (n = 32). From IVS removal, cows were detected in oestrus and inseminated. Cows not detected in oestrus were timed artificial insemination 72 h after sponge removal. Treatment effect on oestrous rate (ER), conception rate (CR), pregnancy rate (PR) and treatment to conception intervals (TCI) and calving to conception intervals (CCI) were evaluated. The ER, CR and PR were analysed using proc logistic , while TCI and CCI with proc glm of SAS. The groups MAP <70 days and MAP >70 days showed higher (p < 0.01) ER than control <70 days and control >70 days (84.0% and 76.6% vs 31.8% and 31.3% respectively). The PR was higher (p < 0.01) in MAP <70 days vs control <70 days (64.0% vs 22.7%) and also higher (p < 0.05) in MAP >70 days vs control <70 days (40.4% vs 18.8%). The TCI and CCI were shorter (p < 0.01) in MAP <70 days vs control <70 days (36.0 and 95.8 days; 95.3 and 158.6 days respectively). In conclusion, only cows treated with IVS before 70 dpp had a CCI shorter than 100 days, consequently this treatment shortened postpartum anoestrous interval in crossbred dual purpose cattle.     

Diagnosis of Endometritis in the Bitch: A New Approach

There are a few investigations into endometritis in the bitch and its relationship with failure to conceive remains unclear. This may be because of the difficulty in collecting uterine samples for further investigations. Recently, transcervical catheterization by vaginal endoscopy has been introduced allowing the evaluation of the endometrium. In this study, uterine cytology and bacteriology were evaluated in 26 infertile bitches. Endometritis was bacterial in origin in most cases (70% of affected bitches), but these results may be underestimated, as some other pathogens (anaerobic bacteria, mycoplasms and fungi) were not investigated. Endometritis, in our opinion, should be investigated in each case of unexplained infertility in bitches. The method used here seems reliable although defining more accurate classification criteria will improve the efficiency of this non-invasive technique.     

A suspected case of Lyme borreliosis in a hunting dog in Korea

A two-year-old male Pointer had been presented with anorexia, cachexia, and weight loss of 10-day duration. Upon physical examination, fever, lethargy, superficial lymph node enlargement, and tick infestation were noted. The only abnormality in CBC and serum chemistry analyses was mild hyperglobulinemia. Spleen was enlarged by radiography, and the lymph nodes showed neutrophilic lymphadenitis by cytological examination. A polymerase chain reaction test for babesiosis and commercial ELISA tests for Ehrlichia canis, heartworm, and Lyme disease was negative except for Lyme disease, which was verified by both an IFA-IgG test and a quantitative C₆ assay. Doxycycline was administered for 2 weeks and the recovery was uneventful. Post-treatment C₆ titer decreased to within normal limits.