Nutritive Value of Four Soybean Products in Diets for Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar,L.)

Abstract

Four processed soybean products were evaluated as protein sources for Atlantic salmon: solvent-extracted soybean meal (SBM44), dehulled and solvent-extracted soybean meal (SBM50), dehulled full-fat soybean meal (FFSBM) and soybean concentrate (SBC). The soybean products replaced high-quality fish meal at levels corresponding to 0, 14, 28, 42 and 56% soybean protein of total protein.

Dietary inclusion of SBC, at the expense of fish meal, did not affect weight gain, carcass lipids, fecal excretion of nutrients or fecal dry matter content significantly. The nutritive value of the SBC protein appeared comparable to that of the fish meal. The three other soybean products impaired performance increasingly with increasing levels of inclusion, indicating lower nutritive value than for the fish meal. The favourable results seen with SBC indicated a great potential of soybean to become an important protein source for Atlantic salmon through improved processing.     

Oral ketoprofen is effective in the treatment of non-infectious lameness in sows

The efficacy of ketoprofen in the treatment of non-infectious lameness in sows was examined in a double-blinded study. Two dose rates of oral ketoprofen were compared to placebo treatment over five consecutive days. Lameness was assessed with a five-grade scoring system prior to and on the last day of the treatment. The rate of treatment success was 54.3% for the ketoprofen 4mg/kg group (n=46), 53.2% for the ketoprofen 2mg/kg group (n=47) and 20.8% for the pigs in the placebo group (n=48). The difference between both ketoprofen groups and the placebo group was significant (P=0.001), but there was no difference between the two ketoprofen groups (P=0.78). Oral ketoprofen was well tolerated and no adverse events were observed. As lameness is a very common problem in sows, oral ketoprofen appeared to be a practical way to alleviate pain and improve the welfare of sows.     

Effects of 6-hydroxydopamine on the development of the immune system in chickens

It has been suggested that the sympathetic nervous system communicates with lymphocytes expressing cell surface receptors for neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine (NE), on the basis of the finding that neurotransmitters modify immune responses in mammalian species. We confirmed that chicken lymphocytes in the brusa of Fabricius, thymus and spleen expressed beta-adrenergic receptor (beta-AR) mRNA from embryonic day (E) 10 and that intracellular cAMP level was elevated by NE, suggesting that lymphocytes express functional beta-AR on their surface at an early embryonal stage. To clarify whether the nervous system is involved in the development of the immune system, the effects of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), one of sympathectomizing agents, on chicken lymphocytes was investigated. A single injection of 6-OHDA at a dose of 400 microg into a chicken embryo was carried out at E7 or 14 (as referred to E7 group and E14 group, respectively). NE level and the relative proportion of Bu-1a(+), CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells in the spleen of 3-week-old chickens were not altered by 6-OHDA treatment. However, the proliferative responses and expression of IL-2 mRNA in spleen cells cultured with pokeweed mitogen were reduced in E7 group compared with those of control. Furthermore, in CD8(+) spleen cells of E14 group of 3-week-old chickens, the expression of beta-AR mRNA and the relative increase of intracellular cAMP stimulated with NE were significantly decreased. These results suggest that the sympathetic nervous system affects the development of the immune system.     

Radiation synovectomy with holmium-166 ferric hydroxide macroaggregate in equine metacarpophalangeal and metatarsophalangeal joints

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effects of radiation synovectomy (RSYN) with holmium-166 ferric hydroxide macroaggregate (Ho-166 FHMA) on synovium and synovial fluid in normal metacarpo- and metatarsophalangeal joints of horses and to determine intraarticular distribution of radioactivity after Ho-166 FHMA treatment. STUDY DESIGN: Either Ho-166 FHMA or nonradioactive Ho-165 FHMA was injected into metacarpo- or metatarsophalangeal joints. ANIMALS: Six adult mixed-breed horses without any clinical evidence of metacarpo- or metatarsophalangeal joint disease. METHODS: Joints were injected with a single high dose of Ho-166 FHMA (mean, 1,000 MBq/joint) or a nonradioactive Ho-165 FHMA preparation (controls). Clinical examination, arthroscopy, synovial fluid analyses, and histologic studies were performed to detect effects of RSYN. Scintigraphy was used to localize intraarticular distribution of Ho-166 FHMA. RESULTS: Ho-166 FHMA treatment induced joint inflammation leading to regional edema, effusion, and scar tissue formation. Scintigraphy revealed the highest intensity of radioactivity in the proximal plantar joint pouch, at which the Ho-166 FHMA treatment caused multifocal necrosis. In the dorsal joint pouch, however, arthroscopic study and histologic analysis showed very little effect of RSYN. There was no regeneration of synovium evident within 2 months. Synovial fluid protein concentration was significantly (P <.01) elevated, and some residual radioactivity remained for 5 days after Ho-166 FHMA injection. CONCLUSIONS: Injection of a single high dose of Ho-166 FHMA caused multifocal necrosis of synovium and deep, soft-tissue injury in equine fetlock joints. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Inflamed equine joints with synovial lining hyperplasia could benefit from Ho-166 FHMA-induced radiation synovectomy if excessive scar tissue formation can be avoided.     

Optimal management of uneven-aged Norway spruce stands

An optimization model is specified to analyze forest management without any restrictions on the forest management system. The data on forest growth comes from unique field experiments and is used to estimate a nonlinear transition matrix or size-structured model for Norway spruce. The objective function includes detailed harvesting cost specifications and the optimization problem is solved in its most general dynamic form. In optimal uneven-aged management, stand density is shown to be dominated by limitations in natural regeneration. If the goal is volume maximization, even-aged management with artificial regeneration (and thinnings from above) is superior to uneven-aged management. After including regeneration and harvesting costs, the interest rate, and the price differential between saw timber and pulpwood, uneven-aged management becomes superior to even-aged management. However, in the short term the superiority is conditional on the initial stand state.     

Evaluation of fluorochromes for imaging bacteria in soil

The distribution of inoculated Escherichia coli cells and indigenous bacteria in a silt loam soil and a sandy soil was studied using fluorescence microscopy techniques. Ethidium bromide stained inoculated cells against the soil and resin background. Satisfactory results were also obtained with epifluorescence microscopy of samples stained with calcofluor white M2R (CFW) and 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI). Indigenous soil bacteria were visualized in soil thin sections, after staining with ethidium bromide, using fluorescence microscopy. The density of these bacteria was estimated to be 10⁷-10⁸ cells/cm³. Inoculated E. coli cells, stained with one of the green fluorochromes (fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC), 5-(4,6-dichlorotriazinyl)aminofluorescein, or eosin Y), could be clearly distinguished in sandy soil thin sections. Confocal laser scanning microscopy with 3D image reconstruction was also successfully applied to characterize distribution of E. coli introduced to soil. The fate of introduced bacteria and the location of indigenous bacteria in soil can be confirmed using the microscopic techniques described in this paper.     

Biomineralization of atrazine and analysis of 16S rRNA and catabolic genes of atrazine degraders in a former pesticide mixing site and a machinery washing area

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to determine the first-order rate constants and half-lives of aerobic and anaerobic biomineralization of atrazine in soil samples from an agricultural farm site that had been previously used for mixing pesticide formulations and washing application equipment. Atrazine catabolic genes and atrazine-degrading bacteria in the soil samples were analyzed by molecular methods.

Materials and methods

Biomineralization of atrazine was measured in soil samples with a [U-ring-¹⁴C]-atrazine biometer technique in soil samples. Enrichment cultures growing with atrazine were derived from soil samples and they were analyzed for bacterial diversity by constructing 16S rDNA clone libraries and sequencing. Bacterial isolates were also obtained and they were screened for atrazine catabolic genes.

Results and discussion

The soils contained active atrazine-metabolizing microbial communities and both aerobic and anaerobic biomineralization of [U-ring-¹⁴C]-atrazine to ¹⁴CO₂ was demonstrated. In contrast to aerobic incubations, anaerobic biometers displayed considerable differences in the kinetics of atrazine mineralization between duplicates. Sequence analysis of 16S rDNA clone libraries constructed from the enrichment cultures revealed a preponderance of Variovorax spp. (51 %) and Schlesneria (16 %). Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences from pure cultures (n?=?12) isolated from enrichment cultures yielded almost exclusively Arthrobacter spp. (83 %; 10/12 isolates). PCR screening of pure culture isolates for atrazine catabolic genes detected atzB, atzC, trzD, trzN, and possibly atzA. The presence of a complete metabolic pathway was not demonstrated by the amplification of catabolic genes among these isolates.

Conclusions

The soils contained active atrazine-metabolizing microbial communities. The anaerobic biometer data showed variable response of atrazine biomineralization to external electron acceptor conditions. Partial pathways are inevitable in soil microbial communities, with metabolites linking into other catabolic and assimilative pathways of carbon and nitrogen. There was no evidence for the complete set of functional genes of the known pathways of atrazine biomineralization among the isolates.

     

Bacterial phylogenetic diversity in a constructed wetland system treating acid coal mine drainage

Microorganisms in acid mine drainage are typically acidophiles that mediate the oxidation of reduced compounds of iron and sulfur. However, microbial populations in wetland systems constructed to treat acid mine drainage are not well characterized. The purpose of this study was to analyze bacterial diversity, using cultivation-independent molecular ecological techniques, in a constructed wetland that received acid drainage from an abandoned underground coal mine. DNA was purified from Fe(III)-precipitates from the oxidized surface zone of wetland sediments and 16S rRNA gene sequences were amplified and cloned. A total of 200 clones were analyzed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and 77 unique RFLP patterns were obtained with four restriction enzymes. Of these patterns, 30 most dominant unique clones were selected for sequencing of their 16S rRNA genes. Half of these 30 clones could be matched with autotrophic iron- and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans). Several clones also formed a clade with heterotrophic iron-oxidizing bacteria (TRA2-10, TRA3-20, and TRA5-3) and heterotrophic bacteria (Stenotrophomas maltophilia, Bordetella spp., Alcaligenes sp., Alcaligenes faecalis, and Alcaligenes xylosoxidans). Approximately 40% and 35% of the analyzed RFLP restriction patterns were consistent with A. ferrooxidans and A. thiooxidans, respectively. The relatively high frequency of acidithiobacilli is consistent with the chemical and physical characteristics of this site—i.e., continuous, abundant supply of reduced iron and sulfur compounds, pH 3–4, ambient temperature, and limited organics originating from the coal seam and from vegetation or soil surrounding the inlet channel to the wetland. The RFLP results were consistent with our previous culture-independent PCR-DGGE and FISH study, showing relatively low bacterial diversity and predominance of mesophilic acidithiobacilli in oxic wetland sediments.