Effects of feeding blends of grains naturally contaminated with Fusarium mycotoxins on brain regional neurochemistry of starter pigs and broiler chickens

Two experiments were conducted to compare the effects of feeding a blend of grains naturally contaminated with Fusarium mycotoxins on brain regional neurochemistry of starter pigs and broiler chickens. A polymeric glucomannan mycotoxin adsorbent (GM polymer) was also tested for its efficacy in preventing Fusarium mycotoxicoses. In Exp. 1, a total of 150 starter pigs (initial weight = 9.3+/-1.1 kg) were fed five diets (six pens of five pigs per diet) for 21 d. Diets (as-fed basis) included control, 17% contaminated grains, 24.5% contaminated grains, 24.5% contaminated grains + 0.2% GM polymer, and a pair-fed control for comparison with pigs receiving 24.5% contaminated grains. In Exp. 2,360 1-d-old male broiler chicks were fed for 56 d one of four diets containing the same source of contaminated grains as was fed to pigs. The diets included control, 37% contaminated grains, 58% contaminated grains, and 58% contaminated grains + 0.2% GM polymer (as fed). Neurotransmitter concentrations in the cortex, hypothalamus, and pons were analyzed by HPLC. The following brain neurotransmitter alterations (P < or = 0.05) were observed. In pigs, inclusion of contaminated grains in the diet 1) linearly increased cortex 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT, serotonin) concentrations, while linearly decreasing hypothalamic tryptophan concentrations; 2) quadratically increased hypothalamic and pons 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5HIAA):5HT ratios, whereas the ratio decreased linearly in the cortex; and 3) linearly increased the ratio of hypothalamic 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid:dopamine (DA) concentrations, whereas hypothalamic norepinephrine (NRE) and pons DA and homovanillic acid (HVA) concentrations linearly decreased. In broiler chickens, inclusion of contaminated grains in the diet 1) linearly increased concentrations of 5HT and 5HIAA in the pons and 5HT concentrations in the cortex; 2) linearly decreased 5HIAA:5HT ratio; and 3) linearly increased pons NRE, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethylene glycol, DA, and HVA concentrations. Supplementation of GM polymer to the contaminated diet decreased (P < 0.05) 5HT and 5HIAA concentrations in the cortex of pigs. It was concluded that the differences in alterations of brain neurochemistry might explain the species differences in the severity of Fusarium mycotoxin-induced feed refusal.     

Relative bio-availability and utilisation of phosphatic fertilisers as sources of phosphorus in broilers and layers

1. Different concentrations of non-phytate phosphorus (NPP, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0 and 4.5 g/kg diet) were given to broilers (8 to 42 d of age) to establish regressions between dietary NPP concentration and body weight gain and tibia ash content. Second and third experiments were conducted to study the feasibility of utilisation of different phosphatic fertilisers [ammonium phosphate (AP), ammonium polyphosphate (APP), single super phosphate (SSP), NPK (17:17:17, NPK) and NP (28:28:0, NPK)] in commercial broilers (8 to 42 d) and White Leghorn layers (252 to 364 d). 2. Phosphatic fertilisers were incorporated both in broiler (10 g calcium and 4.5 g NPP/kg) and layer (35 g calcium and 3.5 g NPP/kg) diets by replacing dicalcium phosphate (DCP) in toto. 3. The logarithmic curves obtained for predicting the body weight gain and tibia ash content at different levels of NPP used in experiment 1 were Y = 156.27 + 2,468.8 logX (r2= 0.958) and Y = 530.82 + 144.26 log X (r2 = 0.916), respectively. 4. Body weight gain and food intake in broilers given APP- or NP-supplemented diets were comparable to these in the DCP-fed group. Feeding of NPK, AP or SSP resulted in significant depression in weight gain and food intake and high excreta moisture content. Food/gain, Ca and P contents in tibia ash and serum were not influenced by the use of phosphatic fertilisers as P sources in broiler diets. 5. Tibia ash content in broilers fed on diets containing fertilisers was either similar to or significantly higher than that in the DCP-fed group. Broilers on AP or SSP retained more P and had higher tibia ash content than those on DCP. AP, SSP or NPK caused degenerative and necrotic changes in liver, kidney and intestine of broilers. 6. Relative bio-availability of P from APP or NP was better for body weight gain than AP, SSP or NPK, while the reverse was true for bone calcification. 7. APP and NP gave hen-d egg production similar to that of DCP-fed layers. Food intake was significantly reduced in layers fed on diets containing fertilisers. However, food/egg mass, egg weight and serum Ca and inorganic P contents were not influenced by inclusion of fertilisers in layer diets. 8. Except for AP, inclusion of fertilisers in layer diets reduced shell weight and shell thickness compared with the DCP-fed group. However, no apparent eggshell defects were found which could be attributable to diet. 9. Results of these experiments suggest that APP and NP can be used as the sole source of P both in broiler and layer diets, replacing DCP in toto. However, when utilising these P sources in layers, due attention should be given to shell quality. Fertilisers containing high F (AP and SSP) or K (NPK) reduced performance in broilers and layers and caused microscopic changes in liver, kidney and intestine in broilers.     

Urinary tract infections-microbial virulence determinants and reactive oxygen species

The human urinary tract is able to combat with the microbial invasion under normal circumstances. To cause urinary tract infection the organism has to evade the host defense mechanisms by possessing distinct properties which contribute to the virulence of the organism hence called virulence determinants Ninety percent of uncomplicated urinary tract infections are caused by Escherichia coli, hence the knowledge of the virulence determinants of this organism can be extrapolated to other uropathogenic organism as well. Virulence determinants of uropathogenic E. coli include adhesins, siderophore production, polysaccharide coating, hemolysin production, outer membrane proteins etc. The intestinal E. coli, which are the reservoir of E. coli for causing UTI, lack these virulence determinants. On the other hand these virulence determinants enable the organism to colonize and invade the urinary tract. In addition these are important in acquiring the nutrients in other wise nutrient deficient environment. Further, they also help the organisms in triggering an inflammatory response and hence bringing about pathological changes which leads to symptomatic UTI. Severity of symptomatic infections and tissue damage during the infective process depends upon the magnitude of the inflammatory response triggered by the uropathogen which in turn is dependent upon the amount of extrcellular release of reactive oxygen species by the phagocytic cells; hence role of antioxidants as an adjunct to antibiotics in the treatment of infective process needs to be evaluated further.     

Chemical composition, iron bioavailability, and antioxidant activity of Kappaphycus alvarezzi (Doty)

Kappaphycus alvarezzi, an edible seaweed from the west coast of India, was analyzed for its chemical composition. It was found that K. alvarezzi is rich in protein (16.24% w/w) and contains a high amount of fiber (29.40% w/w) and carbohydrates (27.4% w/w). K. alvarezzi showed vitamin A activity of 865 mug retinal equivalents/100 g of sample. It contained a higher quantity of unsaturated fatty acids (44.50% of the total), in which relative percentage of oleic acid was 11%, cis-heptadecanoic acid 13.50%, and linoleic acid 2.3% and 37.0% of saturated fatty acids (mainly heptadecanoic acid). K. alvarezziwas also found to be good source of minerals, viz 0.16% of calcium, 0.033% of iron, and 0.016% of zinc, which are essential for various vital biological activities. Bioavailability of iron by in vitro methods showed a higher efficiency in intestinal conditions than in stomach conditions. Ascorbic acid influenced higher bioavailability of iron. Successive extracts of n-hexane, acetone, ethyl acetate, ethanol, and direct extractables of chloroform/methanol (1:1 and 2:1) were screened for antioxidant activity using a beta-carotene linoleic acid model system (B-CLAMS), DPPH (alpha,alpha-diphenyl-beta-picrylhydrazyl) model system and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. The chloroform/methanol (2:1) extract has shown 82.5% scavenging activity at 1000 ppm. Acetone fraction extracts at the 1000 ppm level showed 63.31% antioxidant activity in beta-carotene linoleic acid system. The acetone extract showed 46.04% scavenging activity at 1000 ppm concentration. In the case of hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, all the extracts showed better activity at the concentrations of 25 and 50 ppm, where at the 50 ppm level ethyl acetate extract showed 76.0%, acetone 75.12%, and hexane 71.15% activity, respectively. Results of this study suggest the utility of K. alvarezzi (Eucheuma) for various nutritional products, including antioxidant for use as health food or nutraceutical supplement.     

Effects of feeding a blend of grains naturally contaminated with Fusarium mycotoxins on swine performance,brain regional neurochemistry,and serum chemistry and the efficacy of a polymeric glucomannan mycotoxin adsorbent

The co-occurrence of Fusarium mycotoxins in contaminated swine diets has been shown to result in synergistic toxicity beyond that observed for individual toxins. An experiment was conducted, therefore, to investigate the effects of feeding a blend of grains naturally contaminated with Fusarium mycotoxins on growth, brain regional neurochemistry, serum immunoglobulin (Ig) concentrations, serum chemistry, hematology, and organ weights of starter pigs. Three levels of glucomannan polymer (GM polymer, extract of yeast cell wall, Alltech Inc.) were also tested for its efficacy to overcome Fusarium mycotoxicoses. A total of 175 starter pigs (initial weight of 10 +/- 1.1 kg) were fed five diets (seven pens of five pigs per diet) for 21 d. Diets included (1) control, (2) blend of contaminated grains, (3) contaminated grains + 0.05% GM polymer (4) contaminated grains + 0.10% GM polymer and (5) contaminated grains + 0.20% GM polymer. Diets containing contaminated grains averaged 5.5 ppm deoxynivalenol, 0.5 ppm 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol, 26.8 ppm fuuric acid, and 0.4 ppm zearalenone. Feed intake and weight gain of all pigs fed contaminated grains was significantly reduced compared to controls throughout the experiment. The weights of liver and kidney, expressed as a percentage of body weight, were lower in pigs fed the contaminated diet than in those fed the control diet. The feeding of contaminated grains significantly reduced concentrations of dopamine in the hypothalamus and pons and concentrations of dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and norepinephrine in the pons. The ratios of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid to serotonin, however, were elevated in the hypothalamus and pons. The feeding of contaminated grains increased serum IgM and IgA concentrations, while serum IgG concentrations were not altered. The supplementation of GM polymer prevented some of the mycotoxin-induced alterations in brain neurotransmitter and serum Ig concentrations. In summary, the feeding of grains naturally contaminated with Fusarium mycotoxins reduced growth, altered brain neurochemistry, increased serum Ig concentrations, and decreased organ weights in starter pigs. Some of the Fusarium mycotoxin-induced changes in neurochemistry and serum Ig concentrations can be prevented by the feeding of yeast cell wall polymer at appropriate concentrations, although this was not reflected in increased growth rate under these experimental conditions.     

Evaluation of Populus deltoides clones under nursery,field and agrisilviculture system in subhumid tropics of Central India

Populus deltoides Bartr., a native of North America, is generally grown in India above latitude 28 °N. One hundred and six clones were evaluated for four years at Raipur situated at 21°12N latitude and 81°36E longitude. These were grown on vertisol soil. Based on growth and survival performance in the nursery for two successive years, nineteen clones were selected for field evaluation. The best five clones (G3, G48, 65/27, D121 and S7C1) were planted in an agrisilviculture system at a spacing of 4 × 4 m with soybean grown as an intercrop. After 4 years these clones had an increment of DBH by 66.5 to 77.5% and of height by 42.2 to 78.6% within one year when compared to that observed at 3 years of age. In rank order of growth the best five clones were 65/27 > G3 > D121 > G48 > S7C1. Total biomass varied between 20.9 to 35.8 Mg ha^–1 in different clones. Among the tree components, stemwood accounted for 52–61% of the total biomass, followed by branches (20–25%), bark (9–13%) and leaves (7–10%). No significant variation between net primary productivity and photosynthetic efficiency was found in different clones. Soybean productivity decreased as the trees aged, reaching 40.5 to 58.1% in 4-year-old trees.     

Genomewide association study reveals novel quantitative trait loci associated with resistance towards Septoria tritici blotch in North European winter wheat

Fungal diseases are a major constraint for wheat production. Effective disease resistance is essential for ensuring a high production quality and yield. One of the most severe fungal diseases of wheat is Septoria tritici blotch (STB), which influences wheat production across the world. In this study, genomewide association mapping was used to identify new chromosomal regions on the wheat genome conferring effective resistance towards STB. A winter wheat population of 164 North European varieties and breeding lines was genotyped with 15K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) wheat array. The varieties were evaluated for STB in field trials at three locations in Denmark and across 3 years. The association analysis revealed four quantitative trait loci, on chromosomes 1B, 2A, 5D and 7A, highly associated with STB resistance. By comparing varieties containing several quantitative trait loci (QTL) with varieties containing none of the found QTL, a significant difference was found in the mean disease score. This indicates that an effective resistance can be obtained by pyramiding several QTL.     

Agronomic Efficiency of Feldspar,Quartz Silica,and Zeolite as Silicon (Si) Fertilizers in Sandy Soil

ABSTRACT

Partial replacement of synthetic chemical fertilizers by naturally occurring alternatives is environmentally recommended. Feldspars (F), quartz silica (S), and zeolites (Z) are silicon (Si)-rich minerals that may be utilized as Si fertilizers. This study aims to assess the agronomic efficiency (AE) of the mentioned minerals as Si fertilizers and to estimate Si-use efficiency (Si-UE) in sandy soil. A field experiment was carried out (summer seasons of 2016 and 2017) in which F, S, and Z were mixed with surface soil in an application rate 500 mg kg^?1 soil with and without potassium humate (K-H, 2 mg kg^?1 soil). Treatments were distributed in a complete randomized block design (CRBD) with three replicates including control before cultivation of soybean (Glycine max L.). Yield (kg ha^?1) of soybean, available Si (mg kg^?1) in soil and uptake (mg kg^?1) of N, P, K, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Si by soybean seeds and straw were estimated. The most significant increase was by 67.87% followed by 38.69% was recorded for the S and S K-H treatments, compared to the control. Same treatments showed nonsignificant decrease in the available Si (mg kg^?1) that may refer to partial replenishment of plant available Si (PAS) in soil and avoid significant deficiency. Silica treatments resulted in the most significant increase in the uptake (mg kg^?1 soil) of Si, N, P, K, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn by seeds and almost by straw. Silica was more efficient agronomically than feldspar and zeolite. Absorption of more biocompatible Si-organo species may depend on Si source.     

Involvement of mammalian Mus81 in genome integrity and tumor suppression

Mus81-Eme1 endonuclease has been implicated in the rescue of stalled replication forks and the resolution of meiotic recombination intermediates in yeast. We used gene targeting to study the physiological requirements of Mus81 in mammals. Mus81-/- mice are viable and fertile, which indicates that mammalian Mus81 is not essential for recombination processes associated with meiosis. Mus81-deficient mice and cells were hypersensitive to the DNA cross-linking agent mitomycin C but not to gamma-irradiation. Remarkably, both homozygous Mus81-/- and heterozygous Mus81+/- mice exhibited a similar susceptibility to spontaneous chromosomal damage and a profound and equivalent predisposition to lymphomas and other cancers. These studies demonstrate a critical role for the proper biallelic expression of the mammalian Mus81 in the maintenance of genomic integrity and tumor suppression.     

Solution of the kinematic-wave equations for border irrigation

A method is developed to obtain solutions to the kinematic-wave equations for border irrigation. The accuracy of this method is assessed by comparing the results with the kinematic-wave train (KWT) method previously reported to be accurate. Experimental data on freely draining borders were utilized for comparison and evaluation of these methods. The prediction error for advance time resulting from the two methods was comparable: it was below 25% for three sets of data but as high as 50% for one set of data. The prediction error for recession time was also comparable: below 6% for the same three sets of data but 14.0% for one set.