Species-specific differences of the avian oesophagus: Histological and Ultrastructural study

The oesophagus is a muscular tube comprised of cervical and thoracic regions. Several studies have clarified the histological structure of the oesophagus. However, its histoarchitecture in relation to variable dietary habits of each species is still unclear. In the current study, 21 pigeons, cattle egrets and ducks, n = 7, each was used. Macroscopically, the oesophagus of cattle egrets either the cervical or thoracic parts was the longest among the pigeons and ducks. Histologically, the oesophagus comprised of four distinct tunicae: mucosa, propria submucosa, musculosa and adventitia or serosa. A great structural variation in these layers among the three investigated species was recorded. In the cervical oesophagus of pigeons, the superficial squamous cells showed perinuclear halo zone, the propria submucosa was characteristically lacked any gland. Moreover, its musculosa was very thick. On the other hand, the intraepithelial glands were characteristically distributed along the whole length of the cattle egret’s oesophagus. Interestingly, the cervical esophagus of the ducks showed submucosal associated lymphatic tissue; diffuse and nodular Ultrastructurally, the oesophageal glands showed secretory granules of variable electron densities, electron - lucent in the pigeons and ducks and electron - dense in the cattle egrets.     

Effect of Dietary Inclusion of Ulva fasciata on Red Hybrid Tilapia Growth and Carcass Composition

Five different levels (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 g kg^?1) of algal (Ulva fasciata) meal were added to red tilapia feeds to examine its effect on growth and carcass biochemical content. Addition of ulva meal significantly improved growth performance, feed utilization, total crude protein content, and percentage of highly unsaturated fatty acids. Fish fed 75 g kg^?1 or 100 g kg^?1 of U. fasciata performed better than others.     

The first identification of contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) in sheep and goats in Egypt: molecular and pathological characterization

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) is one of the most fatal and contagious diseases of goats. To date, the occurrence of CCPP in Egypt has not been...     

Relationship between concentrations of macro and trace elements in serum and follicular,oviductal, and uterine fluids of the dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius)

Tropical Animal Health and Production - This study aimed at investigating the relationship between concentrations of macro and trace elements in blood serum, and fluids from small and large...     

Effects of Biochar and Phosphorus Fertilizers on Phosphorus Fractions,Wheat Yield and Microbial Biomass Carbon in Vertic Torrifluvents

The present work was carried out to investigate the effect of biochar and phosphorus (P) fertilizer application, on phosphorus fractions, soil microbial biomass carbon in a Vertisol during two seasons for wheat in field experiments. Phosphorus was added at 0%, 50%, 100% and 150% P of recommended P fertilizers, with or without biochar at a rate of 10 t h^?1 arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Results showed that the wheat grain yield increased by 56% to 69% in plots treated with the interaction of biochar and P mineral during the 2015 and 2016 growing seasons. Co-application of biochar with inorganic P produced up to 1.5 fold more microbial biomass C than either biochar or inorganic P applied alone. Sequential extraction of the biochar-treated with P revealed that HCl-P decreased, whereas others fractions increased with increasing P rate. The inorganic and organic P fractions were increased significantly when the biochar was combined with fertilizer P as compared to the biochar or inorganic P applied alone. The results of this study reveal that the co-application of biochar with inorganic P can be a promising strategy to improve soil productivity and soil quality in alkaline soil.     

Comparative Effectiveness of Potential Elicitors of Soybean Plant Resistance Against Spodoptera Littoralis and Their Effects on Secondary Metabolites and Antioxidant Defense System

Gesunde Pflanzen - Cotton leaf worm (Spodoptera littoralis) is considered one of the most destructive agricultural pests in Egypt. It is overcome by the producer by using chemical pesticides, but...     

Reconstruction of Microraptor and the evolution of iridescent plumage

Iridescent feather colors involved in displays of many extant birds are produced by nanoscale arrays of melanin-containing organelles (melanosomes). Data relevant to the evolution of these colors and the properties of melanosomes involved in their generation have been limited. A data set sampling variables of extant avian melanosomes reveals that those forming most iridescent arrays are distinctly narrow. Quantitative comparison of these data with melanosome imprints densely sampled from a previously unknown specimen of the Early Cretaceous feathered Microraptor predicts that its plumage was predominantly iridescent. The capacity for simple iridescent arrays is thus minimally inferred in paravian dinosaurs. This finding and estimation of Microraptor feathering consistent with an ornamental function for the tail suggest a centrality for signaling in early evolution of plumage and feather color.     

Determination of threshold parameter in quadrant splitting for identifying coherent motions in Lake Taihu,China

Purpose

Coherent motion plays a significant role in sediment resuspension, which is an important cause of eutrophication in Lake Taihu. The most popular approach in detecting coherent motion in wall turbulence is quadrant splitting. However, an important threshold parameter (H) is set by empiricism during inspection above which burst event occurs. This study is aimed at eliminating the erroneous detection caused by this empirical parameter in identifying coherent motions, giving an objective range of H for Lake Taihu and then illustrating the interactions between coherent motion and sediment resuspension.

Materials and methods

Based on in situ monitoring with Acoustic Doppler Velocimetry (ADV) and Optical Backscatter Sensor (OBS), high-frequency data of three-dimensional velocities and suspended sediment concentration at the bottom of Lake Taihu were obtained. Autocorrelation function and quadrant splitting were jointly adopted to determine parameter H without any empiricism.

Results and discussion

The value of parameter H varied from 0.72 to 1.28 in Lake Taihu, and an increase of 0.56 in H value led to decreases of 10.7–24.1% in the stress fraction and 14.7–26.5% in the sediment flux fraction. At the Central Zone site, the dominant motions were ejection and sweep, while inward and outward interactions dominated the exchange processes at the East Bay site. Only 16.8, 14.3, and 17.0% of the time fractions of coherent motions contributed up to 58.3, 74.5, and 55.0% to the sediment flux fractions at different observation sites, and the larger time fractions of burst events contributed less to sediment flux fractions due to the less effect from wind waves and the lack of upwelling currents.

Conclusions

Burst events with large amplitude and short duration contributed significantly to the processes of sediment exchanges. Calculation results of momentum and sediment resuspension fluxes are very sensitive to parameter H, taking one fixed empirical value for H is unsuitable for Lake Taihu. These findings will provide a useful reference for identifying coherent motions precisely and understanding the interactions between coherent motion and sediment resuspension in Lake Taihu.