Chicken anemia agent in the United States: isolation of the virus and detection of antibody in broiler breeder flocks

Chicken anemia agent (CAA) was isolated from broiler chickens in Texas with a blue wing or anemia dermatitis-like syndrome. Specific-pathogen-free chicks inoculated with field material developed anemia, and CAA was isolated in MDCC-MSB1 cells from bone marrow and lymphoid tissue from inoculated chicks. One isolate, designated EF88/78/276, was further characterized. Infectivity of EF88/78/276 was resistant to treatment with chloroform and with heat at 70 C for 5 minutes. EF88/78/276 was indistinguishable from the Cux-1 and Gifu-1 isolates of CAA by cross-neutralization tests. Almost all 1-day-old susceptible chicks inoculated intramuscularly with EF88/78/276 developed anemia, but contact-infected chicks did not. Antibody to CAA was detected in broiler breeder flocks from Texas, the Delmarva peninsula, and Alabama.     

Biochemical,physiological and production indices related to fat metabolism in the laying fowl at various stages of physiological development

1. The significance of fat accumulation during physiological development of layers was studied using White Leghorn x Australorp pullets from 12 weeks of age.

2. Liver fat, carcass fat, liver weight and body weight increased markedly at the onset of sexual maturity.

3. Within the liver, the protein to DNA ratio did not alter significantly during development; glycogen was not consistently depleted by egg production.

4. Liver fat content was significantly correlated with carcass fat, liver weight and DNA concentration, and plasma total lipid and cholesterol, independent of stage of development; with body weight, liver protein, moisture, and protein to DNA ratio, excluding the period prior to commencement of sexual maturation; and with plasma phospholipid during lay.

5. Obesity was a feature of faster growing fowls which matured earlier, consumed more, utilised food less efficiently for egg production and produced fewer saleable eggs.     

The effects of meal feeding of calcium,protein and energy on production and calcium status of laying hens

1. Laying birds were allowed free access to a basal diet (treatment 1) or were restricted to either early morning and late afternoon access to the basal diet (treatment 2) or a high‐energy diet in the morning and a high‐protein, high‐calcium diet in the afternoon (treatment 3). The sum of the components fed in treatment 3 was equivalent to the basal diet. These diets were fed for 5 weeks. In the next phase of the experiment, which lasted for 3 weeks, the compositions of the diets for treatments 2 and 3 were altered so that the intakes of dietary components approached those of birds on treatment 1.

2. In both experimental phases birds on treatment 3 produced significantly fewer eggs of smaller mean weight and shell weight. Plasma calcium, inorganic phosphorus concentrations and alkaline phosphatase activity were indicative of decreased calcium status.     

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Bioactive Peptides from Algae: Traditional and Novel Generation Strategies,Structure-Function Relationships,and Bioinformatics as Predictive Tools for Bioactivity

Over the last decade, algae have been explored as alternative and sustainable protein sources for a balanced diet and more recently, as a potential source of algal-derived bioactive peptides with potential health benefits. This review will focus on the emerging processes for the generation and isolation of bioactive peptides or cryptides from algae, including: (1) pre-treatments of algae for the extraction of protein by physical and biochemical methods; and (2) methods for the generation of bioactive including enzymatic hydrolysis and other emerging methods. To date, the main biological properties of the peptides identified from algae, including anti-hypertensive, antioxidant and anti-proliferative/cytotoxic effects (for this review, anti-proliferative/cytotoxic will be referred to by the term anti-cancer), assayed in vitro and/or in vivo, will also be summarized emphasizing the structure–function relationship and mechanism of action of these peptides. Moreover, the use of in silico methods, such as quantitative structural activity relationships (QSAR) and molecular docking for the identification of specific peptides of bioactive interest from hydrolysates will be described in detail together with the main challenges and opportunities to exploit algae as a source of bioactive peptides.     

SUSTAINABLE NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT PACKAGE FOR COST-EFFECTIVE BIOENERGY BIOMASS PRODUCTION

Commercial fertilizer (particularly nitrogen) costs account for a substantial portion of the total production costs of cellulosic biomass and can be a major obstacle to biofuel production. In a series of greenhouse studies, we evaluated the feasibility of co-applying Gibberellins (GA) and reduced nitrogen (N) rates to produce a bioenergy crop less expensively. In a preliminary study, we determined the minimum combined application rates of GA and N required for efficient biomass (sweet sorghum, Sorghum bicolor) production. Co-application of 75 kg ha^?1 (one-half of the recommended N rate for sorghum) and a modest GA rate of 3 g ha^?1 optimized dry matter yield (DMY) and N and phosphorus (P) uptake efficiencies, resulting in a reduction of N and P leaching. Organic nutrient sources such as manures and biosolids can be substituted for commercial N fertilizers (and incidentally supply P) to further reduce the cost of nutrient supply for biomass production. Based on the results of the preliminary study, we conducted a second greenhouse study using sweet sorghum as a test bioenergy crop. We co-applied organic sources of N (manure and biosolids) at 75 and 150 kg PAN ha^?1 (representing 50 and 100% N rate respectively) with 3 g GA ha^?1. In each batch of experiment, the crop was grown for 8 wk on Immokalee fine sand of minimal native fertility. After harvest, sufficient water was applied to soil in each pot to yield ～1.5 L (～0.75 pore volume) of leachate, and analyzed for total N and soluble reactive P (SRP). The reduced (50%) N application rate, together with GA, optimized biomass production. Application of GA at 3 g ha^?1, and the organic sources of N at 50% of the recommended N rate, decreased nutrient cost of producing the bioenergy biomass by ～$375 ha^?1 (>90% of total nutrient cost), and could reduce offsite N and P losses from vulnerable soils.     

An analysis of sap flow in mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) forests of different age

Diurnal measurements of sap velocity were made in 50-, 90-, 150- and 230-year-old mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans F. Muell.) forests in the North Maroondah catchment (southeast Australia) over the periods January 8, 1990 to April 4, 1990 and October 29, 1990 to April 16, 1991. Over the two periods, daily mean sap velocities for the four forests, in order of increasing age, were 11.5, 11.4, 9.9 and 11.8 cm h(-1) respectively. Daily mean sap velocity did not differ significantly among the 50-, 90- and 230-year-old plots. However, in the 150-year-old trees it was significantly smaller by an average of 14%. Sap velocity varied diurnally and also between positions within individual trees and among trees both within and between stands. Despite this variability, the sampling intensity and duration were sufficient to establish that behavior was highly correlated among individuals within plots. There was a significant decline with age in the overstory sapwood conducting area of these forests. In order of increasing age, the values were 6.7, 6.1, 4.2 and 4.0 m(-2) ha(-1), respectively. When combined with daily mean sap velocity, these data allowed the calculation of overstory water use. Over the experimental period, water use of the overstory decreased with age ranging, on average, from 1.86 mm day(-1) for the 50-year-old plot to 0.81 mm day(-1) for the 230-year-old plot. Mean daily water use for the two intermediate-aged forests was 1.67 and 1.00 mm day(-1), respectively. Annual water use decreased with forest age from 679 mm for the 50-year-old stand to 296 mm for the 230-year-old stand. This difference corresponds to 3.8 x 10(3) m(3) ha(-1). The annual water use of the intermediate-aged stands was 610 and 365 mm for the 90- and 150-year-old stands, respectively.     

Ectoparasitic dermatitis in free-ranging swamp wallabies (Wallabia bicolor) in New South Wales

We report extensive dermatological lesions in three, free-ranging, adult, male swamp wallabies ( Wallabia bicolor ), presented to Taronga Western Plains Zoo wildlife hospital. All three animals were moderately infested with the louse species Heterodoxus ualabati , and two were concurrently infested with a previously undescribed sarcoptiform mite of the genus Diabolicoptes . Histological changes included moderate to marked compact hyperkeratosis, focal deep pyoderma and superficial dermatophytosis. Mild to moderate hyperplastic perivascular and periadnexal dermatitis with marked superficial and follicular hyperkeratosis was evident in the skin of the inguinal region and lateral thigh of the two wallabies infested with the Diabolicoptes species. This is the first report of ectoparasitic dermatitis in free-ranging swamp wallabies and the first report of mites of the genus Diabolicoptes from a macropodid.