Comparative Study on the Effect of Variable Phosphorus Intake at two Different Calcium Levels on P Excretion and P Flow at the Terminal Ileum of Laying Hens

A 3 ‐ 2-factorial balance trial was conducted with dietary concentrations of P below the requirement (3.6, 4.3 and 5.0g/kg DM) and Ca below or at the requirement (28 and 37g/kg DM) adjusted by monobasic calcium phosphate (MCP, Ca(H₂PO₄)₂) and calcium carbonate (CaCO₃). The diets were mainly based on maize and soybean meal. Six 18-week old laying hens were allocated to each of the diets, and excreta were quantitatively collected for 21 days from week 22 of age onwards. Feed allowance was 95 g/d according to pre-treatment ad libitum intake of the hens receiving the lowest P concentration. After the balance trial was terminated, ileal digesta was obtained from each hen, and the flow at the terminal ileum was calculated using TiO₂ as indigestible marker. Linear regression analysis was applied to determine the effect of supplementary P. Hens were in a negative energy balance, indicated by a loss in BW across all treatments. Intake and excretion of both N and energy were not significantly affected by the P or Ca content of the diet. P from supplemented MCP was almost completely recovered in excreta, irrespective of dietary Ca concentration. At the terminal ileum, however, the P flow was not significantly affected by the MCP supplementation. Net absorption of P from MCP was almost complete until the terminal ileum, but P was re-directed into the excreta, likewise via the urine. The supplementation of Ca reduced praecaecal net absorption and utilisation of P from the basal diet, likewise due to a reduced phytate hydrolysis. It is suggested by the data, that comparative measurements of P availability for laying hens should be conducted on the basis of praecaecal net absorption rather than on total excretion measurements.     

Sward height and bite size affect the functional response of barnacle geese Branta leucopsis

Intake rate, the rate in which herbivores can process their food, is presumed to be an important factor in habitat selection down to the scale of the foraging patch. Much attention has been given to the selection of swards of high nutritional quality, but much less has been given to the influences of sward structure on patch selection in small herbivores. In this study we tested the effects of sward density and height on the functional foraging response of barnacle geese, Branta leucopsis. The functional response curve for herbivores describes how intake rate is affected by food availability. We conducted feeding trials to determine intake rate and bite size of barnacle geese on experimentally manipulated swards. Results indicate that intake rate is mainly dependent on sward height and that there is a strong correlation between bite size and intake rate. Sward density does not influence the rate of food consumption; it is, however, a crucial parameter affecting potential total yield. We conclude that bite size is the crucial parameter influencing intake rate. Bite size is explained both by sward height and individual differences in bill morphology. Furthermore, intake rate seems to be dependent on the physical structure of the grass species consumed.     

Digestive and metabolic utilization of lauric,myristic and stearic acid in cows,and associated effects on milk fat quality

A study was carried out to examine the effect of dietary supplementation of oregano essential oil on performance of broiler chickens experimentally infected with Eimeria tenella at 14 days of age. A total of 120 day-old Cobb-500 chicks separated into 4 equal groups with three replicates each, were used in this study. Two groups, one infected with 5·10⁴ sporulated oocysts of E. tenella and the other not, were given a basal diet and served as controls. The other two groups also infected with E. tenella were administered diets supplemented with oregano essential oil at a level of 300 mg/kg, or with the anticoccidial lasalocid at 75 mg/kg. Following this infection, survival rate, bloody diarrhoea and oocysts excretion as well as lesion score were determined. Throughout the experimental period of 42 days, body weight gain and feed intake were recorded weekly, and feed conversion ratios were calculated. Two weeks after the infection with E. tenella supplementation with dietary oregano oil resulted in body weight gains and feed conversion ratios not differing from the non-infected group, but higher than those of the infected control group and lower than those of the lasalocid group. These parameters correspond with the extent of bloody diarrhoea, survival rate, lesion score and oocyst numbers and indicated that oregano essential oil exerted an anticoccidial effect against E. tenella, which was, however, lower than that exhibited by lasalocid.     

Influence of deoxynivalenol on feed consumption by dairy cows

The present results would suggest that diets providing up to 14.6 mg kg⁻¹ concentrate or 31 mg DON per 100 kg body weight for relatively high levels of milk production did not affect feed intake or milk production over a 3 week period. Caution is suggested as DON-contaminated barley can at times contain other mycotoxins.     

Nectar intake rate is modulated by changes in sucking pump activity according to colony starvation in carpenter ants

Dynamics of fluid feeding has been deeply studied in insects. However, the ability to vary the nectar-intake rate depending only on the carbohydrate deprivation has been clearly demonstrated only in Camponotus mus ants. When insect morphometry and fluid properties remain constant, changes in intake rate could only be attributed to variations in sucking pump activity. Previous records of the electrical activity generated during feeding in C. mus have revealed two different signal patterns: the regular (RP, frequencies: 2–5 Hz) and the irregular (IP, frequencies: 7–12 Hz). This work studies the mechanism underlying food intake-rate modulation in ants by analysing whether these patterns are involved. Behaviour and electrical activity generated by ants at different starvation levels were analysed during feeding on sucrose solutions. Ants were able to modulate the intake rate for a variety of sucrose concentrations (10, 40 and 60%w/w). The IP only occurred for 60% of solutions and its presence did not affect the intake rate. However, during the RP generated under the starved state, we found frequencies up to 7.5 Hz. RP frequencies positively correlated with the intake-rate for all sucrose concentrations. Hence, intake-rate modulation according to sugar deprivation is mainly achieved by the ant’s ability to vary the pumping frequency.     

Hormonal Signaling in the Gut

The gut is anatomically positioned to play a critical role in the regulation of metabolic homeostasis, providing negative feedback via nutrient sensing and local hormonal signaling. Gut hormones, such as cholecystokinin (CCK) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), are released following a meal and act on local receptors to regulate glycemia via a neuronal gut-brain axis. Additionally, jejunal nutrient sensing and leptin action are demonstrated to suppress glucose production, and both are required for the rapid antidiabetic effect of duodenal jejunal bypass surgery. Strategies aimed at targeting local gut hormonal signaling pathways may prove to be efficacious therapeutic options to improve glucose control in diabetes.     

8-Amino-5-nitro-6-phenoxyquinolines: Potential Non-peptidic Neuropeptide Y Receptor Ligands

The synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of analogues of PD 160170, a neuropeptide Y1 (NPY) receptor antagonist are reported. Phamacomodulation of this 8-amino-5-nitro-6-phenylsulfonylquinoline was carried out by replacing the sulfone moiety by oxygen. The corresponding ethers 11 - 16 were obtained by nucleophilic substitution of 8-acetamido-6-chloro-5-nitroquinoline 4 with phenols, followed by acidic hydrolysis of the intermediary amides 5 - 10. The test compounds 11 - 16 exerted no appreciable Y1 activity and they were also inactive in terms of Y5 receptor binding; their IC 50 values were >1 μM and 10 μM, respectively. The dramatic decrease in potency resulting from replacement of the sulfone function by an ether was confirmed by IP administration of 16 to ob / ob mice; after a 4-day administration, no decrease in food consumption or weight was observed.     

A causal analysis of diet composition in free ranging cattle in reed-dominated vegetation

Summary Theoretical and observed diets of free-ranging yearling cattle in an area of reed-dominated vegetation were related to constraints inherent to ruminants (rumination time as reflected in the zone of acceptable crude fibre content of the ration; rumen fill) and in more general terms, to requirements for minerals (Na, Ca, Mg, P), for protein and for metabolisable energy in order to balance the growth rate achieved by experimental animals. Theoretical diets in spring were mainly limited by feeding time; theoretical diets in summer and autumn were mainly limited by rumen capacity. The high proteinto-energy ratio in the forage species caused protein intake to exceed the animals' demands. Mineral intake was in excess of requirements except for sodium. Yearling cattle in our study area maximized their energy intake, with feeding time, rumen capacity and crude fibre content of the forage as important constraints.     

Analytical Integration Procedures for the Derivation of Risk-Based Generic Assessment Criteria for Soil

Risk assessment models commonly used in contaminated sites employ a simple integration procedure by only partially combining exposure pathways from surface soil with vapor pathways from subsurface soil being excluded in the combination. The simplified approach can approximate the integrated generic assessment criteria only when there is a dominant exposure pathway. But these models are often based on a simple partitioning of a chemical in soil between the sorbed, dissolved, and vapor phases without consideration of the presence of non-aqueous phase liquid, and critically fail to consider non-soil background exposure for non-carcinogenic compounds. As a result, the generic assessment criteria derived may not be considered protective of human health. This article describes analytical integration procedures for the derivation of the generic assessment criteria that consider non-soil background exposure while limiting the average daily exposure for vapor pathways calculated from soil saturation limits. Significance of consideration of soil saturation limits for the derivation of the generic assessment criteria using an integrated approach is illustrated for organic compounds having varied levels of background exposure and soil saturations. The analytical integration procedures for the derivation of the soil generic assessment criteria under the linear chemical partition approach are also reviewed aiming to provide a single source of complete integration procedures for the derivation of the integrated generic assessment criteria.     

植食性哺乳动物觅食的功能反应及其模型

章主要介绍植食性哺乳动物觅食功能反应与模型的研究进展。植食性哺乳动物觅食的摄入率与其食物可利用性的功能反应是动物觅食生态学过程的基础。可利用植物的生物量密度、植物密度、植物大小、以及动物觅食的口量是影响动物觅食功能反应的潜在变量集。这些变量的差异导致动物功能反应格局的复杂化。生物量密度和植物密度对动物摄入率无明显影响,而植物大小对动物摄入率则有显影响。有食物密集的斑块条件下,以植物大小代替动物