Biochar as a feed supplement for nutrient digestibility and growth performance of Catla catla fingerlings

The purpose of the current research was to determine the impact of various biochar supplements on nutrient digestibility and growth performance of Catla catla fingerlings fed on Moringa oleifera seed meal (MOSM) based diet. An experiment with 90 days of feeding was conducted to investigate the efficacy of biochar obtained from different sources such as parthenium, farmyard manure, poultry waste, vegetable waste, and corncob waste at 2 mg/kg. There were15 fingerlings in each tank in the triplicate set of tanks. Fingerlings were fed at the rate of 5 % of their live wet weight. From each tank, feces were collected twice daily and stored to determine nutrient digestibility. Results showed that poultry waste biochar (test diet-IV) at 2 mg/kg was the best source to significantly (P < 0.05) improve weight gain % (256.58 %) and feed conversion ratio (1.19) than the other biochar sources and control diet. Furthermore, in terms of nutrient digestibility, optimum fat (81.90 %), protein (75.92 %), and gross energy (74.84 kcalg^?1) values were obtained by using the same type of biochar (poultry waste). Conclusively, among all the five biochar sources, poultry waste biochar proved to be the best one, improving fish body performance.     

Evaluating the relationship between natural resource management and agriculture using embodied energy and eco-exergy analyses: A comparative study of nine countries

By shifting from animate labor to ever-increasing fossil fuel and other supplement energy subsidies, energy use in human food supply systems continues to increase. As agriculture is the fundamental manner in which humans interact with the environment, it is especially important to understand the relationships between humans, energy, and food. Many researchers evaluate the material and energy resources involved in the food production chain. Energy return on energy investment (EROI) analyses have been particularly useful in assessing the quantity of energy dissipated versus the energy eventually acquired, thus helping to evaluate the overall efficiency of human food systems (i.e., energy invested versus dietary Calories harvested). A complimentary measure, eco-exergy, has been used to evaluate the quality of energies dissipated and generated in ecosystems. To deepen our insight into the dynamic between humans and their food system, we combine these two measures for a food production analysis. Focusing on meat production, adjusted EROI and eco-exergy ratios are used to evaluate both the quantity and quality of energy accumulated and dissipated in nine country's agricultural processes. Each country's food production indicators are then compared with more established methods of sustainability measurement including ecological footprint and biocapacity. The results reveal a significant, highly correlated relationship between these food production indicators and each country's ecological footprint (resources being consumed) while also showing no correlation to their respective biocapacity (resources actually available), thus quantifying a food production disconnect from the local ecosystem. Using these new metrics, we evaluate which changes in each country's food system could result in more environmentally balanced practices, and also how these changes can be realized.     

Effects of dietary replacement of fish meal by soybean meal on growth,feed utilization,and health condition of stinging catfish,Heteropneustes fossilis

Soybean meal (SBM) is a cost-effective alternative protein source to replace costly fish meal in aquaculture. This present study determined to measure the effects of replacing fish meal (FM) protein with SBM on growth, feed utilization, and health condition of stinging catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis. Four isonitrogenous (35 %) diets were applied in four treatment groups designed as SBM₀, SBM₂₅, SBM₅₀, and SBM₇₅, where 0 %, 25 %, 50 %, and 75 % of FM protein were substituted by SBM, respectively. Significantly higher mean final weight (g), weight gain (g), percent weight gain (%), specific growth rate (% day^?1), and protein efficiency ratio (PER) were recorded in SBM₀, SBM₂₅, and SBM₅₀ groups than SBM₇₅ group. Consequently, significantly lower feed conversion ratio (FCR) was found in SBM₀, SBM₂₅, and SBM₅₀ groups than SBM₇₅ group. Moreover, protein content of whole-body carcass was significantly higher in SBM₂₅ and lower in SBM₀ group however, lipid content was significantly higher in SBM₀ and SBM₇₅ than in other groups. Hemoglobin, red blood cells, and white blood cells were significantly higher in SBM₀, SBM₂₅, and SBM₅₀ groups compared to SBM₇₅. However, the higher the substitution of FM protein by SBM in diets higher the values of glucose. Morphological analysis of the intestine including villi length (μm), width (μm), and area (mm²); crypt depth (μm); wall thickness (μm); abundance of goblet cell (GB); and muscle thickness (μm) showed an increasing trend in fish fed diet containing upto 50 % replacement of FM protein by SBM. Therefore, the results suggest that SBM could replace upto 50 % FM protein in diets of H. fossilis without compromising growth, feed efficiency, and health status.     

Active polyphenolic compounds,nutrient contents and antioxidant capacity of extruded fish feed containing purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench.)

The growth of fish is directly dependent on feed composition and quality. Medicinal plants can be added to fish feed as adjuvant therapy for the prevention of fish diseases. The purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench.) has been reported to have multiple biological effects, including immunomodulatory and antioxidant activity. The most active compounds of E. purpurea are polyphenols - caffeic acid derivatives: caftaric acid, chlorogenic acid, cynarin, echinacoside and cichoric acid.Due to a relatively limited number of studies on the use of the purple coneflower as a nutritional supplement for fish feeding, extruded fish feed with addition of Echinacea roots was produced. In the feed total phenolic content, selected polyphenol contents, the energetic value, nutrient contents and antioxidant capacity were examined.The results indicate that fish feed with addition of the Echinacea has a great potential to be a good source of natural radical scavengers, for example polyphenols, and nutritive ingredients. Antioxidant properties of feed were well correlated with the coneflower content. The study findings confirmed that high-temperature extrusion-cooking process does not deactivate phenolic antioxidant compounds, which are present both in the Echinacea roots and in the final product. Fish feed with addition of E. purpurea can be used as a nutritional supplement in the prevention of fish diseases caused by oxidative stress.     

不同大豆蛋白源对埃及胡子鲇生长、饲料利用及体成分的影响

鱼粉(Fish meal,FM)是水产饲料中应用最广泛的蛋白源[1].随着人类对水产品需求的不断增加以及集约化水产养殖业的迅猛发展,目前世界鱼粉的供应已不能满足日益增长的养殖需求.     

Longitudinal analysis of residual feed intake and BW in mink using random regression with heterogeneous residual variance

The aim of this study was to determine the genetic background of longitudinal residual feed intake (RFI) and BW gain in farmed mink using random regression methods considering heterogeneous residual variances. The individual BW was measured every 3 weeks from 63 to 210 days of age for 2139 male+female pairs of juvenile mink during the growing-furring period. Cumulative feed intake was calculated six times with 3-week intervals based on daily feed consumption between weighing’s from 105 to 210 days of age. Genetic parameters for RFI and BW gain in males and females were obtained using univariate random regression with Legendre polynomials containing an animal genetic effect and permanent environmental effect of litter along with heterogeneous residual variances. Heritability estimates for RFI increased with age from 0.18 (0.03, posterior standard deviation (PSD)) at 105 days of age to 0.49 (0.03, PSD) and 0.46 (0.03, PSD) at 210 days of age in male and female mink, respectively. The heritability estimates for BW gain increased with age and had moderate to high range for males (0.33 (0.02, PSD) to 0.84 (0.02, PSD)) and females (0.35 (0.03, PSD) to 0.85 (0.02, PSD)). RFI estimates during the growing period (105 to 126 days of age) showed high positive genetic correlations with the pelting RFI (210 days of age) in male (0.86 to 0.97) and female (0.92 to 0.98). However, phenotypic correlations were lower from 0.47 to 0.76 in males and 0.61 to 0.75 in females. Furthermore, BW records in the growing period (63 to 126 days of age) had moderate (male: 0.39, female: 0.53) to high (male: 0.87, female: 0.94) genetic correlations with pelting BW (210 days of age). The result of current study showed that RFI and BW in mink are highly heritable, especially at the late furring period, suggesting potential for large genetic gains for these traits. The genetic correlations suggested that substantial genetic gain can be obtained by only considering the RFI estimate and BW at pelting, however, lower genetic correlations than unity indicate that extra genetic gain can be obtained by including estimates of these traits during the growing period. This study suggests random regression methods are suitable for analysing feed efficiency and BW gain; and genetic selection for RFI in mink is promising.     

Genetic, proteomic and metabolic analysis of the regulation of energy storage in rice seedlings in response to drought

We used proteomic analysis to determine the response of rice plant seedlings to drought-induced stress. The expression of 71 protein spots was significantly altered, and 60 spots were successfully identified. The greatest down-regulated protein functional category was translation. Up-regulated proteins were mainly related to protein folding and assembly. Additionally, many proteins involved in metabolism (e.g. carbohydrate metabolism) also showed differences in expression. cDNA microarray and GC-MS analysis showed 4756 differentially expressed mRNAs and 37 differentially expressed metabolites. Once these data were integrated with the proteomic analysis, we were able to elucidate the metabolic pathways affected by drought-induced stress. These results suggest that increased energy consumption from storage substances occurred during drought. In addition, increased expression of the enzymes involved in anabolic pathways corresponded with an increase in the content of six amino acids. We speculated that energy conversion from carbohydrates and/or fatty acids to amino acids was increased. Analysis of basic metabolism networks allowed us to understand how rice plants adjust to drought conditions.     

Conformational energy analysis of the leucine repeat regions of C/EBP, GCN4, and the proteins of the myc, jun, and fos oncogenes

It has been recently proposed that certain DNA binding proteins (including C/EBP, GCN4 and themyc, jun, andfos oncogene proteins) share a common structural motif based on helix-promoting regions containing heptad repeat sequences of leucines. It has been suggested that this structure is critical to the biological activity of these proteins, since it facilitates the formation of functional dimers held together by interdigitating leucine side-chains along the hydrophobic interfaces between long -helical regions of the polypeptide chains in a configuration termed the leucine zipper. In this paper, conformational energy analysis is used to determine the preferred three-dimensional structures of the leucine repeat regions of these proteins. The results indicate that, in all cases, the global minimum energy conformation for these regions is an amphipathic -helix with the leucine side-chains arrayed on one side in such a way to favor leucine zipper dimerization. Furthermore, amino acid substitutions in these regions (such as Pro for Leu), that are known to inhibit dimer formation and prevent DNA binding, are found to produce significant conformational changes that disrupt the amphipathic helical structure. Thus, these results provide support for the proposed leucine zipper configuration as a critical structural feature of this class of DNA binding proteins.     

Rapid analysis of taurine in energy drinks using amino acid analyzer and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy as basis for toxicological evaluation

Summary. So-called energy drinks with very high amounts of taurine (up to 4000 mg/l are usually granted by certificates of exemption) are increasingly offered on the market. To control the currently valid maximum limits of taurine in energy drinks, a simple and rapid analytical method is required to use it routinely in food monitoring. In this article, we describe a fast and efficient analytical method (FTIR-spectroscopy) that is able to reliably characterize and quantify taurine in energy drinks. The determination of taurine in energy drinks by FTIR was compared with amino acid analyzer (ion chromatography with ninhydrin-postcolumn derivatization). During analysis of 80 energy drinks, a median concentration of 3180 mg/l was found in alcohol-free products, 314 mg/l in energy drinks with spirits, 151 mg/l in beer-containing drinks and 305 mg/l in beverages with wine. Risk analysis of these products is difficult due to the lack of valid toxicological information about taurine and its interferences with other ingredients of energy drinks (for example caffeine and alcohol). So far, the high taurine concentrations of energy drinks in comparison to the rest of the diet are scientifically doubtful, as the advertised physiological effects and the value of supplemented taurine are unproven.     

Conformational analysis of peptide analogues of silkmoth chorion protein segments using CD, NMR and molecular modelling.

Silkmoth proteins secreted from the follicular cells that surround the oocyte form a large extracellular assembly which is important for protecting and sustaining the structure of the oocyte and the developing embryo. These proteins have been classified into two major families (A and B). Sequence analysis showed conservation of a central domain containing long stretches of six amino acid residue repeats in both families, which have been suggested to be organized in beta-sheet structures. In this work NMR and CD spectra, as well as molecular calculations, have been used to investigate the conformational properties of two synthetic peptides (A and B), analogues of parts of the central domain of silkmoth chorion proteins of the A and B families, respectively. These peptides consist of three tandem repeats of the six-residue basic motif. Analysis of CD spectra of the two peptides in aqueous solutions and mixtures with organic solvents revealed beta-sheet and turn structural elements with a percentage higher than 40%. NOESY spectra at low temperatures (263-273 K) show sequential nOe connectivities (i, i + 1), indicative of a relative flexibility. The presence of HNi-HNi+1 cross-peaks and medium Halphai-HNi+1 connectivities, chemical shift deviations and temperature coefficient data provide, for the first time, experimental evidence that local folded structures around Gly residues occur in peptide segments of chorion proteins in solution. Simulated annealing calculations were used to examine the conformational space of the peptides and to probe the initial steps of amyloid fibril formation in the case of chorion proteins.     

Fluxes of carbon, water and energy over Brazilian cerrado: an analysis using eddy covariance and stable isotopes

We present the energy and mass balance of cerrado sensu stricto (a Brazilian form of savanna), in which a mixture of shrubs, trees and grasses forms a vegetation with a leaf area index of 1·0 in the wet season and 0·4 in the dry season. In the wet season the available energy was equally dissipated between sensible heat and evaporation, but in the dry season at high irradiance the sensible heat greatly exceeded evaporation. Ecosystem surface conductance g_s in the wet season rose abruptly to 0·3 mol m^?2 s^?1 and fell gradually as the day progressed. Much of the total variation in g_s was associated with variation in the leaf-to-air vapour pressure deficit of water and the solar irradiance. In the dry season the maximal g_s values were only 0·1 mol m^?2 s^?1. Maximal net ecosystem fluxes of CO₂ in the wet and dry season were –10 and –15 μmol CO₂ m^?2 s^?1, respectively (sign convention: negative denotes fluxes from atmosphere to vegetation). The canopy was well coupled to the atmosphere, and there was rarely a significant build-up of respiratory CO₂ during the night. For observations in the wet season, the vegetation was a carbon dioxide sink, of maximal strength 0·15 mol m^?2 d^?1. However, it was a source of carbon dioxide for a brief period at the height of the dry season. Leaf carbon isotopic composition showed all the grasses except for one species to be C₄, and all the palms and woody plants to be C₃. The CO₂ coming from the soil had an isotopic composition that suggested 40% of it was of C₄ origin.     

Identification of Phosphoribosyl-AMP cyclohydrolase,as drug target and its inhibitors in Brucella melitensis bv. 1 16M using metabolic pathway analysis

Brucella melitensis is a pathogenic Gram-negative bacterium which is known for causing zoonotic diseases (Brucellosis). The organism is highly contagious and has been reported to be used as bioterrorism agent against humans. Several antibiotics and vaccines have been developed but these antibiotics have exhibited the sign of antibiotic resistance or ineffective at lower concentrations, which imposes an urgent need to identify the novel drugs/drug targets against this organism. In this work, metabolic pathways analysis has been performed with different filters such as non-homology with humans, essentially of genes and choke point analysis, leading to identification of novel drug targets. A total of 18 potential drug target proteins were filtered out and used to develop the high confidence protein–protein interaction network The Phosphoribosyl-AMP cyclohydrolase (HisI) protein has been identified as potential drug target on the basis of topological parameters. Further, a homology model of (HisI) protein has been developed using Modeller with multiple template (1W6Q (48%), 1ZPS (55%), and 2ZKN (48%)) approach and validated using PROCHECK and Verify3D. The virtual high throughput screening (vHTS) using DockBlaster tool has been performed against 16,11,889 clean fragments from ZINC database. Top 500 molecules from DockBlaster were docked using Vina. The docking analysis resulted in ZINC04880153 showing the lowest binding energy (?9.1 kcal/mol) with the drug target. The molecular dynamics study of the complex HisI-ZINC04880153 was conducted to analyze the stability and fluctuation of ligand within the binding pocket of HisI. The identified ligand could be analyzed in the wet-lab based experiments for future drug discovery.     

Proteomics analysis of mature seed of four peanut cultivars using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis reveals distinct differential expression of storage, anti-nutritional, and allergenic proteins

Profiles of total seed proteins isolated from mature seeds of four peanut cultivars, New Mexico Valencia C (NM Valencia C), Tamspan 90, Georgia Green, and NC-7, were studied using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis coupled with nano-electrospray ionization liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (nESI-LC–MS/MS). Two-dimensional gels stained with silver nitrate revealed a total of 457, 516, 556, and 530 protein spots in NM Valencia C, Tamspan 90, Georgia Green, and NC-7, respectively. Twenty abundant protein spots showing differences in relative abundance among these cultivars were analyzed by nESI-LC–MS/MS, resulting in identification of 14 non-redundant proteins. The majority of these proteins belonged to the globulin fraction consisting of arachin (glycinin and Arah3/4) and conarachin seed storage proteins as well as other allergen proteins. The expression of some of these identified protein spots was cultivar-specific. For example, allergen Arah3/Arah4 and conarachin protein spots were only detected in Tamspan 90 and NC-7, whereas the Gly1 protein spot was detected only in NM Valencia C and NC-7. Moreover, a galactose-binding lectin protein spot with anti-nutritive properties was only present in Tamspan 90. Other proteins showing differences in relative abundance among the four cultivars included 13-lipoxygenase, fructose-biphosphate aldolase, and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase. Together, these results suggest that identified proteins might serve as potential markers for cultivar differentiation and may be associated with underlying sensory and nutritional traits of peanut cultivars.     

A chlorophyll fluorescence analysis of photosynthetic efficiency, quantum yield and photon energy dissipation in PSII antennae of Lactuca sativa L. leaves exposed to cinnamic acid

This study investigated the effects of cinnamic acid (CA) on growth, biochemical and physiological responses of Lactuca sativa L. CA (0.1, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 mM) treatments decreased plant height, root length, leaf and root fresh weight, but it did not affect the leaf water status. CA treatment (1.5 mM) significantly reduced F_v, F_m, photochemical efficiency of PSII (F_v/F_m) and quantum yield of PSII (ΦPSII) photochemistry in L. sativa. The photochemical fluorescence quenching (qP) and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) were reduced after treatment with 1.5 mM CA. Fraction of photon energy absorbed by PS II antennae trapped by “open” PS II reaction centers (P) was reduced by CA (1.5 mM) while, portion of absorbed photon energy thermally dissipated (D) and photon energy absorbed by PSII antennae and trapped by “closed” PSII reaction centers (E) was increased. Carbon isotope composition ratios (δ¹³C) was less negative (−27.10) in CA (1.5 mM) treated plants as compared to control (−27.61). Carbon isotope discrimination (Δ¹³C) and ratio of intercellular CO₂ concentration (ci/ca) from leaf to air were also less in CA treated plants. CA (1.5 mM) also decreased the leaf protein contents of L. sativa as compared to control.     

Speciation analysis,bioavailability and risk assessment of trace metals in herbal decoctions using a combined technique of in Vitro digestion and biomembrane filtration as sample pretreatment method

Sample preparation is the first crucial step in the speciation analysis, bioavailability and risk assessment of trace metals in plant samples such as herb and vegetables. Two bionic technologies titled ‘in vitro digestion’ and ‘extraction with biomembrane’ were developed for pre‐treatment of herbal decoction. The decoctions of Aconiteum carmichaeli and Paeonia lactiflora were digested at body temperature, at the acidity of the stomach or intestine and with inorganic and organic materials (digestive enzymes were included for whole‐bionic and excluded for semi‐bionic) found in the stomach or intestine. Being similar to the biomembrane between the gastrointestinal tract and blood vessels, monolayer liposome was used as a biomembrane model. Affinity‐monolayer liposome metals and water‐soluble metals were used for speciation analysis and bioavailability assessment of copper and zinc in herbal decoction. In the decoction of Aconiteum carmichaeli and Paeonia lactiflora, Zn was mainly absorbed in the intestine and Cu was mainly absorbed by both stomach and intestine. The safe dosage for males and females is below 257.1 g/day Aconiteum carmichaeli and 529.4 g/day Paeonia lactiflora. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Growth performance,haematological assessment and chemical composition of Nile tilapia,Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758) fed different levels of Aloe vera extract as feed additives in a closed aquaculture system

A 105-day experimental trial was conducted to assess different levels of dietary Aleo vera extract supplementation on water quality parameters, proximate composition, growth performance and haematological parameters of fry Oreochromis niloticus. Four different percentages of dietary leaf extract powder of Aleo vera (ALE) with a basal feed, designated as, i.e., T0 (Control group; without ALE), T1 (1% ALE), T2 (2% ALE), and T3 (3% ALE). Fish fry was reared in concrete tanks (7.0 m, 1.6 m, 1.0: L, W, H; water volume 11.2 m3/tank), with an average initial weight 4.04 ± 0.03 g/ fry, and each treatment was triplicated. Fry was randomly distributed at a stocking rate of 450 individuals/ tanks. The water quality parameters revealed that temperature, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen (DO) and nitrates were found in a promising range as given by FAO/WHO limits. However, the record values obtained for Electric Conductivity (EC), Total dissolved solids (TDS), and alkalinities were not found in all tanks' suitable range according to FAO/WHO limits. The results revealed a significant impact of different percentages of dietary ALE supplementation on fry's body composition and haematological parameters. Moreover, the final body weight, final body length, average daily weight gain (g), net weight gain (g) and specific growth rate (%) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in T1 and T2 compared with T0 and T3 treatments. The poorest feed conversion ratio was recorded in the T2 group compared with other treatments. Thus, the current study provides information about the nutritional quality of Nile tilapia culturing in Pakistan.     

A variation of the amplified-fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technique using three restriction endonucleases, and assessment of the enzyme combination BglII-MfeI for AFLP analysis of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica isolates

We have performed amplified-fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprinting on a collection of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar typhimurium strains with a restriction endonuclease combination (BglII and MfeI) that has previously been used successfully for typing Campylobacter jejuni isolates with high resolution. Additionally, a variation of the AFLP assay in which two rare cutting restriction enzymes (XbaI and BsrGI) in combination with the frequent cutter (HinP1I) was examined. The BglII and MfeI enzyme combination offered low resolution for genotyping Salmonella typhimurium isolates and is not recommended for this common serovar. The three-enzyme combination gave a higher discrimination, and is thus a new alternate way of performing AFLP fingerprinting of S. typhimurium.