Metabolizable energy requirements for maintenance and growth of Awassi lambs

Twenty four Awassi lambs (mean BW 24.4 kg) were used in a two periods experiment to measure maintenance (zero growth) and growth requirements of metabolizable energy (ME). During the pre-treatment period (period 1, 3 weeks) all lambs were maintained at a constant level of feed intake (2% BW). During the treatment period (period 2, 10 weeks) the lambs were divided into four equal groups and fed different amounts (2, 3, 4 and 5% of BW). Six additional lambs of similar BW and age were killed at the beginning of the experiment to compare final empty body weight (FEBW) with initial body weight (IBW). Twelve lambs, divided into four equal groups were fed the experimental diet in the same amounts as in the growth experiment (period 2) to determine the digestibility of energy.

Energy requirement for maintenance (EM) was measured by both constant weight technique, using data collected during period 1, and regression technique by regressing ME intake on body weight gain (BWG) and empty body weight gain (EBWG). EM measured during the constant weight period (pre-treatment) and overall experimental period (pre-treatment plus treatment periods) were 0.482 and 0.466 MJ of ME per kg M^0.75 per day. Predicted energy requirements for growth (Eg) calculated from equations derived during the treatment period were 0.433, 0.623, 0.782, 0.910 and 1.007 (MJ per kg M^0.75 per day) for the growth rates 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 (g per day) respectively. It is concluded to be more appropriate to use the values derived during the overall experimental period for maintenance and the overall treatment period for growth as they are most applicable to production situations.     

Pulp Nonfiction: Regionalized Dynamic Model of the U.S. Pulp and Paper Industry

This article presents a modeling framework that enhances our ability to analyze the implications of policy for future sustainability of industrial systems. The framework quantifies the relationship between physical input and waste flows, capital vintage, and investment behavior in the U.S. pulp and paper industry. A regional vintage model is developed that simultaneously incorporates investment decisions, vintage structure of the capital stock, and physical material and energy flows, in addition to paper demand. Each capital vintage is specified by size, output structure, and age-specific retirement rates, as well as fiber use and energy intensities. Both embodied and disembodied technological change are incorporated, as well as greenhouse gas emissions from fuel use, and decomposition and incineration of waste. Estimated equations are used to simulate industrial futures until 2020, from a system of nonlinear differential equations.
Our results demonstrate the economic and physical inter-dependence between material and energy flows and the central role energy prices have in decision-making. For instance, an increase in average energy prices, ceteris paribus , will on average discourage paper recycling, which has implications for greenhouse gas emissions as well as for changes in energy intensity. The analysis of the data reveals diminishing rates of energy self-generation, and the immense longevity of capital, which hampers rapid change in input and carbon intensity. This stresses the importance of investment-led strategies in facilitating faster capital turnover to enhance future sustainability of the system.     

International variability in diet and requirements of manganese: Causes and consequences

Manganese (Mn) is an essential trace element that is critical for human health and development. At the turn of the century when diets were based on whole grains, cereals and other traditional foods, Mn intakes (8–9 mg/d) were much greater than that prevalent today (2 mg/d). As societies have developed, diets have shifted as part of a nutrition transition, to those that are high in processed foods, fat, and sugar. These foods are virtually devoid of Mn. Thus, dietary Mn has declined substantially throughout the world, as confirmed by several wide-scale, total diet studies.International variability in dietary Mn is considerable, due to tremendous diversity in food and culture. In countries where fruit and vegetable intake may be limited, i.e. the United Kingdom, populations may ingest much lower levels of Mn (1.4 mg/d) as compared to Asian cultures (4 mg/d) which have an abundance of plant foods in their food supply and cuisine. The bioavailability of Mn must be considered, including chemical form, oxidation state, mineral-mineral interactions, presence of dietary components and traditional food processing techniques (milling, germination, malting, fermentation). Manganese toxicity is a public health problem that results from exposure to a naturally high water source or contaminated environment of the soil and/or drinking water. In contrast, inadequate intake is associated with adverse health effects such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome, poor birth outcomes and possibly, cancer. Future studies are recommended to set dietary standards for this mineral in countries that lack recommendations to help achieve optimal health.     

Livestock grazing limits beaver restoration in northern New Mexico

The North American beaver (Castor canadensis) builds dams that pond water on streams, which provide crucial ecological services to aquatic and riparian ecosystems and enhance biodiversity. Consequently, there is increasing interest in restoring beavers to locations where they historically occurred, particularly in the arid western United States. However, despite often intensive efforts to reintroduce beavers into areas where they were severely reduced in numbers or eliminated due to overharvesting in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, beavers remain sparse or missing from many stream reaches. Reasons for this failure have not been well studied. Our goal was to evaluate certain biotic factors that may limit the occurrence of dam‐building beavers in northern New Mexico, including competitors and availability of summer and winter forage. We compared these factors at primary active dams and at control sites located in stream reaches that were physically suitable for dam‐building beavers but where none occurred. Beaver dams mostly occurred at sites that were not grazed or where there was some alternative grazing management, but were mostly absent at sites within Forest Service cattle allotments. Results indicated that cattle grazing influenced the relation between vegetation variables and beaver presence. The availability of willows (Salix spp.) was the most important plant variable for the presence of beaver dams. We conclude that grazing by cattle as currently practiced on Forest Service allotments disrupts the beaver‐willow mutualism, rendering stream reaches unsuitable for dam‐building beavers. We recommend that beaver restoration will require changes to current livestock management practices.     

Cyclic GMP Formation and Inositol Phosphate Accumulation Do Not Share Common Origins in Rat Brain Slices

Cyclic GMP formation and inositol phospholipid hydrolysis were studied in rat brain slices to determine if the two processes have common origins. Muscarinic cholinergic stimulation enhanced [3H]inositol phosphate ([ 3H]IP) accumulation from slices prelabelled with [3H]inositol but did not affect cyclic GMP formation in the cortex, striatum, or cerebellum. An elevated level of extracellular K+ stimulated accumulation of both cyclic GMP and [3H]IP in cortex slices. The former, but not the latter, was reduced by lipoxygenase and phospholipase A2 inhibition. Calcium channel activation enhanced and blockade reduced K+-stimulated [3H]IP formation without affecting the cyclic GMP level, and there were differences in the Ca2+ requirements for the two responses. Thus, there is no support for the concept that guanylate cyclase activation inevitably accompanies inositol phospholipid breakdown, and the evidence presented demonstrates that K+ stimulation promotes cyclic GMP and [3H]IP accumulation by different transducing pathways.     

Interactions between growth, uptake of Cl− and Na+, and water relations of plants in saline environments. II. Highly vacuolated cells

Abstract. In a highly saline environment high rates of ion uptake are required to generate sufficient osmotic pressure to maintain the turgor that is needed for the continued growth of plants. We estimate the rates of net uptake of Cl⁻ and Na⁺ required by growing cells to sustain cell expansion at an external NaCl concentration of 500 mol m⁻³. We also estimate the ion fluxes required to regulate turgor of expanding and fully expanded cells during diurnal changes in transpiration. Passive fluxes could contribute significantly to osmotic regulation, but active fluxes are still essential and would consume a substantial amount of energy. We discuss whether a limitation to growth at high salinity would arise from lack of energy, or from insufficient capacity for ion uptake. There is insufficient evidence to choose between these possibilities.     

Uptake of radiolabeled copper from portal blood containing fructose or glucose

The present investigation was designed to study the uptake of⁶⁷Cu when administered directly, into the portal vein, along with either functose or glucose, by the liver and extrahepatic tissues. Following weaning, male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed for 3 wk either commercial laboratory ration (chow) or semipurified diets deficient in Cu (0.6 ppm) or supplemented with Cu (6.0 ppm) and containing 62% carbohydrate as either fructuse or cornstarch. After an overnight fast, a single dose of rat plasma (0.1 mL) containing fructose or glucose extrinsically labeled with⁶⁷Cu was injected directly into their portal vein. Although not always statistically significant, rats fed chow retained more radioactivity in the liver and several extrahepatic tissues when⁶⁷Cu was administered with fructose than with glucose. Regardless of Cu status, rats fed diets containing fructose retained more radioactivity in extrahepatic tissues than rats fed starch. There was an increased uptake of⁶⁷Cu by the liver, blood, muscle, and fat pad when fructose as compared to glucose was injected in combination with the isotope. These data strongly suggest that Cu requirements or utilization are greater when fructose is the main dietary carbohydrate. The results may also in part explain the reason for the increased severity of Cu deficiency in rats fed fructose.     

杂色山雀繁殖期与非繁殖期食物组成及利用

食物资源是动物赖以生存的重要物质基础和能量来源。研究鸟类不同时期的食物选择和利用对于了解该物种取食行为的可塑性和生态适应性将具有重要意义。本文于2012年4月至2013年10月,通过取食行为观察、育雏分析和投食实验来研究杂色山雀(Parus varius)繁殖期与非繁殖的食物组成及利用的差别。结果发现,杂色山雀繁殖期与非繁殖期存在显著的食物差别,繁殖期完全取食动物性食物,而非繁殖期则以植物性食物为主,兼食少量昆虫。繁殖期成鸟取食的食物主要为鳞翅目、蜘蛛目、鞘翅目、双翅目以及少量的直翅目、异翅亚目以及膜翅目动物,育雏的食物资源主要为鳞翅目幼虫(67.86%),其次为蜘蛛目、鳞翅目成虫、膜翅目以及鞘翅目幼虫和少量直翅目,但与成鸟的食物存在显著区别,特别是鳞翅目幼虫的比例极高。非繁殖期的食物主要以植物种子(48.91%)和浆果为主(51.09%),其中,浆果的比例较高,对16种潜在食物资源的取食选择也证明对浆果类食物具有较明显的偏爱。杂色山雀不同时期的食物差别和食性的可塑性可能是由于食物供给和能量需求的季节性变化造成的,但对于自然生境中各种食物资源丰富度的季节性变化,及对杂色山雀取食选择的影响还需进一步研究。     

澜沧江(云南段)河道生态需水量计算

综合分析澜沧江地理地貌、水文气象以及人类活动等现状特征,将澜沧江河道分为三区五段九大支流,并根据需水特征选取了上游旧州、中下游戛旧、下游允景洪3区作为研究区。在多年逐月实测径流量数据的基础上,通过运用生态现状的时空分析比较、数据资料的集中趋势以及离散程度分析等方法设定了河道生态需水等级系数;在通过对澜沧江径流量集中与离散程度分析的基础上,选择了频度法进行生态径流量的计算;综合河道生态需水等级系数与生态径流量进行澜沧江河道生态需水的计算,并对澜沧江汛期与非汛期河道生态需水量进行了分析计算。通过综合分析比较,结果显示澜沧江河道最小、适宜以及理想河道生态需水量分别为161·77×108m3、278·22×108m3、358·82×104m3,占澜沧江多年实测平均径流量(567·76×108m3)的28·49%、49·00%、63·20%,占澜沧江多年径流量(765×108m3)的21·15%、36·37%、46·90%。