Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In vitro digestibility of field pea as influenced by processing methods

Abstract Field pea meals exposed to different treatments (flaking, extrusion, expansion, dry heating at 150°C/15’ or 30’, dry heating at 150°C/30’ after addition of 1% of xylose, 4% NaOH addition, microwave irradiation at 800 W for 6’ or 9’) were controlled for their 6 and 24 hours in vitro fermentability by the gas production (GP) technique. Flaking and extrusion accelerated initial fermentation but tended to reduce 24h GP, whereas dry heating and microwaves mainly improved final gas volume, but NaOH had the opposite effect. Apparent dry matter digestion at 6h was lowered by dry heating, NaOH addition and the shorter microwave irradiation. Xylose addition did not substantially change the effects of dry heating, but lowered the initial disappearance. Ammonia concentration was in general lowered by the treatments, suggesting a reduction in protein degradability but also a possible higher microbial uptake for protein synthesis. Microwave irradiation had limited effects on all the parameters. Dry heating, with or without xylose addition, seems interesting to increase rumen escaping protein fraction without accelerating starch fermentation that could expose to higher risks of rumen acidosis.
Genetic diversity and molecular markers of five snapper species

In order to protect and develop valuable snappers (Lutjanus spp.), genetic diversity and molecular markers of five species (Lutjanus vitta, L. fulvus, L. fulviflamma, L. sebae and L. stellatus) were detected and analysed using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and simple sequence repeats (SSR) techniques. The polymorphic loci ratio (P) (86.00–92.11%), the mean intraspecies genetic distances (D) (0.1775–0.3431) and the intraspecies genetic diversity indexes (Hi) (0.1022–0.1634) were calculated using the RAPD technique. The genetic diversities of L. fulviflamma and L. vitta were richest in terms of P, and D and Hi, respectively. The results of SSR showed that low effective numbers of alleles (1.7893–3.6591), medium average heterozygosities (0.332–0.676) and medium polymorphism information contents (PIC) (0.302–0.641) occurred in five species of snappers, indicating comparatively rich genetic diversity among these fish. Nine molecular markers in the products amplified by primers OPA8 and OPP10, and six molecular markers in 11 microsatellite loci were found to be useful as specific markers to identify five species of snappers. Two neighbour-joining (NJ) dendrograms based on the results of RAPD and SSR suggested that L. stellatus and L. sebae are closely related and clustered in one branch, with L. vitta, L. fulviflamma and L. fulvus in the other.
Are Cape gannets dependent upon fishery waste? A multi-scale analysis using seabird GPS-tracking, hydro-acoustic surveys of pelagic fish and vessel monitoring systems

Summary 1. Climate change and fishing impact marine ecosystems, potentially modifying the availability of small pelagic fish to marine top predators. Some seabirds that primarily rely upon these resources have switched to feeding on fishery waste. It has therefore been argued that seabirds might become dependent upon this artificial resource. 2. To test this hypothesis, we studied the foraging behaviour of Cape gannets Morus capensis breeding off the coast of South Africa using high-resolution Global Positioning Systemtracking in relation to the availability of pelagic fish assessed by acoustic at-sea surveys, and fishing effort by the two main south African fisheries (purse seiners that compete with seabirds for pelagic fish, and demersal trawlers that process fish at sea and discharge fish waste) tracked with vessel monitoring systems. Conjoint seabird, fish and fisheries information were analysed at mesoscale (c. 100 km) and sub-mesoscale (c. 10 km) in years of high (2002), medium (2009) and low (2005) pelagic fish biomass within gannets’ foraging range. 3. We found substantial inter-annual variability in spatial use by breeding gannets, which was driven primarily by pelagic fish availability. At the mesoscale, birds and purse seiners exploited similar marine areas, but no fine-scale dependence of birds on purse seiners was detected. Crucially, fine-scale dependence of gannets upon trawlers producing fishery waste was only detected in 2005, when pelagic fish biomass was lowest, indicating a direct effect of trawlers on gannet foraging behaviour in the absence of natural prey. 4. Further overlap analyses of gannet and trawler foraging areas during 2002–2010 confirmed that breeding birds only seek trawlers when pelagic fish availability is low, strongly suggesting reversible seabird dependency upon fishery waste. 5. Synthesis and applications. Our study demonstrates that seabirds such as Cape gannets depend on fishery waste when their natural prey is scarce, but revert to feeding on natural resources whenever available, showing highly flexible foraging behaviour. These results have important implications in the context of the anticipated legislation banning at-sea disposal of fishery waste in different regions, including European seas, highlighting the necessity to concomitantly promote sustainable fishing allowing the restoration of pelagic fish stocks.
Linoleic Acid as a Mediator of Egg Size

Abstract Diets supplemented with 5% of tallow or safflower oil were fed to White Leghorn pullets during the initial 14 wk of production. The diets contained . 6% and 4.3% of linoleic acid, respectively. Egg weight was consistently greater with the diet high in linoleic acid. Yolk weights relative to egg weights were similar in each sample, as were the yolk concentrations of total, neutral, and polar lipids. The fatty-acid profiles for both the neutral and the polar fractions were also similar for the large and small eggs within treatment, but there were differences between treatments. The lipid concentrations in the liver at the conclusion of the experiment were greater in the birds fed the diet low in linoleic acid as a result of increases in the neutral lipids. As with the yolk fatty acids, the substitution of safflower oil for tallow in the diet decreased the concentrations of oleic acid and increased the concentrations of linoleic acid in both lipid fractions. The constancy of the proportions of protein, neutral lipid, and polar lipid in the yolk, despite the effect of dietary linoleic-acid concentration on yolk size, supports the hypothesis that linoleic acid, or longer-chain fatty acids of the linoleic-acid family, is required for the synthesis of the lipoproteins that can be transported to the ovary for uptake by the developing ova. Egg size cannot be maximized if the amount of linoleic acid available is not adequate to support the maximum rate of synthesis by the lipoproteins.
Mixoploidia em híbridos de capim-elefante x milheto tratados com agentes antimitóticos

The objective of this work was to evaluate methods of chromosome duplication, using antimitotic agents and several botanical materials as explant hybrids between napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum Shum.) and pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br. ). Colchicine (50 mg L-1 and 100 mg L-1) and cycloheximide:8-hydroxyquinoline (1:1) (25 mg L-1:300 mg L -1) solutions have been applied in vivo to shoots and in vitro to seedlings and tillers. The antimitotic effect has been evaluated through survival rate, chromosome number and presence of cell cycle anomalies at the root tips of surviving plants. The best results have been obtained when seedlings have been treated with colchicine and tillers with cycloheximide: 8-hydroxyquinoline. Mixoploidy has been observed in cells having 14 to 42 chromosomes, indicating that duplication, followed by chromosome elimination, has occurred, which has been confirmed by chromosome aberrations. In the average, 86.4% of the analyzed cells have presented a chromosome number different from 21.
Modeling the Effects of Supersaturated Dissolved Gas on Resident Aquatic Biota in the Main-Stem Snake and Columbia Rivers

Abstract Dissolved-gas levels in the Columbia and Snake rivers during the spring freshet often exceed 110% of saturation, the maximum level permitted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The highest levels of supersaturation result from high springtime river flows and turbine outages, conditions over which there is little control and that cause high volumes of water passing over the dams and through spillways instead of through turbines. During the spring freshets of 1994–1997, we surveyed nonsalmonid fishes and invertebrates for signs of gas bubble disease (GBD) and conducted holding experiments in three river reaches where gas saturation commonly exceeds 120%. We developed a dissolved-gas exposure index for nonsalmonid fishes sampled at specific times and locations; mean daily total dissolved-gas saturation (TDGS) was ranked and then summed over a 7-d period. We analyzed observations of 39,924 nonsalmonid fishes in an iterative process, which led to development of a mathematical equivalence mode.
Molecular revisitation of the genus Gastrosuillus

We have used internal transcribed spacer sequences from the nuclear ribosomal repeat to in- vestigate the secotioid genus Gastrosuillus and to clar- ify its relationship to Suillus. Our results show that secotioid fruitbodies in the genus Gastrosuillus are clearly derived and have evolved at least two times from Suillus. Gastrosuillus suilloides, Gastrosuillus amaranthii, and Gastrosuillus umbrinus proved to be genetically very closely related; their closest nonse- cotioid relative was found to be Suillus variegatus. Gastrosuillus laricinus has been shown before to be a recent derivative of Suillus grevillei. Due to its poly- phyletic and derived nature, we propose to collapse the genus Gastrosuillus into Suillus.
The relationship between introduced European Starlings and the reproductive activities of Mountain Bluebirds and Tree Swallows in British Columbia, Canada

The European Starling Sturnus vulgaris is an introduced species in North America and is an aggressive competitor for tree cavity nest-sites. Starlings are commonly considered to influence nest-site selection and reproductive success of native cavity-nesting species negatively. We examined the relationship between Starling nest density and the fecundity of two native secondary cavity-using passerines, Mountain Bluebird Sialia currucoides and Tree Swallow Tachycineta bicolor. We monitored a total of 622 nests (approximately equal numbers for each of the three species) in woodpecker-excavated and naturally occurring cavities in 29 small forest groves in central British Columbia, Canada, between 2000 and 2009. The dimensions of cavities used and the timing of nest initiation overlapped for all species, although Starlings initiated clutches earliest. Mixed-effects models were used to assess whether nest abundance, clutch size or nest success were affected directly by Starling nest abundance, or indirectly via a shift in cavity selection or timing of breeding. Starlings and Mountain Bluebirds showed inverse trends in nest abundance. Mountain Bluebird clutch sizes were smaller if they were initiated later in the breeding season. There was weak evidence that Tree Swallow clutch size decreased with cavity depth when Starling nests were abundant, and increased with cavity depth where there were few Starling nests. We conclude that despite the aggressive nature of this exotic cavity-nester, the influence of Starlings on native secondary cavity-nesting passerines is modest where cavities are abundant.
Shoot Cadmium Accumulation and Photosynthetic Performance of Barley Plants Exposed to High Cadmium Treatments

Abstract Barley (Hordeum vulgare L., cv. Ribeka) plants grown in sand culture were exposed for 10 days to high cadmium (Cd) treatments in order to study both shoot Cd accumulation and photosynthetic performance. Cadmium inhibited root dry mass and induced changes in biomass allocation pattern without any effect on biomass accumulation at the whole plant level. The maximal shoot Cd concentration—41 ± 8 mg Cd kg−1 DW—without any visual toxicity symptoms on the shoots was found at 28 mg Cd kg−1 sand. Reduced leaf gas exchange, photosynthetic pigments content and electron transport activity but not altered lipid peroxidation status of thylakoids was, however, detected at the highest treatment—42 mg Cd kg−1 sand. The results indicated good tolerance of barley growth and photosynthetic machinery to Cd, but the shoot Cd accumulation achieved even in the artificial conditions was considered insufficient for short-term phytoextraction.
Effects of Soil Management Practices and Tillage Systems on Soil Moisture Conservation and Maize Yield on a Sandy Loam in Semiarid Kenya

ABSTRACT Maize is an important crop in the high and medium rainfall areas of Kenya and thus, there is a need for additional information on the effect of tillage and soil management practices on water conservation and yield of maize. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of seven soil management practices: bare with conventional tillage (BC), bare with minimum tillage (BM), incorporated mulch with conventional tillage (IMuC), manure with conventional tillage (MaC), manure with minimum tillage (MaM), surface mulch with conventional tillage (SMuC), and surface mulch with minimum tillage (SMuM) on water conservation and yield of maize. Soil water content was greater in minimum tilled plots than in the conventionally tilled (hand hoeing) plots during the study period. This was demonstrated by the manure with minimum tilled treatment, which had the highest soil moisture (7.6% and 8.3%) both at 0-7 cm and 7-23 cm depth. However, when organic matter additions were analyzed separately, it was observed that manure irrespective of tillage had the highest soil moisture in both depths (7.6% and 8.1%). The differences within the treatments occurred when soil water contents were highest shortly after the rains. When the amount of soil water for each management practice was averaged for all the seasons, a significant difference was found at P = 0.0001. Manure (Ma) and surface mulched (Smu) treatments had significantly higher soil moisture content than the other treatments. The higher moisture content found under these treatments was attributed to higher infiltration rates, better cover that reduced the rainfall kinetic energy, and to better structural stability contributed to by higher organic carbon. Compared with the traditional form of hand hoeing, minimum tillage increased available soil water content drastically and crop performance was improved. Grain yields were greatest in manure and lowest in bare treatments. There were significant differences in grain yield in all treatments.
Plant parasitic nematodes of north-western India. I. The genus Tylenchorhynchus.

A survey of four States of north-western India revealed a preponderance of species of Tylenchorhynchus in soil samples. Eleven known species, three of which are recorded for the first time from India, and four new species, T. chorzai, T. zeae, T. phaseoli and T. berberidis, were identified in these collections. The new species are described and illustrated and the geographical distribution and associated plants of the other species are given.
Modified Behavior in Baculovirus-Infected Lepidopteran Larvae and Its Impact on the Spatial Distribution of Inoculum

Abstract Quantifying the rate of dispersal of target insects when infected with a disease agent will aid the development of biorational pest control programs. The effect of nucleopolyhedrovirus (NPV) infection on the mobility of second and fourth instar Mamestra brassicae larvae was investigated in the laboratory and field. NPV infection altered larval mobility, with the changes in behavior varying with the timecourse of infection. Diseased larvae moved three to five times further than healthy ones during the middle stages of infection. By the 7th day postinfection diseased larvae were less mobile than healthy counterparts. The same pattern of modified behavior was observed in both instars. Fourth instar larvae moved further than second instars under laboratory and field conditions. In the field, infected larvae tended to die on the apex of the cabbage leaves. Bioassay of the leaves showed a linear decrease in inoculum from central to peripheral plants within the plots, which occurred to the same extent for second and fourth instars. Leaves from plots where infected fourth instar larvae had been introduced had higher inoculum density than those from plots with second instars.
Preferences and apparent digestibilities of sugars by fruit damaging birds in Japan

Summary Gray starlings Sturnus cineraceus, azure-winged magpies Cyanopica cyana and brown-eared bulbuls Hypsipetes amaurotis are among the main bird pests in commercial fruit orchards in central Japan. Recently Brugger & Nelms (1991) suggested that developing high-sucrose fruit cultivars could reduce crop damage, because some pest birds lack the enzyme sucrase and can develop an aversion to sucrose. Preferences for, and digestibilities of, the monosaccharides glucose and fructose and the disaccharide sucrose by these pests species were therefore studied to assess whether this idea would be applicable in central Japan. Gray starlings and brown-eared bulbuls were able to detect glucose, fructose, a mixture of glucose and fructose, and sucrose at a concentration of 12% w/v. Azure-winged magpies also detected glucose and fructose, but failed to detect sucrose at the same concentration. In pairwise preference trials gray starlings and azure-winged magpies selected the monosaccharides over sucrose, but brown-eared bulbuls did not. To estimate the digestibility of the sugars the apparent assimilated mass coefficient, AMC*, was calculated for each species eating each sugar by measuring intake and faecal output. Monosaccharides had mean AMC*s of 0.77, 0.96 and 0.92 when consumed by gray starlings, azure-winged magpies and brown-earned bulbuls respectively. AMC* values for sucrose were 0.82 and 0.49 for brown-eared bulbuls and azure-winged magpies respectively, but gray starlings were shown to be unable to digest sucrose. As AMC* values varied from 0.75 to 0.97, consumption rates of sugars increased as digestibility decreased. Although increasing sucrose contents of commercial fruits may deter sucrase-deficient birds such as gray starlings from depredating fruits, it may also lead to increased crop damage by species such as the azure-winged magpie and brown-eared bulbul which may have to consume more of the less digestible fruit in order to meet their energy requirements.
Effects of dietary protein levels on the growth performance, digestive capacity and amino acid metabolism of juvenile Jian carp (Cyprinus carpio var. Jian).

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of protein levels on the growth performance, digestive capacity and amino acid metabolism of juvenile Jian carp. Brown fish meal was used as the sole protein source in the present study. Six isoenergetic experimental diets containing 14.4 MJ kg⁻¹ of digestible energy and 220-495 g crude protein kg⁻¹ diets were fed to triplicate groups of 50 fish with a mean initial weight of 16.67 ± 0.01 g for 45 days. Per cent weight gain (PWG) and feed efficiency ratio (FER) improved with an increase in the dietary protein levels up to 330 g kg⁻¹ diet. The condition factor, relative gut length, intestinal folds height, hepatopancreas and intestine protein content improved with an increase in the protein levels up to 330-385 g kg⁻¹ diet. Trypsin, creatinkinase, Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase and alkaline phosphatase activities generally followed the same tendency as that of growth parameters. Amylase and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GT) activities were negatively correlated with increasing protein levels from 220 to 330 g kg⁻¹ diet, and no differences were found thereafter. Lipase activity was unaffected by protein levels. Lactobacillus amount was increased with protein levels up to 275 g kg⁻¹ diet, while Aeromonas amount followed the opposite pattern. Escherichia coli amount was not influenced by dietary protein levels. Glutamate-oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) activities in the hepatopancreas and plasma ammonia concentration (PAC) were not influenced by protein levels between 220 and 275 g kg⁻¹ diet, but significantly increased with increasing protein levels from 275 to 440 g kg⁻¹ diet, and remained similar thereafter. Glutamate-pyruvate transaminase (GPT) activities significantly increased with protein levels >275 g kg⁻¹ diet. Based on the broken-line model, the dietary protein requirement for PWG of Jian carp (16.7-55.0 g) was estimated to be 341 g kg⁻¹ diet with a digestible energy of 14.4 MJ kg⁻¹ diet.
Effects of restricting the water intake of dairy cows upon their milk yield, body weight and blood composition

1. Water intake was measured in eight lactating cows. Subsequently n i an experiment of a 4 × 4 Latin square design, each cow received 100, 87, 73 and 60% of its voluntary intake for 6 days followed by an 8-day recovery period. 2. Measurements were made of the intake of feed, milk yield and quality, water, Na and K balances, metabolic profiles, and serum and urine osmolalities. The cows were weighed at the beginning and end ofthe experimental periods, and pulse, respiration and rumination rates and rectal temperatures were measured daily. 3. Milk yield decreased significantly with increasing water deprivation. A 40% reduction in water intake was associated with a 16% decrease in intake of dry matter and a concomitant 16% decrease in milk yield. The only significant change in milk composition was a small increase in lactose concentration with increasing water deprivation. 4. There was no significant reduction in urine output, but the output of water in faeces was reduced and there was evidence of a reduction i n total body water which approximated the reduction in body weight. 5. Concentrations of serum Na and urea-N and serum osmolality increased significantly with increasing water deprivation.