bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The influence on serum protein concentration of the protein intake in high-carbohydrate diets
Authors: Coles Betty L.
Published: May 2005

1. Healthy young men ate diets high in carbohydrate with a fixed protein content: (a) 18% protein with maize starch, (b) 18% protein with sucrose, (c) 9% protein with sucrose. Sucrose or starch was given at a level of 7 g/kg body-weight per day.

2. The serum albumin concentration fell by 7–10% after 16 days with all three diets; the falls were statistically significant. No change in γ-globulin concentration was seen with the 18% protein diets. With the 9% protein diet there was a significant increase in this fraction. The β-globulin concentration rose significantly with the diet containing 18% protein with sucrose but there was no change in this fraction with the other diets. α1- and α2-globulins rose significantly with the diet containing 18% protein with sucrose but no increase in these fractions was seen on the other diets.

3. Possible mechanisms concerned in the production of these changes are discussed.
Effect of diet and rumen development on the composition of adipose tissue triglycerides of the calf
Authors: Garton G. A. , Duncan W. R. H.
Published: May 2005

1. Samples of subcutaneous (inguinal) and perinephric adipose tissue were obtained, at slaughter, from each of twenty male calves. Three were neonatal animals, three were 3 days old and two were fed on reconstituted milk to appetite until they weighed 100 kg. The other twelve calves were given milk until they reached 50 kg live weight; concentrates were then included in the diet until, at 60 kg live weight, six calves were slaughtered. The remaining six calves were raised to 100 kg on concentrates alone. The weight of the empty reticulo-rumen of each slaughtered calf was recorded.

2. The component fatty acids of the adipose tissue triglycerides of the neonatal and 3-day-old calves were very similar; about 80% consisted of oleic acid (18:1) and palmitic acid (16:0) and the remainder comprised stearic acid (18:0), palmitoleic acid (16:1) and myristic acid (14:0), together with very small amounts of other acids which, in the glycerides of the 3-day-old calves, included some evidently of colostral origin. The perinephric glycerides of both these groups of calves were somewhat more unsaturated than were those of subcutaneous adipose tissue.

3. The continued consumption of milk by the calves slaughtered at 60 kg live weight was reflected in the presence of enhanced proportions of 14:0, 18:2, 17:0 and 17:1 in the depot triglycerides and, in addition, very small amounts of branched-chain acids andtrans18:1 were detected. A similar fatty acid pattern was observed in the triglycerides of the calves which were given milk only until they were 100 kg live weight. In all these calves only limited growth of the rumen took place.

4. By contrast, the calves which were raised on solid feed from 60 kg to 100 kg and in which rumen development had taken place had depot triglycerides whose fatty acid composition resembled that found in adult animals. Increased proportions of stearic acid accompanied by relatively large amounts oftrans18:1 were present, evidently as a result of the assimilation of the products of bacterial modification of dietary fatty acids in the rumen.

5. Regardless of the age of the calves and the over-all fatty acid composition of their tissue triglycerides, the intramolecular disposition of the fatty acids was similar in that saturated components were present esterified mainly in positions 1 and 3, and unsaturated acids for the most part in position 2; the only major exception to this distribution pattern was in respect oftrans18:1 which, when present, was preferentially esterified to the primary alcoholic groups of the glycerol moiety as if it were a saturated acid.
Chemical composition of organs of children who died from malnutrition
Authors: Alleyne G. A. O. , Halliday D. , Waterlow J. C. , Nichols B. L.
Published: May 2005

1. Chemical analysis was carried out on samples of brain, liver, skeletal muscle, heart and kidney obtained from children who died of malnutrition. Total body potassium was measured before autopsy by the ‘whole body counting’ technique.

2. There was a marked increase in liver fat, and the brain contributed a higher percentage of the body-weight in the more severely malnourished children.

3. All the organs had approximately the same concentrations of non-collagen nitrogen. The proportion of collagen was highest in muscle.

4. All organs were depleted of potassium, but the muscle was most severely affected. Brain potassium as a percentage of total body potassium was higher than normal in the most severely potassium depleted children.

5. Measurements of tissue magnesium showed that there was no difference in magnesium content of tissues when expressed in terms of non-collagen nitrogen. When compared with normal values, muscle was magnesium depleted. The potassium to magnesium ratio was lowest in muscle.
The uptake and metabolism of retinol, retinoic acid and methyl retinoate by the early chick embryo
Authors: Morgan B. , Thompson J. N. , Pitt G. A. J.
Published: May 2005

1. Fertile eggs deficient in vitamin A were obtained by feeding hens a diet deficient in retinol (vitamin A alcohol) but containing methyl retinoate.

2. Radioactive retinol was injected into the albumen of three of these eggs at a level of 2 μg [6,7-14C]retinol/egg. After 5 days' incubation, 4.6–8.3% of the injected material was recovered in the lipid of the embryo, representing a four- to nine-fold concentration into the embryo from the albumen. Approximately 40–50% of this was unchanged retinol, 15–20% retin-aldehyde and 20–30% probably a long-chain fatty acid retinyl ester. The early embryo can, therefore, metabolize vitamin A very effectively.

3. [6,7-14C]Retinoic acid (2 μg) was injected into normal fertile eggs, killing most of the embryos. The eggs with dead embryos were analysed; 0.24% and 0.33% of the injected material was recovered from the embryos. Two embryos which developed contained 0.51% and 0.53% of the injected dose. In no instance was any material identified other than retinoic acid. The extremely low amounts of retinoic acid absorbed by the embryos emphasize the very high toxicity of retinoic acid to the early chick embryo.

4. [6,7-14C]Methyl retinoate (0.5 μg) was injected into each of four normal eggs; 8.5–11.6% was isolated as unchanged methyl retinoate after 5 days; no other radioactive substance was detected.
Physical activity, body fat and experimental cardiac necrosis
Authors: Pařézkov´ Jana , Faltov´ Eva
Published: May 2005

1. The effects of varying levels of physical activity were tested in rats, starting at ages of 21, 32 and 55 days and continuing until go, 100, 125 and 205 days.

2. Weight changes did not differ significantly between the exercise groups, except in the groups tested up to 205 days, when both the exercised group and the group with limited activity were significantly lighter than the control group.

3. The weight of the soleus muscle was significantly greater in the exercised rats compared with controls and rats with limited activity, except in the oldest age-group. The weight of the tibialis anticus muscle did not differ significantly between the different exercise regimes.

4. Heart weight was not significantly affected by the exercise regime, except that in rats studied from 55 to 125 days; the group with limited activity had significantly lighter hearts than those in the control group or the exercised group.

5. The percentage body fat was lower in the exercised group compared with the limited activity group, and was less than the control group in both the rats studied up to 205 days and those studied from 21 to 90 days.

6. Isoprenaline produced less cardiac damage in the exercised rats than in controls or in rats with limited activity. Animals who died following injection of isoprenaline had a higher percentage body fat than those animals with minimal cardiac damage.
Metabolites of riboflavine in milk, urine and tissues of animals in relation to alimentary symbiotic bacteria
Authors: Owen E. C. , West D. W.
Published: May 2005

1. Riboflavine given orally to sheep, calves, goats and ruminating kids gave rise, in milk and urine, to extra riboflavine accompanied by hydroxyethylflavine, by formylmethylflavine and by other as yet unidentified metabolites, but subcutaneous injection of riboflavine caused prolonged excretion of riboflavine in urine and milk unaccompanied by metabolites.

2. Placement of riboflavine by means of fistulas into the rumen, the abomasum or the caecum and abstraction of samples from the rumen or caecum showed that the rumen was the site of origin of the metabolites, thus accounting for the lapse of time of several hours between the ingestion of riboflavine and the appearance of hydroxyethylflavine in the urine and the absence of metabolites after subcutaneous injection of riboflavine.

3. Kids in which rumination had not yet become established could not produce metabolites from ingested riboflavine although, when fed milk containing the metabolites, they readily excreted them in their urine.

5. Incubation in vitro of kidney or liver tissue from cattle or goats with riboflavine did not give rise to metabolites, but these tissues could both reduce formylmethylflavine to hydroxyethylflavine in vitro.

6. Post-mortem examination of animals to which riboflavine had been fed showed the presence of metabolites only in gut contents, in the urinary bladder and in the bile. When injected, riboflavine reached the bile but no metabolites were produced.

7. Metabolites were found to occur naturally in the urine of ruminants in small amounts. Hydroxyethylflavine was readily demonstrable in the urine of the rabbit, but in the urine of the dog metabolites could not be found.

8. From these and earlier and later experiments the conclusion is drawn that riboflavine metabolites arise in the ruminant from the degradation of riboflavine by rumen bacteria.
Studies on magnesium in ruminant nutrition
Authors: Field A. C.
Published: May 2005

1. The excretion of magnesium in urine, milk and faeces and of faecal dry matter (DM) by grazing monozygotic twin cows has been determined at intervals throughout four grazing seasons.

2. In Expt 1 three sets of twins were used to study the within-pair variance in the excretion of Mg and faecal DM. It was found that the variation within pairs was non-significant and small, less than 5% of the overall mean for all but one of the measurements made. The variation in urinary excretion of Mg within pairs was significant (P <0.05) in 1962.

3. In Expt 2 the effects of lactation on the excretion of Mg and faecal DM were studied. Only one of each of the monozygotic twins was in milk at a time, each twin being in milk for one season.

4. There were no significant differences in faecal nitrogen within and between pairs. On average, lactation increased faecal DM by 30% in 1964 and 24% in 1965.

5. The effect of lactation on urinary Mg was not consistent. For faecal Mg the effect of lactation was a simple reflection of the increased faecal DM since lactation had no effect on the concentration of Mg in the faeces. There was no correlation between the Mg excretion in urine and milk, either singly or together, with faecal Mg excretion.

6. The concentration of Mg in milk differed between twins and increased with length of lactation.

7. Mean intakes of Mg by the cows have been calculated from the values for the intake of DM and the Mg content of cut herbage and compared with total excretion of Mg in urine, milk and faeces. There was a significant correlation (P <0.05) between the sets of values but estimated intakes were lower (P <0.05) than excretions. The differences between intake and excretion differed between periods (P <0.001), being greatest between July and September. Selective grazing was considered to be the main factor responsible for these differences.
Relationship between body collagen and urinary hydroxyproline excretion in young rats fed on a low-protein or low-calorie diet
Authors: Anasuya A. , Narasinga Rao B. S.
Published: May 2005

1. Hydroxyproline was determined in urine, carcass, and skin of young rats fed on low-protein and low-calorie diets.

2. Protein and calorie deprivation in young rats resulted in a marked fall in the soluble as well as insoluble collagen content of the skin.

3. The collagen content of the carcass (excluding skin) was slightly greater in the deficient rats than in the weanling rats, but very much lower than in the well-fed rats.

4. In rats subjected to protein and calorie deficiency, urinary hydroxyproline was markedly reduced. In these rats, most of the reduction in urinary hydroxyproline was observed within 1 week of feeding the deficient diet. Protein deficiency had affected urinary excretion of hydroxyproline more severely than calorie deficiency.

5. The reduction of urinary hydroxyproline in the deficient animals can be attributed to decreased turnover rate of their body collagen. This apparent decrease in turnover rate is explained as being due to an increase in the proportion of collagen of slow turnover in these animals.

6. Protein and calorie deficiency had also resulted in the depletion of non-collagen nitrogen of both carcass and skin.
The milk of the African elephant
Authors: McCullagh K. G. , Widdowson Elsie M.
Published: May 2005

1. Analyses have been made of milk collected from thirty wild African elephants immediately after they were shot.

2. The milk contained an average of 5.1% protein, 9.3% fat and 3.6% lactose. The concentration of lactose decreased and the concentration of protein and fat increased with advancing lactation. Inorganic constituents were present in approximately the same proportions as in bovine milk.

3. The contribution of capric acid to the total fatty acids, previously shown to be extremely high, increased with advancing lactation.

4. The significance of these findings to the preparation of a milk for rearing young elephants by hand is discussed.
The chemical composition of rumen bacteria and cell walls from rumen bacteria
Authors: Hoogenraad N. J. , Hird F. J. R.
Published: May 2005

1. Rumen bacteria were prepared in bulk from freshly killed sheep. They were exposed to ultrasonic disintegration and a preparation of cell walls was made by differential centrifugation.

2. The amino acid composition of acid hydrolysates of whole cells and cell walls was determined. Summation of these results shows that whole cells contained approximately 40% amino acids and cell walls approximately 30%.

3. A considerable proportion of the alanine content of cell walls was present as the D-isomer, partly ester linked as in teichoic acids and partly more tightly bound in ‘peptide linkage’ being released only after hydrolysis in constant boiling hydrochloric acid.

4. Cell walls were found to possess an alanine racemase which was inactivated only after incubation of the cell walls in 0.1 M-NaOH.

5. Whole cells contained approximately 8% carbohydrates and cell walls approximately 5%. The glucose and galactose contents of whole cells and cell walls were low, accounting for little more than 2% of the dry weight of the bacterial samples.

6. The amino sugar content of bacterial samples was approximately 3% and consisted mainly of glucosamine.

7. The total lipid content of rumen bacteria was approximately 25% and that of cell walls varied considerably between 10 and 23%.
Growth retardation in a New Guinea boarding school and its response to supplementary feeding
Authors: Malcolm L. A.
Published: May 2005

1. Children attending a boarding school in the New Guinea highlands, and receiving a protein-deficient diet of sweet potato and taro showed, when compared with village children, a progressive retardation of growth which was related to the number of years at school.

2. Feeding of supplementary protein resulted in a dramatic acceleration of growth in both height and weight, whereas the feeding of extra calories produced an increase in only weight and skinfold thickness.

3. This response to protein feeding appears to be greater than previously reported in the literature.
Mechanisms of heat damage in proteins
Authors: Bjarnason J. , Carpenter K. J.
Published: May 2005

1. Bovine plasma albumin (BPA) containing approximately 14% moisture, when heated for 27 h at 115° suffered an appreciable loss of cystine and a small loss of lysine; at 145° all the amino acids except glutamic acid and those with paraffin side-chains, showed considerable losses. Isoleucine also showed some loss through racemization to alloisoleucine.

2. BPA heated at 115° evolved H2S; at 145° other sulphur compounds were released as well, all coming from the breakdown of cystine. Possible mechanisms for this are discussed.

3. Ammonia was also liberated from BPA heated at 115°. The degree of correlation of lysine binding in different proteins with ammonia liberation and amide changes has led us to suggest that the main reaction of ε-amino lysine groups is with amide groups of asparagine and glutamine. Reaction of ε-amino groups with carboxylic groups is thought to be less important.

4. Model experiments have shown that a reaction between amide groups and the e-amino group of lysine in proteins can occur at practical drying temperatures.

5. Reactions of the ε-amino group of lysine with destruction products of cystine is also considered to be partially responsible for the lysine binding in heated proteins.
Studies on platelet 5-hydroxytryptamine in East Africans
Authors: Crawford M. A. , Hansen I. L. , Somers K.
Published: May 2005

1. A study was done on the platelet 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT) from Africans in areas where endomyocardial fibrosis is common.

2. There were only small differences between the mean platelet or blood5HT in Europeans and plantain-eating Africans; the distribution of the results showed a wider scatter in the African community, including values outside the upper limits of normal but not within the range reported for carcinoid.

3. Patients in hospital had lower platelet5HT contents regardless of cardiac condition or disease than healthy Africans on similar diets, suggesting no specific abnormality related to platelet5HT levels and endomyocardial fibrosis.

4. A small number of radioactive studies suggested that only 1–4 % of oral5HT may reach the platelets; a significant increase in platelet5HT did occur after a plantain meal; the in-crease after a meal but not after oral5HT may be explained by release of endogenous5HT from the small intestine under the influence of the high bulk of the diet. Attention is drawn to the high incidence of adult intussusception and volvulus associated with such diets.
The nutritive value of fat in the diet of the milk-fed lamb
Authors: Stokes G. B. , Walker D. M.
Published: May 2005

1. The fatty acid composition of the depot fats of thirty-six preruminant lambs was determined. Four lambs were slaughtered at 3 d of age, two lambs were fed on a low-fat diet for 28 d, and thirty lambs in groups of three were given ten different dietary fats in artifcial milk diets for 28 d.

2. The fatty acid patterns of the carcass fats were closely related to those of the dietary fats, and within-treatment variations were extremely low. Significant differences in fatty acid composition were observed between the skin, carcass, perinephric and subcutaneous lipids, irrespective of the diet given.

3. The carcass lipids of lambs given the low-fat diet were similar in their fatty acid composition to those of lambs aged 3 d, though the former lambs lost fat from the carcass during the experimental period.
The fasting metabolism of Brahman, Africander and Hereford×Shorthorn cattle
Authors: Vercoe J. E.
Published: May 2005

1. The fasting metabolism of twenty-seven animals, nine Brahmans, nine Africanders and nine Hereford × Shorthorns was measured after fasts of 96 h duration. Urine was collected over successive 24 h intervals and gas exchange was determined 96–103 h after the last meal.

2. Urinary urea decreased and creatinine increased throughout the fasting period. There was no difference between breeds in the urinary excretion of nitrogen, urea and creatinine on the 4th day of fasting (72–96 h). Excretion of nitrogen, urea and creatinine increased by 259, 197 and 45 mg/kg increase in fasted weight and by 8.9, 7.6 and 0.91 mg/kcal increase in fasting metabolism respectively. Protein oxidation accounted for 25.6, 21.7 and 22.7% of the fasting heat production of Brahman, Africander and Hereford × Shorthorn cattle respectively, values which were not significantly different.

3. The breeds differed in fasting metabolism per kg fasted weight ( P < 0.05) and in fasting metabolism adjusted for fasted weight (0.05 < P < 0.10), mainly owing to lower values for the Brahmans. The respective values for the Brahmans, Africanders and Hereford × Short-horns were 20.7, 25.2 and 24.1 kcal/kg (86.6, 105.4 and 100.8 kJ/kg) and 5.856, 6.947 and 6.600 Mca1/24 h (24.50, 29.07 and 27.61 MJ/24 h) at a fasted weight of 277 kg. The variation in fasting metabolism between animals within breeds, expressed as a coefficient of variation, was 13.7%.

4. The results are discussed in relation to published estimates of fasting metabolism, possible reasons for the breed difference and the relation of fasting metabolism to heat tolerance.
Urinary creatinine and hydroxyproline in relation to childhood malnutrition
Authors: McLaren D. S. , Loshkajian Hermine , Kanawati A. A.
Published: May 2005

1. Urinary excretions of creatinine (Cre) and hydroxyproline (OHPr) were measured in two groups of children: (a) 24 h collections in male and ‘spot’ samples in female marasmic infants throughout the course of treatment, and (b) ‘spot’ samples in underprivileged pre-school children at home. Results were related to certain somatic measurements and in some instances to some dietary factors.

2. Analysis of 24 h samples taken at intervals throughout 120 d of treatment showed a steady rise towards normal levels from very low initial values of OHPr. There was no corre-lation with age or body-weight on admission, nor of OHPr excretion through recovery with increase in height. Excretion of Cre also increased during recovery but the trend was more erratic. There was no relation to initial weight deficit or age but mean Cre excretion through recovery did correlate with rate of increase in weight. Values of Cre excretion at different stages of recovery expressed in terms of weight or height differed somewhat from those reported by others. The possible significance of these findings is discussed.

3. High correlations of the OHPr index according to Whitehead (1965) determined on 6 h and 24 h collections provided evidence for the representative nature of ‘spot’ samples.

4. Partial correlation analysis of body-weight and urine volume in relation to Cre excretion (mg/24 h) showed that the former (r = 0.719) had a greater influence than the latter (r= 0.485).

5. In a subgroup of eleven marasmic infants aged 3–5 months multiple linear regression analyses of OHPr and Cre excretion on somatic and dietary factors revealed no consistent correlations.

6. Periods of lowered OHPr and Cre excretion were frequent but in only half of the instances were they related to intercurrent infection.

7. A high correlation was found between changes in excretion of OHPr and of Cre throughout recovery.

8. An appraisal was made of the OHPr index according to Whitehead (1965). On the basis of the considerable influence that age was shown to have on this index during the preschool period an OHPr index (age-adjusted) was suggested for use.

9. The OHPr index (age-adjusted) determined on ‘spot’ samples from underprivileged preschool children at home and from marasmic infants during recovery was shown to be closely correlated with a modified ‘index of thriving’ based on somatic measurements.

10. The value of Cre and OHPr determinations in the study of severely malnourished children during recovery and in the detection of mild undernutrition is discussed in the light of these experimental results.
Calcium metabolism in pregnant ewes
Authors: Braithwaite G. D. , Glascock R. F. , Riazuddin Sh.
Published: May 2005

1. A combination of balance and isotope techniques has been used to study calcium metabolism in ten sheep at different stages of pregnancy, and the results have been combined with earlier results obtained during lactation to show the variations in Ca metabolism which occur during the whole reproductive cycle.

2. Transfer of Ca to the foetuses during pregnancy and to the milk after parturition rose rapidly from the 65th day of gestation and reached a maximum at parturition or shortly afterwards.

3. Although the rate of absorption of Ca from the intestine increased steadily throughout pregnancy it was insufficient to meet the full requirements of late pregnancy and early lactation. During this period, the extra Ca was supplied by increased bone resorption.

4. The maternal Ca balance became negative during pregnancy, the net daily loss of Ca reaching a maximum in early lactation.

5. In late lactation the maternal Ca balance became positive enabling the animals to replenish their skeletal stores.

6. There was no marked change in the demands for Ca at parturition and the connexion between this observation and the pathogenesis of milk fever is discussed.

7. Rates of transfer of Ca to the foetus during pregnancy are compared with estimated values of other workers.
Utilization of salts of volatile fatty acids by growing sheep
Authors: Poole D. A. , Allen D. M.
Published: May 2005

1. An experiment is reported in which groups of six lambs were fed two basal diets supplemented at three levels with a mixture of sodium and calcium acetates.

2. The basal diets were given in amounts that provided equal intakes of digestible organic matter and crude protein. One contained 85 % of concentrates (Hc), the other 40% of concentrates (Lc). Rumen contents from a sheep receiving diet Hc contained a lower molar proportion of acetate and higher proportions of propionate and butyrate than when diet Lc was given.

3. The calculated metabolizable energy of the basal Hc diet was utilized more efficiently than that of the basal Lc diet, for promoting empty body-weight and carcass-weight gains.

4. On both basal diets, lambs receiving the diets supplemented with acetate made greater live-weight, empty body-weight and carcass-weight gains than lambs given unsupplemented diets. The responses of weight gain to increasing levels of acetate were linear.

5. The responses to acetate were greater when it was given with the Hc diet than with the Lc diet. This effect was most marked for live-weight gain (P < 0.001), intermediate for empty body-weight gain (P < 0.05), but not significant for carcass-weight gain. This order of effects was in part due to a greater weight of alimentary tract tissue, and its contents, in lambs fed the Hc diet supplemented with acetate.

6. It is concluded that under certain circumstances the energy of acetate may be utilized less efficiently than energy from propionate or butyrate.
Zinc, copper and manganese in the alimentary tract of sheep
Authors: Bremner I.
Published: May 2005

1. The changes in the concentrations and solubilities of zinc, manganese and copper in the rumen, abomasum and along the small intestine of cannulated sheep, maintained on dried grass, have been determined. Relationships between the solubilities of the metals and the pH values of the samples were observed.

2. The pattern of change of solubilities could be reproduced in vitro by adjustment of the pH of rumen and abomasal samples.

3. By a combination of gel filtration and continuous-flow high-voltage electrophoretic techniques it was shown that soluble complexes of Zn and Mn occur in the rumen and lower regions of the small intestine. The soluble Zn and Mn in the abomasum, duodenum and upper jejunum appeared to exist in ionic form. The charge and molecular size of these complexes were found to be dependent on the pH of the samples.

4. From detergent treatment of rumen samples it appeared that much of the insoluble metal, particularly Cu, might be associated with microbial matter.

5. The significance of these findings and their relationship to the differences noted in the apparent requirements for trace elements of ruminants on different diets is discussed.
Cassava diet and cyanide metabolism in Wistar rats
Authors: Osuntokun B. O.
Published: May 2005

1. In the aetiopathogenesis, in Nigerians, of a degenerative neuropathy known as tropical ataxic neuropathy, chronic cyanide intoxication is believed to be the most important factor. The source of the cyanide is cassava (Manihot) and in Nigerian patients, plasma concentration of thiocyanate, a major detoxication product of cyanide, is high.

2. Since there is considerable doubt as to whether cyanide is readily released from cassava diet after ingestion, rats were fed on 80 and 100% purupuru (a cassava derivative) diets for periods varying between 6 and 18 months and their plasma thiocyanate levels were studied. Control rats were fed on a normal diet for the same periods.

3. Rats fed on the 100% purupuru diet were malnourished. Rats fed on the 80 % purupuru diet appeared normal, although their mean weight was less than the mean weight of rats fed on the normal diet.

4. Plasma thiocyanate was significantly higher in rats fed the purupuru diets than in the rats fed on the normal rat diet.

5. The concentration of thiosulphate Sulphurtransferase, the enzyme that catalyses the conversion of cyanide into thiocyanate was the same in rats fed on the purupuru diets as in the control rats.

6. The results suggest that raised plasma thiocyanate levels found in Nigerian patients with ataxic neuropathy, as in rats fed cassava diet, is the result of detoxication of cyanide, as the concentration of thiocyanate in cassava and most food products eaten by Nigerians is low.
Ascorbic acid status of Europeans resident in the tropics
Authors: Hindson T. C.
Published: May 2005

1. A survey was made of ascorbic acid concentrations in white blood cells of apparently healthy European men and women living in the tropical climate of Singapore.

2. The survey showed that there was a significant fall in these concentrations in men who had been resident for more than 4 months. Levels in women did not show a significant decrease.
The use of deuterium oxide space to determine the amount of body fat in pregnant Blackface ewes
Authors: Foot Janet Z. , Greenhalgh J. F. D.
Published: May 2005

1. The use of deuterium oxide dilution to obtain an indirect estimate of body water in pregnant ewes was examined and the value of such an estimate in predicting body fat was investigated.

2. Deuterium oxide was infused intravenously into fourteen twin-bearing Blackface ewes and blood samples were taken 6–7 h later. The animals were subsequently slaughtered.

3. Deuterium oxide concentration was estimated by infrared spectroscopy and the deuterium oxide space was calculated. Studies on dose rates and equilibration times were made with the Blackface ewes and some non-pregnant Dorset ewes.

4. The amount of body fat in each ewe was estimated from the deuterium oxide space using a prediction equation relating body fat to body water in twenty-five pregnant and non-pregnant ewes which had been slaughtered.

5. Once satisfactory measurement of deuterium oxide concentration had been achieved, body fat predicted from deuterium oxide space differed from values obtained by analysis of the slaughtered animals by -0.8 to +1.7 kg in seven ewes containing 5.2–21.4 kg fat.

6. The standard deviation from regression of percentage of body fat estimated from deuterium oxide space on percentage of body fat measured after slaughter was ±1.2 percentage units. Thus deuterium oxide space was used to provide a useful measure of body fat in pregnant ewes.
The effects of early zinc deficiency on DNA and protein synthesis in the rat
Authors: Williams R. B. , Chesters J. K.
Published: May 2005

1. The effects of early zinc deficiency on DNA and protein metabolism of the liver, kidneys, testes and spleen of the young rat were studied. The investigations were carried out in two phases: before food consumption and growth were affected, and afterwards.

2. The incorporation of [3H]thymidine into DNA was markedly affected by differences of less than a week in the age of the rats.

3. Zn deficiency significantly reduced the incorporation of [3H]thymidine into DNA of liver, kidneys and spleen before growth and food consumption were affected. The degree of inhibition was of the order of 50% in the first 5 d. A similar but non-significant trend was observed for the testes.

4. The incorporation of [3C]lysine into protein was not significantly affected in liver and testes during the initial period of Zn deficiency; the incorporation into kidneys and spleen was significantly inhibited but the magnitude of the effect was only of the order of 20% in 5d.

5. One week after the start of the second phase, the concentration of DNA in liver, testes, and spleen of Zn-deficient animals was not significantly different from that in pair-fed controls. The DNA content of the kidneys was significantly reduced by the deficiency hut only to 97% of that in pair-fed animalsgiven the Zn-supplcmenteddiet. The incorporation of [3H]thymidine into DNA was not significantly different between deficient and control groups in any of the four organs investigated.
Food intake and energy expenditure of army recruits
Authors: Edholm O. G. , Adam J. M. , Healy M. J. R. , Wolff H. S. , Goldsmith R. , Best T. W.
Published: May 2005

1. The food intake of sixty-four infantry recruits was measured at six centres during 3 weeks of initial training. The daily energy expenditure was measured in thirty-five of these men.

2. The mean daily consumption of the sixty-four subjects provided them with 3850 kcal (16110 kJ); the energy expenditure of the thirty-five subjects averaged 3750 kcal (15690 kJ).

3. Serial auto- and cross-correlations of intake and expenditure were very small and there was no significant relationship between food intake and energy expenditure on the same day.

4. The intakes and expenditures of different subjects at the same centre were not independent.

5. There was a significant relationship between intake and expenditure for the whole period of the survey when results for all subjects were included. In three centres the correlation was high, +0.788 (P < 0.001), but was only + 0.083 (P < 0.5) in the remaining three centres.

6. There was a positive but not significant correlation between body-weight and the average food intake of 6 d.

7. There was a negative correlation between body-weight and calorie balance.

8. Weight change and calorie balance over 1 week were related, the correlation averaging 0.40. There was a correlation of 0.32 between daily weight changes and calorie balance. A rather small amount of variation in calorie balance can be explained by contemporary changes in weight.
The efficacy of protein supplementation in overcoming urea toxicity in sheep
Authors: Payne E. , Laws L.
Published: May 2005

1. In the first experiment sheep taken from pasture were given a low-protein diet for 6 weeks in individual pens. Then, for 1 week, groups were given a supplement of lucerne chaff, safflower meal or lucerne chaff plus safflower meal. In the second experiment eighteen sheep maintained on lucerne chaff rather than pasture were then depleted of protein to a greater extent by feeding on a restricted low-protein diet. Six of the sheep received a supplement of molasses throughout the period of protein depletion while six of the sheep on the basal ration received a supplement of safflower meal after 6 weeks on the low-protein diet.

2. The urea tolerance of the sheep, as indicated by blood ammonia levels after oral dosing with aqueous solutions of urea, was determined after the period of supplementation. ‘Arginine synthetase’ activity (combined activities of argininosuccinate synthetase (EC6.3.4.5) and argininosuccinate lyase (EC4.3.2.1)) was determined in liver samples obtained by biopsy at various intervals during the experiment.

3. Supplementation for 7 d with 73 g crude protein (nitrogen × 6.25)/d increased the tolerance to urea, as indicated by reduced blood NH3levels, and also increased ‘arginine synthetase’ activity.

4. Giving supplements of molasses delayed the onset of urea toxicity but not the extent of toxicity.

5. It is suggested that short-term feeding of protein concentrates to sheep before giving urea supplements can increase their tolerance to urea.
Lack of effect on blood lipid and calcium concentrations of young men on changing from white to wholemeal bread
Authors: Heaton K. W. , Manning A. P. , Hartog M.
Published: May 2005

1. When nineteen ‘free-living’ male students, who normally ate 231 (SEM 14) g white bread/d changed to wholemeal bread for a 19-week period, there was no significant change in body-weight, plasma cholesterol or plasma triglyceride levels. These values, as well as plasma concentrations of calcium, phosphate, urate and haemoglobin, remained essentially the same as those for a control group.

2. Increasing the wheat-fibre intake by eating wholemeal bread is not an effective method for reducing blood lipid levels, at least in healthy young men with a moderate bread intake.
The effects of low-dose gamma-irradiation on the wholesomeness of mangoes (Mangifera indica) as determined by short-term feeding studies using rats
Authors: Horton G. M. J.
Published: May 2005

1. A control diet and diets containing 150 g non-irradiated or 150 g irradiated mangopulp/kg were given to female rats from day 15 of the gestation period until weaning in trials 1 and 2, and from 40 d before mating until 28 d post weaning in trial 3.

2. Food intake and dry-matter digestibility were similar with all diets.

3. There were no significant differences between animals given the different dietary regimens in the daily body-weight changes of weanling males, pups, nursing females or females during the immediate postlactation period.

4. No differences in haematological or blood chemistry values were found which could be attributed to the ingestion of irradiated mangoes. There was no evidence for the presence of any toxic substances in the irradiated-mango-pulp diet.

5. Gross pathological observations revealed no aberrations which could be related to the ingestion of irradiated mangoes.

6. It may be concluded that the wholesomeness of mangoes was not affected by gammairradiation at a dose of 75 krd.
The diets of preschool children in newcastle upon tyne, 1968–71
Authors: Black Alison E. , Billewicz W. Z. , Thomson A. M.
Published: May 2005

1. Ninety-one families containing 140 children under 4 years of age at enrolment were studied. At 1-monthly intervals, the children were weighed and measured and qualitative information about feeding habits was obtained. Weighed dietary surveys for periods of 5 d were made at approximately 8 months, 20 months, 3 years and 5 years of age; there were forty-six failures in 260 surveys attempted.

2. At the four specified ages, mean energy intakes were 3.75, 5.03, 5.82 and 6.75 MJ (896, 1203, 1392 and 1613 kcal)/d respectively. At 8 months, milk products provided on average, 43% of the total energy intake and commercial baby foods provided 17%. These values decreased to 21 and 2% respectively at 20 months and there was little further change thereafter.

3. Average intakes of energy and of most nutrients met recommended intakes (Department of Health and Social Security, 1969). Iron intakes were marginal, and vitamin D intakes were low.

4. The energy intake of boys was significantly higher than that of girls at 3 years of age, but the boys were not significantly heavier. The energy intake of children from ‘manualworker’ families was higher than that from ‘non-manual’ families. Similarly, the energy intake of children from larger families was higher than that of children from smaller families.

5. Energy intakes were correlated with body-weights and with rates of gain in weight. Irrespective of body-weight, ‘big eaters’ at 20 months tended to be ‘big eaters’ at 3 years also.
Simulation of the dynamics of nitrogen metabolism in sheep
Authors: Mazanov A. , Nolan J. V.
Published: May 2005

1. The results of isotope tracer studies of the dynamics of nitrogen metabolism in mature sheep were used to construct a seven-pool mathematical model.

2. The model was extended to a nine-pool model, which incorporates lags describing the time taken for the passage of digesta through the gut of sheep.

3. Simulation studies using these models satisfactorily predicted results of independent experiments.

4. The dynamics of N metabolism in sheep appear to be best approximated by first-order kinetics; that is, many of the important N transport processes are substantially linear or concentration-dependent.
Biochemical and pathological changes in tissues of Friesian cattle during the experimental induction of copper deficiency
Authors: Mills C. F. , Dalgarno A. C. , Wenham G.
Published: May 2005

1. Copper deficiency was induced in five Friesian cattle offered a semi-synthetic diet containing < 1 mg Cu/kg. Changes in blood and liver Cu contents and in the Cu-containing enzymes, ferroxidase I (caeruloplasmin;EC1.16.3.1) and monoamine oxidase (EC1.4.3.4) of plasma and cytochrome oxidase (EC1.9.3.1) of liver and skeletal muscle were monitored during Cu depletion.

2. Rapid decreases in blood and liver Cu and plasma ferroxidase I activity were found at least 80 d before the first appearance of overt clinical signs of deficiency. Plasma monoamine oxidase and liver cytochrome oxidase activities decreased less rapidly and thus may provide useful indices of chronic Cu depletion.

3. Although results of these assays indicated that Cu depletion was occurring and metabolic defects supervening, none facilitated the early recognition of individuals that subsequently showed marked overt clinical signs of Cu deficiency compared with those less severely affected.

4. Irrespective of their clinical appearance at slaughter, Cu-depleted cattle showed gross or microscopic lesions of the skeleton and cardiovascular system and, in some instances, lesions of the ligamentum nuchae and small intestine. The aetiology of these lesions is considered with particular respect to changes in the activities of the Cu-dependent enzymes studied and to the interpretation of field surveys based solely upon determination of blood or liver Cu content.

5. A second group of five cattle was offered the same diet supplemented with Cu to provide 8 mg Cu/kg and, later, 15 mg Cu/kg. Although no pathological lesions attributable to Cu deficiency were detected at slaughter a marked reduction in liver Cu content, a decrease in plasma ferroxidase I activity and, in four animals, the development of a diarrhoea controlled by oral administration of Cu, suggested that 8 mg Cu/kg diet did not meet their requirement for Cu.
A comparative study of the nutritional and physiological significance of raw and heated soya beans in chicks and goslings
Authors: Nitsan Zafrira , Nir I.
Published: May 2005

1. The comparative effects of raw soya beans on food intake, growth, digestive organ weight, and enzyme activities in goslings and chicks were studied.

2. Goslings were more affected than chicks by the ingestion of a raw soya-bean diet (RSD) in the following ways: reduction in food intake and growth rate; increase in relative weight of the digestive organs; reduction in specific activities of lipase (EC 3.1.1.3), amylase (EC 3.2.1.1) and chymotrypsin (EC 3.4.4.5) in the pancreas (not affected in chicks); greater inhibition of trypsin (EC 3.4.4.4), chymotrypsin and amylase in the intestinal contents of goslings than of chicks.

3. Addition of methionine to the RSD improved food intake and growth rate more in goslings than in chicks.

4. The interrelationships between enzyme activities, food passage rate, nutrient absorption and food intake regulation are discussed.
Methionine sulphoxide as a source of sulphur-containing amino acids for the young rat
Authors: Gjøen Anne U. , Njaa L. R.
Published: May 2005

1. Young male rats were used in five experiments to study the utilization for growth of methionine sulphoxide, and the relationship between the sulphoxide content in the diet and the level of microbiologically determined methionine activity in blood or blood plasma. In one nitrogen-balance experiment methionine and methionine sulphoxide were compared as supplements to a casein diet and a fish-meal diet.

2. Methionine sulphoxide was poorly utilized for growth when tested as the sole sulphur amino acid in an amino acid diet. Substitution of one-third of the sulphoxide with cystine improved utilization so that it approached that of methionine.

3. Methionine alone and in combination with methionine sulphoxide were added to a soya-bean-meal diet. The sulphoxide showed no adverse effect on growth.

4. Fish meal in which methionine had been oxidized to methionine sulphoxide was tested alone and in combinations with unoxidized fish meal. Only when the oxidized meal was given alone was there an appreciable effect on growth. The fish meals used were low in cystine.

5. Whereas both methionine and methionine sulphoxide improved the N balance when a casein diet was given, there was no effect when a fish-meal diet was given.

6. There was a linear relationship between methionine sulphoxide content in the amino acid diets and the methionine activity in the blood plasma. Methionine sulphoxide added to a soya-bean-meal diet or present in oxidized fish meal gave a curvilinear relationship, and the observed activities were lower than with the amino acid diets. Methionine activity in blood could not be used as an indicator of moderate amounts of methionine sulphoxide in protein-containing diets.
Effect of diet on the metabolism of labelled tocopherol in sheep
Authors: Hidiroglou M.
Published: May 2005

1. Eighteen crossbred wethers were allotted at random (six per treatment) to each of the following diets: (1) maize-silage; (2) grass-silage; and (3) chopped hay. After 6 months a single oral dose of D-α-[5-Me-3H]tocopherol was given to each sheep on these three treatments.

2. Blood plasma, rumen liquor and urine radioactivity were measured for 4 d and, at the end of this period, the animals were killed and tissue distribution of3H was determined.

3. Maize-silage generally contained less α-tocopherol than grass-silage or hay. Tissue uptake of3H was greater on maize-silage than other diets.

4. In muscle, spleen and liver, tocopherol concentrations were lower in the maize-silage than the grass-silage fed animals.

5. A tendency to higher uptake of radioactivity was recorded at all times in the plasma and its lipid extract of sheep fed on maize-silage than those fed on grass-silage or hay.

6. Urine clearance of radioactivity tended to be higher in animals fed on the maize-silage than those fed on grass-silage or hay. This difference of magnitude in urinary excretion was probably related to the rate of metabolism of the ingested radiotocopherol.
The effect of wheat fibre on plasma lipids and faecal steroid excretion in man
Authors: Kay R. M. , Truswell A. S.
Published: May 2005

1. The effect of isoenergetic substitution of bran and wholemeal bread for white flour and white bread was investigated in six healthy volunteers in a metabolic unit.

2. A 21 d high-fibre experimental period was preceded and followed by a 14 d control period, so that each experiment lasted 7 weeks. Blood samples were taken on each of the last 3 d and faeces collected (using carmine markers) for the last 6 d of each diet period.

3. Plasma cholesterol, triglycerides and serum calcium concentrations were not altered by the addition of wheat fibre.

4. Wheat fibre caused a significant increase in faecal bulk and frequency. Faecal steroid excretion was the same in the last week of the first control and the high-fibre periods but increased in the subsequent control period.