Effect of replacement of dietary fish meal by meat and bone meal and poultry by-product meal on growth and feed utilization of gibel carp, Carassius auratus gibelio

Triplicate groups of gibel carp Carassius auratus gibelio (initial body weight: 5.25 +/- 0.02 g) were fed for 8 weeks at 20-25 degreesC on five isonitrogenous (crude protein: 400 g kg(-1)) and isoenergetic diets (gross energy: 17 kJ g(-1)). Meat and bone meal (MBM) or poultry by-product meal (PBM) were used to replace fish meal at different levels of protein. The control diet contained fish meal as the sole protein source. In the other four diets, 150 or 500 g kg(-1) of fish meal protein was substituted by MBM (MBM15, MBM50) or PBM (PBM15, PBM50). The results showed that feeding rate for the MBM50 group was significantly higher than for other groups except the PBM50 group (P < 0.05). Growth rate in the MBM15 group was significantly higher than that in the control (P < 0.05), while there was no significant difference in growth between the control and other groups (P > 0.05). Feed efficiency and protein efficiency ratio in MBM50 was significantly lower while that in MBM15 was significantly higher (P < 0.05). Replacement of fish meal by MBM at 500 g kg(-1) protein significantly decreased apparent dry matter digestibility (ADC(D)) and gross energy (ADC(E)) while apparent protein digestibility (ADC(P)) was significantly decreased by the replacement of MBM or PBM (P < 0.05). The results suggest that MBM and PBM could replace up to 500 g kg(-1) of fish meal protein in diets for gibel carp without negative effects on growth while 150 g kg(-1) replacement by MBM protein improved feed utilization.

Effect of replacement of fish meal by meat and bone meal and poultry by-product meal in diets on the growth and immune response of Macrobrachium nipponense

The potential use of poultry by-product meal (PBM) and meat and bone meal (MBM) as alternative dietary protein sources for juvenile Macrobrachium nipponense was studied by a 70-day growth trial. Triplicate groups of M. nipponense (initial body weight: 0.37 g) were fed at 20.7-22.4 degreesC on each of the five isoenergetic and isonitrogenous diets (protein content about 38%) with different replacement of fish meal by MBM or PBM. The control diet used white fish meal as the sole protein source, the other four diets were prepared with 15% or 50% fish meal protein substituted by either MBM (MBM15, MBM50) or PBM (PBM15, PBM50). The results showed that replacement of fish meal by MBM in diets did not affect growth performance of M. nipponense (P > 0.05), while specific growth rate in PBM15 was significantly higher than that in other groups (P < 0.05). Survival rates of shrimp fed with MBM15 diet were significantly higher than that in other groups (P < 0.05). No significant differences in immunological parameters, including total haemocyte count (THC), phenoloxidase activity (PO) and respiratory burst (O-2(-)), were observed between the shrimps that were fed five experimental diets, and all determined immunological parameters in control groups were slightly higher than those in replacement groups. In conclusion, either MBM or PBM investigated could replace up to 50% fish meal protein in diets for M. nipponense. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of a feeding stimulant on feeding adaptation of gibel carp Carassius auratus gibelio (Bloch), fed diets with replacement of fish meal by meat and bone meal

The objectives of the study were to investigate the effect of a feeding stimulant on feeding adaptation of gibel carp (Carassius auratus gibelio Bloch) fed diets with replacement of fish meal by meat and bone meal (MBM), and whether or not the juvenile gibel carp could adapt to higher MBM level in the diet. Juvenile and adult gibel carp were tested. Two and one replacement levels were used for juvenile and adult fish respectively. Each group of diets was set as two types with or without a unique rare earth oxide: Y2O3, Yb2O3, La2O3, Sm2O3, Nd2O3 or Gd2O3 (only the first four rare earth oxides were used in adult diets) for four adaptation periods of 3, 7, 14 and 28 days respectively. After mixing, an equal mixture of all six diets for juvenile or four diets for adult was offered in excess for 2 days. During the last 2 days of each experiment, no feed was offered and faeces from each tank were collected. Feeding preference was expressed as relative feed intake of each diet, which was estimated based on the relative concentration of each marker in the faeces. Given some adaptation period, such as 3-28 days, the effects of MBM and squid extract inclusion on the preference to each diet were reduced. After 28 days adaptation, the preferences between groups were not significantly different.

Effect of several feeding stimulants on diet preference by juvenile gibel carp (Carassius auratus gibelio), fed diets with or without partial replacement of fish meal by meat and bone meal

The objectives of this work were to study the effects of several feeding stimulants on gibel carp fed diets with or without replacement of fish meal by meat and bone meal (MBM). The feeding stimulants tested were betaine, glycine, L-lysine, L-methionine, L-phenylalanine, and a commercial squid extract. Three inclusion levels were tested for each stimulant (0.18, 0.5%, and 1% for betaine and 0.1, 0.25 and 0.5% for the other stimulants). Two basal diets (40% crude protein) were used. one with 26% fish meal (FM), and the other with 21% fish meal and 6% MBM, Betaine at 0.1% in the fish meal group and at 0.5% in the meat and bone meal group was used in all experiments for comparison among stimulants. In the experiment on each stimulant, six tanks of fish were equally divided into two groups, one fed the FM diet, and the other fed the MBM diet. After 7 days' adaptation to the basal diet, in which the fish were fed to satiation twice a day, the fish were fed for another 7 days an equal mixture of diets containing varying levels of stimulants. Each diet contained a unique rare earth oxide as inert marker (Y2O3, Yb2O3, La2O3, Sm2O3 or Nd2O3). During the last 3 days of the experiment, faeces from each tank were collected. Preference for each diet was estimated based on the relative concentration of each marker in the faeces. Gibel carp fed the FM diet had higher intake than those fed the MBM diet, but the difference was significant only in the experiments on betaine, glycine and L-methionine. None of the feeding stimulants tested showed feeding enhancing effects in FM diets. All feeding stimulants showed feeding enhancing effects in MBM diets. and the optimum inclusion level was 0.5% for betaine, 0.1% for glycine, 0.25% for L-lysine, 0.1% for L-methionine. 0.25% For L-phenylalanine. and 0.1% for squid extract. The squid extract had the strongest stimulating effect among all the stimulants tested. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

HORMONAL REPLACEMENT THERAPY IN FISH - HUMAN GROWTH-HORMONE GENE-FUNCTION IN HYPOPHYSECTOMIZED CARP

Transgenic common carp, Cyprinus carpio, produced by the microinjection of fertilized eggs with a linearized chimeric plasmid pMThGH, a human growth hormone (hGH) gene with a mouse metallothionein-I (MT) gene promoter in pBR322, were used to produce F1 and F2 transgenics. Following hypophysectomy of the transgenic F2 common carp, non-transgenic common carp and non-transgenic crucian carp, growth was monitored for up to 110 days. In addition, recombinant hGH was injected subcutaenously into a group of the non-transgenic crucian carp. Growth rate analyses indicated that (1) hypophysectomy of non-transgenic common carp and crucian carp results in the cessation of growth, (2) hGH administration can stimulate the growth of hypophysectomized crucian carp and (3) hypophysectomized hGH-transgenic common carp continue to grow in the absence of their own growth hormone, suggesting that the hGH-transgene is being expressed in tissues other than the pituitary.

Replacement of methane from quartz sand-bearing hydrate with carbon dioxide-in-water emulsion

The replacement of CH4 from its hydrate in quartz sand with 90:10, 70:30, and 50:50 (W-CO2:W-H2O) carbon dioxide-in-water (C/W) emulsions and liquid CO2 has been performed in a cell with size of empty set 36 x 200 mm. The above emulsions were formed in a new emulsifier, in which the temperature and pressure were 285.2 K and 30 MPa, respectively, and the emulsions were stable for 7-12 h. The results of replacing showed that 13.1-27.1%, 14.1-25.5%, and 14.6-24.3% of CH4 had been displaced from its hydrate with the above emulsions after 24-96 It of replacement, corresponding to about 1.5 times the CH4 replaced with high-pressure liquid CO2. The results also showed that the replacement rate of CH4 with the above emulsions and liquid CO2 decreased from 0.543, 0.587, 0.608, and 0.348 1/h to 0.083, 0.077, 0.069, and 0.063 1/h with the replacement time increased from 24 to 96 h. It has been indicated by this study that the use of CO2 emulsions is advantageous compared to the use of liquid CO2 in replacing CH4 from its hydrate.

Study of competitive binding of enantiomers to protein by affinity capillary electrochromatography

Affinity capillary electrochromatography (CEC) with zonal elution method was used to probe the competitive interactions of enantiomers with protein. In this approach, a known concentration of a competing agent is continuously applied to a CEC column with bovine serum albumin (BSA) physically adsorbed on SAX packing while injections of a small amount of analyte are made. The binding sites of solutes on the BSA molecule were determined by the changes in the retention factors of the solutes resulted from the addition of competitive agent. By using D- or L-tryptophan as competitive agents and D-, L-tryptophan and benzoin enantiomers as injected analytes showed that BSA molecule has a primary site to strongly bind L-tryptophan, but D-tryptophan dose not bind at this site; D- and L-tryptophan share a weak binding site on the BSA molecule. Benzoin enantiomers do not share any binding sites with either D- or L-tryptophan. Non-chiral compounds of trichloroacetic acid and n-hexanoic acid were applied as the competitive agents to study the binding of warfarin enantiomers to BSA, it was observed that trichloroacetic acid and n-hexanoic acid had a same binding site for warfarin enantiomers binding to BSA molecule. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

In Situ Scanning Tunneling Microscopy on the Dynamic Process of the Replacement of Coronene on Au (111) by 6-Mercapto-1-Hexanol

The replacement of coronene monolayer on Au (111) by 6-mercapto-1-hexanol (MHO) was studied by in situ scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) in solutions. It was found that the rate of replacement depends strongly on the concentration of MHO. The replacement finished within a second at a higher concentration of MHO. At a lower concentration, the slow replacement could be followed by in situ STM. The replacement occurred initially near the elbow position of reconstructed Au (111) with the formation of pits in a single or several missing molecules. With the proceeding of replacement, these small pits expanded, and the surrounding coronene molecules were gradually substituted by MHO, which developed into ordered domains within a spatial confined environment. Meanwhile, the reconstruction of Au (111) was lifted. The replacement expanded fast along the reconstruction lines in the domain. For the fast replacement, a (root 3 x root 3) R30 degrees adlattice was observed, while a c(4 x 2) superlattice was observed for the slow replacement.

Diluting thiol-derivatized oligonucleotide monolayers on Au(111) by mercaptohexanol replacement reaction

Surface replacement reaction of thiol-derivatized, single-stranded oligonucleotide (HS-ssDNA) by mercaptohexanol (MCH) is investigated in order to reduce surface density of the HS-ssDNA adsorbed to Au(111) surface. Cyclic voltammograms (CVs) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) are employed to assess the composition and state of these mixed monolayers. It is found that each CV of mixed self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) only shows a single reductive desorption peak, which suggests that the resulted, mixed SAMs do not form discernable phase-separated domains. The peak potential gradually shifts to negative direction and the peak area increases step by step over the whole replacement process. By analyzing these peak areas, it is concluded that two MCH molecules will replace one HS-ssDNA molecule and relative coverage can also be estimated as a function of exposing time. The possible mechanism of the replacement reaction is also proposed. The DNA surface density exponentially reduces with the exposing time increasing, in other words, the replacement reaction is very fast in the first several hours and then gradually slows down. Moreover, the morphological change in the process is also followed by STM.

Kinetic characteristics of the interaction between morphine and its antibody by SPR competitive immunoassay

It is impossible for surface plasmon resonance to measure directly the binding kinetics between a low-molecular-weight analyte interacting and its immobilized binding partner. Solution competition method was applied to the kinetic study of the interaction between morphine and its antibody. The affinity constant between the antibody of morphine and morphine-BSA immobilized on the sensor chip was also obtained. The result showed that the affinity of polyclonal antibody is stronger than that of monoclonal antibody. And it also indicated that the protein combined with the analyte affected the binding of antibody to antigen.

Estimation of individual phases from the four-phase structure invariants in the single isomorphous replacement case

The probability distribution of the four-phase invariants in the case of single isomorphous replacement has been developed to estimate some individual phases. An example of its application to obtain the phases having special values of 0, pi or +/-pi /2 is given for a known protein structure in space group P2(1)2(1)2(1). The phasing procedure includes the determination of starting phases and an iterative calculation. The initial values of starting phases, which are required by the formula, can be obtained from the estimate of one-phase seminvariants and by specifying the origin and enantiomorph. In addition, the calculations lead to two sets of possible phases for each type of reflection by assigning arbitrarily an initial phase value. The present method provides a possibility for the multisolution technique to increase greatly the number of known phases while keeping the number of the trials quite small.

ESTIMATION OF THE ONE-PHASE STRUCTURE SEMINVARIANTS IN THE SINGLE ISOMORPHOUS REPLACEMENT CASE - AN APPLICATION OF HAUPTMANS DISTRIBUTION

A method for estimating the one-phase structure seminvariants (OPSSs) having values of 0 or pi has been proposed on the basis of the probabilistic theory of the three-phase structure invariants for a pair of isomorphous structures [Hauptman (1982). Acta Cryst. A38, 289-294]. The test calculations using error-free diffraction data of protein cytochrome c(550) and its PtCl42- derivative show that reliable estimates of a number of the OPSSs can be obtained. The reliability of the estimation increases with the increase of the differences between diffraction intensities of the native protein and its heavy-atom derivative. A means to estimate the parameters of the distribution from the diffraction ratio is suggested.

Competition between Stipa grandis and Cleistogenes squarrosa

Competitive strategy for resources between Cleistogenes squarrosa (Trin.) Keng which is a dominant species of grasslands degraded by moderate-heavy grazing, and Stipa grandis P. Smirnov, which is a dominant species of ungrazed communities, was studied using a replacement series method in a greenhouse. The knowledge would be helpful in managing grasslands and restoring the degraded C. squarrosa grassland. Although there was neither inter- nor intra-specific competition between the two species when no nutrients were added, intra-specific competition of C. squarrosa was observed and increased with increased nutrient availability and more sulfur (S) was allocated to the aboveground partition of the plant. Relative competitive ability of C. squarrosa was greater than that of S. grandis when nutrients were supplied regardless of S. There was no significant difference between shoot and root competition based on dry matter yields. However, root competition was significantly greater than that of shoot based on S uptake under all treatments. A significant interaction was not observed between shoot and root competition. Therefore, nutrients addition benefits the restoration of degraded grassland of C. squarrosa, which may not exclude S. grandis. Also productivity and forage quality of the community will be increased. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Behavioural responses by yaks in different physiological states (lactating, dry or replacement heifers), when grazing natural pasture in the spring (dry and germinating) season on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau

Using heterogeneous vegetation in alpine grassland through grazing is a necessary component of deintensification of livestock systems and conservation of natural environments. However, better understanding of the dynamics of animal feeding behaviour would improve pasture and livestock grazing managements, particularly in the early part of the spring season when forage is scarce. The changes in behaviour may improve the use of poor pastures. Then, enhancing management practices may conserve pasture and improve animal productivity. Grazing behaviour over 24 In periods by yaks in different physiological states (lactating, dry and replacement heifers) was recorded in the early, dry and later, germinating period of the spring season. Under conditions of inadequate forage, the physiological state of yaks was not the primary factor affecting their grazing and ruminating behaviour. Forage and sward state affected yaks' grazing and ruminating behaviour to a greater extent. Generally, yaks had higher intake and spent more time grazing and ruminating during the later part of the spring season, following germination of forage, than during the earlier dry part of the season. However, the live weight of yaks was less during pasture germination than during the early dry part of the season because the herbage mass is low, and the yaks have to expend much energy to seek feed at this particular time. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.