Growth and energy budget of F-2 'all-fish' growth hormone gene transgenic common carp

The growth and energy budget for F-2 'all-fish' growth hormone gene transgenic common carp Cyprinus carpio of two body sizes were investigated at 29.2 degrees C for 21 days. Specific growth rate, feed intake, feed efficiency, digestibility coefficients of dry matter and protein, gross energy intake (I-E), and the proportion of I-E utilized for heat production (H-E) were significantly higher in the transgenics than in the controls. The proportion of I-E directed to waste products [faecal energy (F-E) and excretory energy loss (Z(E) + U-E) where Z(E) is through the gills and U-E through the kidney], and the proportion of metabolizable energy (M-E) for recovered energy (R-E) were significantly lower in the transgenics than in the controls. The average energy budget equation of transgenic fish was as follows: 100 I-E = 19.3 F-E + 6.0 (Z(E) + U-E) + 45.2 H-E + 29.5 R-E or 100 M-E = 60.5 H-E + 39.5 R-E. The average energy budget equation of the controls was: 100 I-E = 25.2 F-E + 7.4 (Z(E) + U-E) + 35.5 H-E + 31.9 R-E or 100 M-E = 52.7 H-E + 47.3 R-E. These findings indicate that the high growth rate of 'all-fish' transgenic common carp relative to their non-transgenic counterparts was due to their increased feed intake, reduced lose of waste productions and improved feed efficiency. The benefit of the increased energy intake by transgenic fish, however, was diminished by their increased metabolism.

Effect of ration and body size on the energy budget of juvenile white sturgeon

Growth and energy budget were measured for three sizes(2.4, 11.1 and 22.5 g) of juvenile white sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus held at 18.5 degrees C and fed tubificid worms at different levels ranging from starvation to ad libitum. For each size-class, specific growth rate increased linearly with increasing ration, and conversion efficiency was highest at the maximum ration. Growth rate decreased with increasing fish size at the maximum ration, but increased with size al each restricted ration. Conversion efficiency increased with increasing ration for each size-class and was usually highest at the maximum ration. Faecal production accounted for 3.2-5.2% of food energy. The proportion of food energy lost in nitrogenous excretion decreased with increasing ration. With increases in ration, the allocation of metabolizable energy to metabolism decreased, while that to growth increased. Fish size had no significant effect on the allocation of metabolizable energy to metabolism or growth. Al the maximum ration, on average 64.9% of metabolizable energy was spent on metabolism, and 35.1% on growth. (C) 1996 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles

Live-weight gain, apparent digestibility, and economic benefits of yaks fed different diets during winter on the Tibetan plateau

Our goal was to determine the effect of diets with different crude protein (CP) contents and metabolizable energy (W) levels on daily live-weight gain, apparent digestibility, and economic benefit of feedlot yaks on the Tibetan plateau during winter. Yaks were either 2- or 3-years old and randomly selected from the same herd. The 3-year-olds were placed into one of two experimental groups (A and B) and a control (CK1), and the two-year-olds were placed into one of three experimental groups (C, D and E) and a control (CK2) (N per group = 5). Yak in the control groups were allow graze freely, while those in the experimental groups yaks were fed diets higher in contains crude protein and metabolizable energy through a winter period inside a warming shed. Results indicated that live-weight gain of treatment groups was higher than their respective controls during experiment, and that daily live-weight gain of every 10 days among different treatments was significant difference (P < 0.05). In addition, apparent digestibility of different diets was linearly and positively related to feedlotting time, and feed conversion efficiency for A, C, D and E groups was quadratically related to feedlotting time (P < 0.01), however, feed conversion efficiency for B group was linearly and positively related to feedlotting time (P < 0.05). The economic benefit was 1.15 for A, 1.89 for B, 1.16 for C, 1.54 for D, and 4,52 for E. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fusion energy-production from a deuterium-tritium plasma in the jet tokamak

Describes a series of experiments in the Joint European Torus (JET), culminating in the first tokamak discharges in deuterium-tritium fuelled mixture. The experiments were undertaken within limits imposed by restrictions on vessel activation and tritium usage. The objectives were: (i) to produce more than one megawatt of fusion power in a controlled way; (ii) to validate transport codes and provide a basis for accurately predicting the performance of deuterium-tritium plasmas from measurements made in deuterium plasmas; (iii) to determine tritium retention in the torus systems and to establish the effectiveness of discharge cleaning techniques for tritium removal; (iv) to demonstrate the technology related to tritium usage; and (v) to establish safe procedures for handling tritium in compliance with the regulatory requirements. A single-null X-point magnetic configuration, diverted onto the upper carbon target, with reversed toroidal magnetic field was chosen. Deuterium plasmas were heated by high power, long duration deuterium neutral beams from fourteen sources and fuelled also by up to two neutral beam sources injecting tritium. The results from three of these high performance hot ion H-mode discharges are described: a high performance pure deuterium discharge; a deuterium-tritium discharge with a 1% mixture of tritium fed to one neutral beam source; and a deuterium-tritium discharge with 100% tritium fed to two neutral beam sources. The TRANSP code was used to check the internal consistency of the measured data and to determine the origin of the measured neutron fluxes. In the best deuterium-tritium discharge, the tritium concentration was about 11% at the time of peak performance, when the total neutron emission rate was 6.0 × 10¹⁷ neutrons/s. The integrated total neutron yield over the high power phase, which lasted about 2 s, was 7.2 × 10¹⁷ neutrons, with an accuracy of ±7%. The actual fusion amplification factor, Q_DT was about 0.15