An alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) was purified from dry baker’s yeast. This is a key enzyme of the primary short-chain alcohol metabolism in many organisms. In the present study, the obtained enzymatic preparation of baker’s yeast, containing 2.7 U/mg of ADH, was used in the reactions. The purified extract of the ADH obtained from Fermix commercial dry yeast, presented the highest activity and purification factor when ammonium sulfate was added in the precipitation of protein, in the range 35-60% (w/v). The enzymatic preparation was maintained for 2 months in the lyophilized form at 4oC (retention of 96.2% of activity) in the presence of 1 mmol/L of sodium azide, and it maintained 47% of activity for 30 days at 30°C in the presence of 15% PEG. The assays of ethanol (detection range 5 mM -150 mM or 2.3 x 10 -4 - 6.91 x 10 -3 g/L) in different samples in alcoholic beverages, presented a maximum deviation of only 2.1%. Assays of recovery of the substrate (99.25%) added in the wine showed that the methodology is viable for this sample type. The standard curve and the analytic curve of this method meet the conditions of precision, sensitivity, simplicity, and low cost, required for a useable analytical method.
Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) is an important broadleaves vegetable, consumed in salads and recognized by nutritional, pharmacological properties and its low calorie value. With the objective of assessing weeds interference periods over chicory crop in indirect sowing, two experiments were carried out at Garca County, Sao Paulo State, by using “Folhas Amarelas - Radiche” and “Folha Larga” cultivars and spacing of 0.25×0.25 m. Treatments consisted of checks with and without weeds and infestation control periods, so that crop was maintained in presence or absence of coexistence with weeds until 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35 days after seedlings transplant (DAST). Results demonstrated that “Folhas amarelas - Radiche” and “Folha Larga” chicory cultivars transplanted on winter, allowed occurrence of initial period of cohabitation with weeds (6 and 5 IPCW) greater than final period (14 and 9 FPCW), conferring, respectively, the establishment of critical periods for weed control (CPWC) in intervals of 6 th to 14 th and 5 th to 9 th days after crop transplant. Medium reduction of yield in function of weeds interference during the whole crop cycle was about 52.0% and 54.4%, respectively, for “Folhas amarelas - Radiche” and “Folha Larga” cultivars. It is important to mention that these results indicated the real need for conducting early weed control in chicory crop cultivation, even when carried out in indirect sowing system, as well as it characterizes the importance of a greater number of regional information to successfully consolidate management alternatives, less costly and more efficient in order to guarantee superior yields.
Investigations were undertaken at ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Research Centre, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India (ICAR RCER, RC, R) to standardize canopy architecture of rejuvenated mango plants of cv. Amrapali planted at a closer spacing. Twenty four years old mango trees cv. Amrapali planted at a spacing of 5.0 m x 5.0 m were topped at three different heights: 1.0 m (R1), 1.5 m (R2) and 2.0 m (R3) above ground during December, 2005. Treatments on length of primary shoot [60 cm (P1), 120 cm (P2), no control on length of primary shoot (P3)] and length of secondary shoots [60 cm (S1) and no control on length of secondary shoot (S2)] were imposed after one year of rejuvenation pruning in 18 different combinations. The earliest bud sprouting occurred in R3 and longer in R1 trees. There were significant differences among treatments for tree height during both the years of study and canopy spread and shoot girth after one year of rejuvenation pruning. The treatment R1 resulted in lower plant height as compared to R2 and R3 trees. With respect to girth of primary shoots, R1 resulted in lower values as compared to other treatments after one year of rejuvenation pruning. However, the differences among the values of girth of primary shoot during 2010 were non-significant. Initiation of fruiting began after third year of rejuvenation pruning. Yield greater than 60 kg/tree were recorded in R2 and R3. Pruning at 1.0 m (R1), 60 cm length of primary shoot (P1), and no control on length of secondary shoots (S2) was found to be the best management practice for rejuvenation of unproductive mango orchards of cv. Amrapali planted at close spacing.
In this study, we investigated interspecific variations in Sections Dendrobrychis, Hymenobrychis, Heliobrychis, Onobrychis of genus Onobrychis by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) technique and RAPD. Total eight species collected from different regions of Turkey were studied for the analysis of seed storage protein profiles and RAPD profile to examine their relationship. Electrophoretic data were documented by using a gel documentation system and analysed by using Quantity 1 -D analysis software and also the dendrogram was formed in UPGAMA. The sections Dendrobrychis, Heliobrychis, Hymenobrychis, Onobrychis of genus Onobrychis were firstly determined by morphological classification. In addition to RAPD and the seed protein of these species belonging to these sections were clustered together. The formed dendrogram from SDS-PAGE analysis showed that all studied species constituted two clusters. The first one consisted of O. huetiana subs. bornmuelleri, O. huetiana, O. montana, O. stenostachya and O. atropatana var. grandiflora and the second one O. viciifolia, O. hajastana and O. cornuta. The dendrogram realized from the RAPD markers grouped the Onobrychis spp. into three major clusters. Cluster 1 included O. huetiana subs. bornmuelleri, O. viciifolia, O. huetiana, O. atropatana var. grandiflora, O. montana and O. cornuta, Cluster 2 included O. stenostachya and Cluster 3 O. hajastana.
An experiment was conducted in the Agronomy Field 2 of Crop Science Department, University Putra Malaysia, to evaluate the compatibility of forage mixtures of guinea-Arachis, guinea-burgundy and guinea-stylo in relation to dry matter (DM) yield, chemical composition and in vitro apparent dry matter digestibility. Guinea-Arachis produced the highest cumulative dry matter yield (73.57 t ha -1 ) followed by guinea monoculture (62.85 t ha -1 ), guinea-stylo recorded the least yield (53.95 t ha -1 ) among mixtures. Guinea-Arachis was not significantly different from guinea monoculture but superior (p burgundy > Arachis. Mean percentage relative yield of legumes in mixtures also followed a similar order. Mean crude protein did not differ significantly (p>0.05) among species, i.e. guinea grass and legume monocultures as well as mixtures except in the case of Arachis monoculture (145 g kg -1 ) which was significantly greater (p<0.05) than guinea-Arachis mixture (106.2 g kg -1 ). Stylo and Arachis had higher neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and were significantly higher (p<0.05) than burgundy, guinea monoculture and mixtures. The NDF in stylo was not significantly different from guinea-stylo. Guinea (monoculture) had higher (p<0.05) in vitro apparent dry matter digestibility (65.38%) than the rest of the species except in the case of guinea-burgundy mixture (57.25%). Legume monocultures produced most gas at 24 h of incubation with the least gas volume recorded by guinea-Arachis mixture. Guinea-stylo mixture was recommended as most compatible based on higher productivity, compatibility and relative yield percentage of stylo in mixture with guinea as compared to Arachis and burgundy.
Agronomic characteristics, total phenolic content (TPC) and total antioxidant (TA) activity were determined in the flesh and peel of eight selected apple genotypes from Canada, namely seven from Quebec (‘SJC658’, ‘SJC82341’, ‘A15R5A15A’, ‘A15R5A15B’, ‘Diva’, ‘Eden’, and ‘Reinette Russet’) and one from British Columbia (‘11W-19-18’) intended for fresh market and processing. The agronomic characteristics differed significantly among the selected cultivars (cv.), reflecting their intended use. TPC was measured by the Folin-Ciocalteu method, total antioxidant capacity (TAC) by the ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assays. The phenolic content (PC) and antioxidant capacity (AC) were found to be higher in the peel for all cv. and breeding lines. ‘Eden’ had the lowest PC and AC while ‘Reinette Russet’ and ‘SJC658’ had the highest PC in both the flesh and the peel. A significant positive correlation was found between the TPC and the TAC measured by the two different methods. A significant correlation (r = 0.810) was also found between the FRAP and ORAC measurements, showing that these methods give consistent results. The significant variation observed in the agronomic and antioxidant parameters confirms the potential of some of the unnamed lines for processing, use in a breeding program, or both.
As improving milk production and milk composition is always a tough problem in dairy cows industry, research on the genomics that related to milk production traits and regulation technique are important to design feed ingredients and study new feedstuffs. Recently many papers reported QTL for the major milk production trait (fat and protein concentration (%), protein, fat and milk yield, and somatic cell score). Here we summarized a quantitative trait loci (QTL) map for dairy production trait and also gave an overview of the most common non-antibiotic feed additives, probiotics, DCAD, enzymes and plant-derived products including saponins, tannins and essential oils. This yields a comprehensive contemplation of the reviewed studies targeted on QTL related to milk yield and non-antibiotic feed additives to enhance further research in dairy cow industry.
The arid climatic conditions of Kuwait limits the range of plant species exploited in landscaping and in such environments, water gardening, which is suitable for a variety of climates including the desert climate, becomes significant. Hence, the relative growth rate and adaptability of 15 imported cultivars of water lilies (Nymphaea sp.) were assessed at the Urban Demonstration Garden Site (UDG) of the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR). The cultivars were imported from Shanghai Xinhai Cultivation of Flowers Co., Ltd, China, and the experiment was conducted in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three replications. The cultivars were planted in one-gallon containers filled with sand:sphagnum peat moss (2:1 v/ v) and placed in pond compartments filled with fresh water. The periodic data on the number of leaves, petiole length, leaf width, leaf area index, and number of flowers of water lily cultivars were analyzed using the statistical procedure, R method. The results of the study were very promising, indicating that using water lilies for greenery enhancement and in landscape beautification projects in Kuwait is a viable option. All the introduced water lily varieties from China were found suitable for growing under the climatic conditions of Kuwait as evidenced by the data on growth rate and survival percentage. All of the varieties exhibited a positive growth rate during the summer season and their growth was drastically reduced during the winter season. Further studies on the performance of water lilies are required to ascertain the long-term impact of prevailing environmental conditions on their growth and contribution to visual appeal.
Bangladesh is a large agrarian country and the people of Bangladesh mainly depend on rice for their food and calories intake. High Yielding Variety (HYV) Boro rice constitutes a large share in the domestic food grain of the country. HYV Boro rice is cultivated widely in the northern region (Rajshahi division) of Bangladesh. In this study, three districts were selected from the Rajshahi division to measure the long-run relationship. By using the Engle-Granger methodology, we found that multicointegration exists between the yields of HYV Boro rice of Bogra district and the estimated yield of Dinajpur district. The error correction model (ECM) shows that approximately 54.7% of any deviation from the long-run path is corrected within a year. The results of this study would be helpful for policy makers dealing with food security.
This paper presents an analysis of the cultivated pressure and the benefit of cultivated land in Yarkant River Basin. Minimum area and deficits/surplus of cultivated land are used to describe the cultivated pressure, and reasonable range of agricultural structural adjustment is discussed under food security baseline. The results show that the cultivated land area of the Yarkant River Basin increased in 1978-2009, following per capita cultivated land area declined, while it showed an icreased warily of cultivated surplus in this basin, which is varied in different counties. The structure of land use affects its benefit, that the higher the percentage of grain crops sown area, the lower the per capita agricultural gross output value and annual per capita net income of rural households. It is effectively increasing agricultural output to adjust the agricultural structure and reduce the percentage of grain crops sown area. Considering the control of cultivated land and the requirement of stock consumption ratio in more than 30%, the minimum percentage of grain crops sown area of this basin in 2015 and 2020 is predicted, which are both lower than that in 2009. The differences among counties lead to the rationally readjust of the predicted values. The implementation of grain growing subsidies policy should strengthen to improve the enthusiasm of farmers to expand the area of grain crops.
In order to study on the appearance quality of nuts and the nutrition quality in the kernels of walnut seeds between apomictic and open-pollinated seeds, precocious and thin-shell walnut (Juglans regia L. cv 'Lvling') was used as material, which was identified as an apomictic species. The results showed that mean weight of apomictic seeds was 9.35 g, which was significantly lower than that of open-pollinated seeds: and suture height of apomictic seeds was lower than that of open-pollinated seeds. The nutshell in the apomictic seeds was thicker than that of open-pollinated seeds. The total protein contents in the kernels were 226.9±3.90 and 228.1±3.98 g·kg -1 in the apomictic and open-pollinated seeds, respectively. The fat contents in the kernels from apomictic and open-pollinated seeds were 567.2±3.53 and 564.3±2.43 g·kg -1 . respectively, and no difference was found between apomictic seeds and open-pollinated seeds. The contents of N. P. Mg and Fe in the kernels of apomictic seeds were lower than those of open-pollinated seeds, and no difference was found between apomictic and open-pollinated seeds. The contents of Ca and Mn in the kernels of apomictic seeds were significantly lower than those of open-pollinated seeds (P<0.01 ). The K content in the kernels of apomictic seeds was significantly lower than that of open-pollinated seeds (P<0.05). The contents of Cu in the kernels of apomictic seeds were significantly higher than those of open-pollinated seeds (P<0.01). and the contents of Zn in the kernels of apomictic seeds were significantly higher than those of open-pollinated seeds (P<0.05).
Buckwheat is rich in the flavonoid rutin and other compounds beneficial to human health. Buckwheat is used traditionally as a health food in the treatment of different diseases, but there have been few studies of its effects on symptoms and well-being. This study aimed to investigate the effects on general and mucosal symptoms of the consumption of two types or buckwheat: Tartary buckwheat (TBW; Fagopyrum tataricum Gaertn.) and common buckwheat (CBW; F. esculentum Moench). Cookies were produced from both types of buckwheat flour. TBW cookies contained 2,530 mg rutin and 1,620 mg quercetin kg(-1) dry weight (DW). CBW cookies contained less rutin, i.e. 270 mg kg(-1) DW, while quercetin was below the detection limit. A double-blind random crossover study was performed with 62 healthy women. Participants were divided randomly into two groups. The First group consumed four TBW cookies per day (359.7 mg rutin-equivalents day(-1)) whereas the second group consumed four CBW cookies per day (16.5 mg rutin day(-1)), for two weeks. The groups then switched the type of cookies and consumed them for a further two weeks (four cookies daily). We monitored ocular, nasal, and throat symptoms, headache, fatigue, and nausea using symptom scales. Both types of cookies had positive effects on symptoms compared with the baseline. TBW initially reduced fatigue symptoms (p<0.05), although it increased ocular symptoms (p<0.05). In conclusion, buckwheat consumption generally reduced the symptoms analyzed in this study. A daily consumption of 359.7 mg rutin-equivalents day(-1) in the form of TBW cookies reduced fatigue in healthy subjects and it did not increase the levels of symptoms.
This paper investigated the farm level diversity in operation and farm performances under two different governance situations in irrigation systems of Punjab Province of Pakistan: Farmer-Managed (FMIS) and Government-Managed Irrigation Scheme (GMIS). Questionnaire surveys and multivariate analyses were conducted. Farms typology was developed based on farm size. Results reveal a water-land-farming strategy nexus. Larger farms perform better in both schemes. Wheat cropping is a strategic choice, specialized, and exclusive, with low input, and low income. Conversely, maize and rice cropping tit well in diversification and intensification strategies, leading to higher farm income. Also poor financial basis and extension services for smaller farms do not support intensification and diversification. The paper shows that productivity of production factors, level of intensification, farm size are closely interlocked, in a general context of poor performances and institutional reforms. Groundwater access is also a key to success, since canal irrigation only cannot sustain an intensification-diversification process. The paper concludes that transfer of canal irrigation management to farmers will not solve all issues, and yet remains probably the only long-term solution. Areas for public intervention on, inter alia, land, finance, extension, markets remain necessary in FMIS and towards smaller farms.
Camel milk was collected from eight locations in Jordan from north to south and was subjected to analysis of chemical and physical properties and vitamin and mineral contents. There was a wide variation in the chemical composition of camel milk collected from different locations with ranges of 21.0 (Al Jweideh) to 24.9% (Wadi Araba) for crude protein, 28.2 (Wadi Araba) to 45.8% (As Safawi) for fat, 6.1 (As Safawi) to 7.3% (Wadi Araba) for ash, 23.8 (As Safawi) to 41.0% (Al Jweideh) for lactose and 10.5 (Al Qatrana) to 17.2% (As Safawi) for thy matter. Camel milk acidity ranged from 0.12 to 0.15% and no significant differences were found in specific gravity values (1.01-1.03 g/ml) for milk collected from different locations. Refractive Index values varied significantly and ranged between 1.3470 (Al Qatrana) and 1.3524 (Al Khalidyah). Total soluble solids ranged between 9.5 (Al Jweideh) and 12.9% (Al Khalidyah). For mineral contents of camel milk collected from different locations, variations were significant for all analyzed minerals except for copper, iron and manganese. This study recommends using camel milk as a nutriceutical and functional food. The camel milk could be used as a new product in food technology.
Dietary red palm oil (RPO) supplementation offers protection against ischaemia/reperfusion injury. Several pathways have been suggested to convey this protection. Recently it has been shown that RPO supplementation increases glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activity in the myocardium, but the mechanism behind this increase in GPX activity remains unknown. Antioxidant activity is known to play a role in pro-survival kinase signaling. The involvement of extracellular signal regulated kinases (ERK) early in reperfusion gave different results in previous studies, depending upon the diet to which RPO was supplemented. The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of dietary RPO supplementation on ERK 1/2 phosphorylation and GPX1, GPX3 and GPX4 transcription. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups. 1) SRC control group fed a standard rat chow diet (SRC) for 6 weeks and 2) RPO experimental group fed a standard rat chow diet supplemented with 2 ml of RPO olein per day. After the feeding period, rats were sacrificed and hearts perfused on a working heart perfusion apparatus. Cardiac function was measured before and after ischaemia in order to determine aortic output recovery. Hearts were also freeze clamped at 20 min perfusion, 10 min reperfusion and 25 min reperfusion, in order to determine the level of ERK and phosphorylated ERK by Western blotting. Regulation of glutathione peroxidase mRNA was determined before ischaemia using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RPO supplementation did not produce significant changes in GPX1 or GPX3 mRNA expression when compared to the SRC control group. The MRNA expression of GPX4 was significantly higher in the RPO supplemented group when compared to controls. ERK44 phosphorylation was significantly higher in the RPO supplemented group when compared to the control group at 20 min perfusion. Our results confirmed improved aortic output recovery in the RPO group, as reported in previous studies after ischaemia/reperfusion injury. The minor changes found in ERK phosphorylation in this study may suggest that RPO has little effect on this pathway. However, the increase at baseline should be investigated further. Our findings also suggest that RPO may increase glutathione peroxidase activity, through upregulation of the mRNA levels of GPX4.
The effect of drench applications of combinations of chlormequat chloride (2-chloroethyl-N,N,N-trimethyl-ammonium chloride) and daminozide (N-dimethyl amino succinamic acid) on the growth and pigment concentration of the poinsettias cv. Christmas Feelings was studied. Combinations of chlormequat chloride (500, 1500 or 3000 mg·L -1 ) and daminozide (2500 and 5000 mg·L -1 ) were applied three times. Root drench application of a combination of chlormequat chloride and daminozide did not cause visible phytotoxic symptoms on plants. No interaction between chlormequat chloride and daminozide was found for height and diameter of the plants, or area and dry weight of the leaves and bracts. Daminozide after the second application caused shorter plants compared to the control, while after the third application both chlormequat chloride at 1500 and 3000 mg·L -1 and daminozide at 5000 mg·L -1 caused around 20% shorter plants. Leaves and bract area were affected only by chlormequat chloride, and compared to the control, they increased with application of 500 mg·L -1 chlormequat chloride and decreased at higher application rates. An interaction between tested compounds after the third application was found for the length of laterals, dry weight of the main stem and laterals and pigment concentration. The length of laterals was the most reduced for the combination of the highest rates of both compounds, whereas the dry weight of the main stem and laterals increased at the lowest concentrations. Chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoid content in leaves was enhanced compared to the control in combinations where daminozide was applied at 2500 mg·L -1 , whereas in bracts, the chlorophyll and carotenoid levels increased for all chlormequat chloride and daminozide combinations.
A new microalga was isolated from a clarifier tank of an industrial textile plant. The main goal of this study was to identify and to determine optimal culture conditions of the isolated alga and to test its involvement in reducing dye pollution. The pollution reduction of four industrial textile dyes (indigo, remazol brilliant orange, direct blue and crystal violet) was evaluated with chemical oxygen demand (COD) exhaustion and with alga color removal measured under shaking conditions. Our results showed that unicellular alga has both autotrophic and heterotrophic growth with a photosynthetic activity producing pigments (chlorophyll a), thus the new isolated unicellular green alga may be Chlorella. For the green alga, optimum culture conditions were pH 8, temperature 25°C and salinity at 15 g L -1 . Furthermore, this alga has the capacity to reduce COD and color removal of indigo textile dye at rates of 89% and 46%, respectively, within five days. The results suggest the importance of unicellular green alga as an environmental preservation system.
An experiment was carried out to study the supplementation effect of four different mixed enzymes on the performance, water intake, litter moisture and jejunal digesta viscosity of chicks fed barley compared to those fed barley and the corn diets without enzyme. Addition of enzyme supplementation to the barley-based diet significantly (P<0.05) increased feed intake (FI) during grower period and overall period (only for enzyme C). Body weight (BW) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were significantly (P<0.05) improved in starter and grower periods by all enzymes. Overall, from 0 to 42 days BW was significantly (P<0.05) increased by enzyme supplementation but only birds that received enzymes B, C and D had similar performance compared with broilers fed on the corn-based diet. Generally, from 0 to 42 d of age, FCR was significantly (P<0.05) decreased when diets containing enzymes were compared to barley-based diet without enzyme, but there were no significant differences among diets containing enzymes A, B and D and the corn-based diet. The carcass weight, carcass yield, and the relative weight of the abdominal fat were significantly (P<0.05) increased by enzyme addition. However, the relative weight of the breast, legs, liver, and gizzard as percentage of live weight were not affected by enzyme supplementation. Enzyme supplementation decreased viscosity of jejunal contents of chicks at Day 28, but only enzymes C and D reduced significantly (P<0.05) the viscosity of jejunum compared to barley-based diet without enzyme. In addition, water to feed ratio and litter moisture decreased by addition of all enzymes at 16, 24, and 33 days of age. Addition of all four different enzymes is effective to overcome anti-nutritive effect on broiler performance. In conclusion, there were similar improvements on FCR of birds fed diets with enzyme supplementation, and choice preference of enzyme supplementation should be based on its economic value.
Effects of tillage depth and forward speed on draft of three primary tillage implements were studied by using a tension load cell in clay loam soil. Implements included a moldboard plow, a disk plow and a chisel plow, each of them with one tillage unit. A photoelectric speed sensor was used for measuring forward speed. The effects of forward speed and tillage depth on draft measurements were investigated through strip-split plot design. A significant increase in draft was observed for all the implements with increase in tillage depth and forward speed. Comparing of average draft in treatments with Duncan's multiple range test showed that moldboard plow in highest forward speed and tillage depth had maximum draft and disk plow in lowest forward speed and tillage depth had minimum draft values. The relationships between draft and forward speed are presented graphically.
The increasing use of internet in different tasks, including E-shopping can be considered as a crucial alternative approach to decrease the problems throughout the mega cities especially metropolitans. Among the most substantial and positive results of this approach are reduction of private vehicle traffic for shopping purposes, energy consumption and also air pollution. For this purpose, District 1, of Tehran, among total 22 districts of this metropolitan, has been selected because of high traffic and air pollution level. Using distribution of 500 questionnaires, including 10 closed questions, randomly among the habitants, this study aims to analysis data according to data frequency method and relation between daily inner travels and traveled distances for shopping purposes. The results show that among total habitants (320,800) of the study area, 87,241 persons possess private vehicle which result in approximately 89,867 trips for shopping purposes (supermarkets or grocery stores). Suffering from high level of air pollution, 55% of respondents greatly considered e-shopping to play a crucial role in reduction of different kinds of pollution, while 10(X. have rejected the efficiency of this method and the other 39% have not had any clear idea. Finally, it is concluded that e-shopping is an effective method in reduction of air pollution and can lead to considerable decrease of energy consumption (71%) and air pollution (39%) resulted from substitution of delivery vans with personal trips for supermarket goods.
