Conditioning Period (conditioning + period)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Conditioning period, CO2 and GR24 influence ethylene biosynthesis and germination of Striga hermonthica

PHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM, Issue 1 2000
Abdel Gabbar T. Babiker
Germination of witchweed (Striga hermonthica [Del.] Benth), an important root parasite on poaceous crops, requires pretreatment ,conditioning' in a warm moist environment and a subsequent exposure to a stimulant. The roles of conditioning period, CO2 and a strigol analogue (GR24) in ethylene biosynthesis and germination of the parasite were investigated. Conditioning increased the seeds' capacity to oxidize exogenous 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC). Exogenous CO2 increased the seeds capacity to oxidize ACC by 3- to 9-fold. A combination of GR24 and ACC increased ethylene production by more than 3-fold in comparison with the rates obtained using these compounds separately. Aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG) completely inhibited ethylene induction by GR24, but not by ACC. A GR24 treatment, made subsequent to conditioning in GR24, did not induce ethylene. However, seeds conditioned in GR24 and then given 1 mM ACC produced 293 nl l,1 ethylene. ACC oxidase (ACCO) activity in crude extracts was increased by conditioning and CO2. The enzyme displayed an absolute requirement for ascorbate. Absence of exogenous Fe2+ reduced enzyme activity only by 14%. GR24 applied during conditioning reduced germination in response to a subsequent GR24 treatment. ACC was, invariably, less effective in inducing S. hermonthica germination than GR24 even at concentrations which induce more ethylene than concurrent GR24 treatments. The results are consistent with a model in which conditioning removes a restriction on the ethylene biosynthetic pathway in S. hermonthica seeds. GR24 modulates the key enzymes in ethylene biosynthesis. The stimulant suppresses ethylene biosynthesis in unconditioned seeds and promotes it in conditioned ones. Germination of S. hermonthica results from the joint action of GR24 and the ethylene it induces. [source]


Effect of conditioning horses with short intervals at high speed on biochemical variables in blood

EQUINE VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue S36 2006
A. LINDNER
Summary Reasons for performing study: There is limited published work on the effect of training using intensive and short intervals of exercise to condition horses for racing. Objectives: To examine the effect of conditioning horses 1, 2 or 3 x a week using 2 short fast exercise intervals on blood lactate (LA), plasma ammonia (NH3) and urea (urea) as well as creatine kinase (CK) activity. Methods: Thoroughbreds (age 4,5 years) were conditioned at near maximal speed (12,14 m/sec) over 100 m, on 2 occasions separated by a 10 min period at walk, on dirt track (conditioning exercise; CE) during a 6 week conditioning period (CP). The CE was undertaken either once (5 horses), twice (5 horses) or 3 times a week (4 horses) during a CP. Before, every 2 weeks during and after the CP, blood was drawn during the CE at 0, 2 and 4 min after each run and additionally 6 min after the 2nd run to measure blood LA and determine the maximal LA post exercise (LAmax). Plasma NH3 was measured in the same samples and the maximal NH3 post exercise (NH3max) determined. Additional blood samples were taken from the horses when stabled before the CE, and 12 and 24 h after to measure urea and CK activity in plasma. Results: There was no differential effect of the number of weekly CE on LAmax, NH3max, LA and NH3 immediately after exercise (LAO and NH30). Conditioning did not have an effect on LAmax and LAO after the 1st interval (P>0.05), but LAO after the 2nd interval was lower after conditioning. NH3max after the 1st and 2nd exercise interval decreased in response to the conditioning, but not NH3 immediately after exercise (P>0.05). Median plasma CK activity 12 h after exercise was higher than before exercise and returned to pre-exercise levels 24 h post exercise when horses were exercised once and twice/week. In contrast, the median plasma CK activity of horses exercising 3 times/week remained at the pre-exercise level 12 and 24 h post exercise (P>0.05). Conclusion: Conditioning horses with 2 intervals of 100 m at near maximal speed had a positive effect on blood LA and plasma NH3. Potential relevance: With the type of exercise examined, the fitness of racing horses can be maintained and eventually improved. In further studies the effect of increasing the number of runs in one exercise session should be investigated. [source]


Reevaluation of the Dietary Protein Requirement of Japanese Flounder Paralichthys olivaceus

JOURNAL OF THE WORLD AQUACULTURE SOCIETY, Issue 2 2003
Kangwoong Kim
An experiment was conducted to determine the dietary protein requirement by different analysis methods and to study the effects of dietary protein levels on growth performance and body composition in Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus fed white fish meal and casein-based diets for 8 wk. After a 1-wk conditioning period, one of six isocaloric diets containing 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, and 60% crude protein (CP) was fed to fish at approximately 4,5% of wet body weight on a dry matter basis to triplicate groups of 15 fish averaging 13.3 ± 0.06 g (mean ± SD). After 8 wk of the feeding trial, weight gain (WG) and feed efficiency (FE) from fish fed 48% CP diet were similar to those from fish fed 42% and 54% CP diets, and were significantly higher than those from fish fed 30, 36 and 60% CP diets (P < 0.05). Fish fed 48 and 54% CP diets had a significant higher specific growth rate (SGR) than did fish fed 30 and 36% CP diets (P 0.05). Protein efficiency ratio (PER) was inversely related to the dietary protein level. No significant differences existed in hematocrit (PCV) and survival rate among the dietary treatments. Broken-line model analysis indicated that the optimum dietary protein level could be 44.0 ± 3.0% for maximum WG in Japanese flounder. Polynomial regression analysis of the dose-response showed that maximum WG occurred at 50.2% (R2= 0.94) based on WG, and the second-order polynomial regression analysis with 95% confidence limits revealed that the range of minimum protein requirement was between 38.9% and 40.3% based on WG. Therefore, these findings suggest that the optimum dietary protein requirement for maximum growth of Japanese flounder is greater than 40%, but less than 44% CP in the fish meal and casein-based diets containing 17.0 kJ/g of energy. [source]


Short-term food deprivation does not improve the efficacy of a fish oil finishing strategy in Murray cod

AQUACULTURE NUTRITION, Issue 6 2009
G. PALMERI
Abstract Two groups of fish (Maccullochella peelii peelii) were fed for a 90-day conditioning period on a canola oil diet (CO) or a fish oil diet (FO). Canola oil diet fed fish were then shifted to the FO diet for a 90-day finishing period. A variable period of starvation (0, 5, 10 and 15 days) was introduced to reduce the initial lipid level of CO fed fish at the beginning of the finishing period and therefore accelerate the rate of recovery of FO-like fatty acids. During starvation, fish did not show significant reduction in total lipid content, either in the fillet or whole body. At the end of the conditioning period, fatty acid composition of the diet was mirrored in fish tissues. These differences came close to levelling out following re-feeding, with the exception of n - 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). However, no effects of the starvation periods on the final fatty acid make-up of fish were recorded. The results of this trial show that Murray cod, when subjected to a starvation period of up to 15 days, does not lose an appreciable quantity of lipid and, therefore, the tested starvation approach to reduce the initial level of lipid has to be considered unsuccessful. [source]