Effects of early energy and protein restriction on growth performance, clinical blood parameters, carcass yield, and tibia parameters of broilers

financially supported by the Science and Technology Develop Project of Northern Jiangsu, China （BN2015136）;the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institution, China

Experimental study using the dilution incubation method to assess water biostability

Water biostability is of particular concern to water supply as a major limiting factor for heterotrophic bacterial growth in water distribution systems. This study focused on bacterial growth dynamics in the series dilution of water samples with TOC（total organic carbon） values determined beforehand. The results showed that the specific growth rate of Pseudomonas fluorescens P17 varied dramatically and irregularly with TOC value when TOC concentrations were low enough during the initial periods of incubation under given conditions. According to this relationship between bacterial growth rate and TOC, a dilution incubation method was designed for the study of water biostability. With the method under a given condition, a turning-point TOC value was found at a relatively fixed point in the curve between bacterial growth rate and TOC of water sample, and the variation of growth rate had different characteristics below the turning-point TOC value relative to that over this value. A turning-point TOC value similarly existed in all experiments not only with tap water, but also with acetate and mixed solutions. And in the dilution incubation method study, the affections were analyzed by condition factors such as inoculum amount,incubation time and nature of the organic carbon source. In very low organic carbon water environments, the variation characteristics of bacterial growth rate will be useful to further understand the meaning of water biostability.

Assessment of heavy metal accumulation in freshwater fish of Dongting Lake,China:Effects of feeding habits,habitat preferences and body size

We measured the concentrations of Cr,Fe,Ni,Cu,Zn,Cd,Pb and Hg,and the stable isotope ratios(δ^(13)C and δ^(15)N)in 87 fish samples within 12 economic fish species collected from the Dongting Lake,the second largest freshwater lake in China.With few exceptions in concentration of Cr,most of fish species showed lower concentrations of the 8 metals than legislation thresholds.Piscivorous fishes had significantly higher values of δ^(15)N(possessing higher trophic level)and metal concentrations than planktivorous and herbivorous fishes.Moreover,demersal fishes showed higher concentrations of Cu,Zn,Cd and Pb than pelagic and benthopelagic fishes.We found positive correlations between concentrations of Fe,Pb and Hg and δ^(15)N ratio,confirming the biomagnification of the three metals through trophic transfer.In contrast,fishes showed clear growth dilution effect for Ni,Zn,Cu,Pb and Hg,indicated by the negative correlations between their concentrations and fish weight or length.Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that growth dilution and biomagnification effects simultaneously governed the metal concentrations in fish muscle,and the two effects'importance varied among different metals.The human health risk assessment indicated that all 8 metals gave target hazard quotient(THQ)values<1.0,i.e.,the estimated daily intake(EDI)of metals did not exceed the oral reference dose(Rf D),indicating a safe consumption of these fish species for consumer.Our study provides comprehensive approaches to better understand the determining processes and potential risk of heavy metals in freshwater lake fishes.

Cadmium,chromium,copper,iron,lead,mercury,nickel,and zinc in freshwater fish:Assessing trophic transfer using stable isotope ratios ofδ^(15)N andδ^(13)C

Introduction The health benefits of consuming aquatic organisms are clear,given their high protein count,low saturated fats,and low cholesterol content.Fish,in particular,contains valuable nutrients(e.g.,omega-3 polyunsaturated fats),vitamins,essential elements,and is therefore considered an important part of a balanced human diet.China is a major seafood producer,accounting for 58%of global production in 2018(Crona et al.,2020).China is the largest seafood consuming country in the world,with consumption rates steadily increasing.Since the 1978 Chinese economic reform,the amount of seafood consumed per capita in China increased from 5 kg per capita in 1980 to 41 kg in 2015(Zhang et al.,2021).By 2030,the overall amount of fish consumption will likely exceed the amount of fish production in China.