The localization of the estradiol and progesterone binding sites in the shell gland under various functional conditions was examined histochemically using FITC conjugated BSA-ste-roids. The bindings of these steroid derivatives were observed specifically in the mucous
Explanation of FiguresFigs.1-6. Frozen sections of the shell gland tissue incubated with steroid-BSA-FITC.E: mucous epithelium, LP: lamina propria, S : space between mucous plicaeFig.1. E2-BSA-FITC treated section of laying hen's shell gland. Fluorescence induced by FITC can be observed in the mucous epithelium (green in color). ×200.Fig.2. Same section as in Fig.1. ×400.Fig.3. P-BSA-FITC treated section of laying hen's shell gland. ×400.Fig.4. E2-BSA-FITC treated section of immature hen's shell gland. ×400.Fig.5. E2-BSA-FITC treated section of non-laying hen's shell gland. Arrows show non-specific fluorescence (orange in color). ×400.Fig.6. Control section for E2-BSA-FITC treatment in laying hen's shell gland. ×400.
epithelial cells, but not in the other tissues of the shell gland of laying hens. Weaker fluorescence of these steroid derivatives was observed only in the apical portion of the mucous epithelial cells in immature and non-laying hens.

View full abstract

The effect of starvation on the rate of clearance of yeast cells was studied in 5-week-old chicks. Phagocytic and bacteriocidal activities were also investigated in the heterophils taken from abdominal cavities of chicks starved for 24 or 48 hours. The changes in peripheral leucocyte counts and plasma cortisol level indicate that chicks starved enough to be analysed of clearance rate, phagocytic and bacteriocidal activities. The phagocytic activity of heterophils assessed by per cent inhibition of ³H-uridine uptake by S.cerevisiae was unchanged or activated by starvation. In contrast with phagocytic activity, the rate of clearance in chicks and the bacteriocidal activity of heterophils were lowered by starvation. The extents of the reduction in clearance rate and of the inhibition in bacteriocidal activitywere paralleled by duration of starvation. It is concluded that the inhibitory effect of starvation on the bacteriocidal activitiy of heterophils may be a cause of the reduction in clearance rate.

View full abstract

The effects of high doses of ascorbic acid (AA) on growing chicks were investigated in two experiments. Broiler and White Leghorn day-old male chicks were fed a basal diet (control) and a AA supplemented diet, which was supplemented with AA at varying levels to the basal diet, for three or four weeks.
1) The supplementation of AA, even at levels as high as 3%, had no appreciable effects on body weight gain, feed intake and feed efficiency. In addition, no significant differences in liver, kidney, pancreas, spleen, testis, adrenal and thyroid weights among dietary treatments were observed, though both adrenal and thyroid weights of the chicks receiving supplemental AA tended to be slightly heavier compared to those of control chicks.
2) Blood (whole blood or blood plasma) AA level was significantly influenced by AA supplementation and that level was 1.3 to 2.6 times higher than that of controls and was shown to elevate in proportion to the increase of supplemental AA in the diet.
3) Liver and adrenal AA levels in chicks fed the AA supplemented diet were 1.5 to 1.8 times and 1.2 to 1.3 times higher than those in control chicks, respectivery, and the former was a significant elevation but the latter was not. When the chicks were fed the diet which was supplemented with AA at a level of 1.5% or above, their lever and adrenal AA levels were both almost the same.
4) Neither the activities of transaminases (GOT and GPT) and alkaline phosphatase nor the levels of calcium and total cholesterol in blood serum were significantly affected by the supplementation of AA.
5) Results obtained suggest that high doses of AA, even at levels as high as 3.0%, have no adverse effects on growing chicks.

View full abstract

This study was of the effects of dietary selenium levels on the concentration of selenium in red blood cells and plasm of laying hens. Glutathione peroxidase activity was also measured.
Ten laying hens 215 days old were used. For three weeks, they were placed on a diet containing 0.24mg of selenium per kilogram of feed, and for the next three weeks, on a diet containing 0.06mg of selenium. This was repeated for a total test period of fifteen weeks. At the end of each three-week period, blood samples were taken, and the red blood cells and plasma separated. The selenium concentration and enzyme activity were then assayed.
The selenium level of both red blood cells and plasma significantly decreased (p<0.01) with the low-selenium diet; however, the selenium level in the red blood cells was still higher than in the plasma. The enzyme activity of plasma decreased significantly with decreases in dietary selenium, but the enzyme activity of red blood cells did not.
When the dietary selenium level was decreased from 0.24 to 0.06mg per kilogram of feed, the selenium level of the red blood cells compared to that of the plasma changed from 1:0.5 to 1:0.3, and the ratio of enzyme activity of the red blood cells to the plasma changed from 1:6.4 to 1:4.0. Those results suggested that selenium is easily incorporated into red blood cells and more stable there than in plasma.

View full abstract

True metabolizable energy (TME, TMEn) and apparent metabolizable energy (AMEn) values of yellow grease and soybean oil were detemined using adult roosters. Three basal diets (corn, soybean meal and commercial formulated diet for growing chicks) and four levels of added fats (0, 5, 10, 15%) were used for the experiment.
The AME values of yellow grease and soybean oil were significantly higher when soybean meal was used as a basal diet than when corn or the formulated diet was used and tended to decrease with higher level of dietary inclusion.
The THE and TMEn values of the fats differed according to the basal diets. The THE values of the fats were tended to increase with the level of dietary inclusion, but the TMEn values of the fats were tended to decrease.
It was observed that those values of the fats exceeded gross energy in some cases.

View full abstract