The amino acid requirements of growing turkeys. 1. Model construction and parameter estimation.

A model has been formulated to calculate the protein and amino acid requirements for growing turkeys. A requirement was taken as the sum of the needs for maintenance, for gain in carcass weight without feathers, and for the feathers. Parameters used in the model were obtained from a study of carcass composition along the growth period and from two balance trials with adult turkeys.

Handling of water and dietary monovalent ions by the young turkey.

Sodium and water turnover rates were measured in young turkeys fed diets with three concentrations of NaCl and kept at 12, 18 or 30 degrees C. Sodium absorption averaged approximately 60% and was unaffected by temperature. Water and sodium pools were affected by temperature and sodium intake.

Cholecalciferol requirements of young turkeys under normal conditions and during recovery from rickets.

Day-old turkeys fed vitamin D-deficient diets became rachitic within 17-24 days. The symptoms included reductions in body weight, plasma calcium and inorganic phosphorus, plasma and intestinal calcium-binding protein (CaBP), plasma 25-hydroxycholecalciferol [25(OH)D3], bone ash, and kidney 25(OH)D3-24-hydroxylase and a rise in kidney 25(OH)D3-1-hydroxylase activity. Supplementation of the diet with 12.

Glucose absorption and starch digestion in the intestine of the chicken.

Starch digestion and glucose absorption were determined in vivo along the chick's (Gallus domesticus) intestine, using 91Y and 51Cr-EDTA as unabsorbed reference substances. About 65% of the ingested starch was digested up to the end of the duodenum, 85% up to the end of the jejunum and about 97% at the terminal ileum. A fraction of about 97% of the glucose, ingested or released from ingested starch, was absorbed.

Phosphate absorption and excretion in the young turkey, as influenced by calcium intake.

Phosphorus absorption in the young turkey, measured with the aid of yttrium-91 as a reference substance, was linear with phosphorus intake. This observation suggested the lack of adaptation of the phosphorus transport mechanism to changes in the phosphorus needs. Phosphorus retention and bone ash initially increased with increased intake to plateau at a dietary phosphorus concentration of about 0.

Differential response of calcium transport systems in laying hens to exogenous and endogenous changes in vitamin D status.

Changes in intestinal calcium absorption, calcium deposition into egg shell, and intestinal, renal and uterine calcium-binding protein (CaBP) in laying hens were related to changes in 25 hydroxycholecalciferol-1-hydroxylase activity (1-hydroxylase), or to the supplementation of 1alpha-hydroxycholecalciferol (1alpha-OH-CC). The onset of egg production resulted in an increased kidney 1-hydroxylase activity and intestinal and uterine CaBP. Renal concentrations of CaBP remained unchanged.

Regulation of intestinal calcium absorption in the laying quail: independent of kidney vitamin D hydroxylation.

Two experiments were carried out with laying quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) fed either cholecalciferol (40 mug/kg) or 1 alpha-hydroxycholecalciferol (8 mug/kg). Recovery following vitamin D depletion, as indicated by egg production and shell deposition, was faster in quail fed 1 alpha-hydroxycholecalciferol than in those fed cholecalciferol. Overall intestinal calcium absorption was higher in the 1 alpha-hydroxycholecalciferol-fed quail due to a higher absorption in the middle parts of the small intestine.

Calcium-binding protein and calcium absorption in the laying quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica).

A vitamin D3-dependent calcium-binding protein (CaBP) has been found in the intestinal mucosa of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). This protein is similar, if not identical to that of the chick (Gallus domesticus). A similar protein fraction appears also in uterine mucosa of laying quail.

51Cr-EDTA, 91Y and 141Ce as nonabsorbed reference substances in the gastrointestinal tract of the chicken.

The use of 91Y, 51Cr-EDTA, and 141Cr as nonabosrbed reference substances in the gastrointestinal tract of the chick was examined. In single oral dose experiments, more than 95% of the isotopes administered was recovered from the gastrointestinal tract 3 hours after dosing. 51Cr was higher in blood than the other isotopes tested.

Semipermeable ion-exchange membranes as a preconcentration matrix for trace analysis by electrochemical and neutron-activation techniques.

Ion-exchange membranes were used in conjunction with neutron-activation analysis and anodic stripping voltammetry for the determination of certain trace metal ions. The various parameters which govern the applicability, limitations and sensitivity of the methods were investigated. A new membrane "barrier" electrode assembly was introduced and found to be useful for the anodic stripping determination of trace metal ions in the presence of surface active materials.