502. The vitamin A potency of New Zealand butter

1953 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. K. R. McDowell ◽  
F. H. McDowall

Results of a survey of the carotene and vitamin A contents, and of the vitamin A potency, of New Zealand butterfat and butter, are presented. The butter samples were drawn from twenty representative commercial factories at fortnightly intervals over three successive years (1946–8). The survey covers the analysis of 1517 samples of fresh butter and 670 samples of stored butter.There were uniform and regularly recurring seasonal variations in both carotene and vitamin A contents of butterfats from all North Island districts. Maximum values were found in the late-autumn/winter/early-spring, and minimum values in the late-summer/early-autumn butterfats. The seasonal trends were thus distinctly different from those which have been reported for northern hemisphere butterfats, for which the maximum values are commonly found during the summer grazing period.The seasonal variations in carotene and vitamin A contents of South Island butterfat were less marked and less consistent than those in the corresponding values for North Island butterfat.

1963 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. H. McDowall ◽  
W. A. McGillivray

SummaryIn two outdoor feeding trials with monozygotic twin cows during the spring and early summer months the effects of mature and immature H1 short rotation ryegrass on the composition of the butterfat produced and on the carotene and vitamin A contents of the butterfat and the blood were compared. In both trials the characteristics investigated were markedly affected by the stage of maturity of the grass. The butterfat from cows receiving immature ryegrass was more unsaturated and had higher carotene and vitamin A contents than that from cows receiving mature ryegrass. The blood of cows fed immature ryegrass also contained more carotene than the blood of cows fed mature ryegrass.It is suggested that variation in the stage of maturity of New Zealand dairy pastures throughout the year is an important factor contributing to the seasonal variations in the characteristics and the carotene and vitamin A contents of commercial butterfat. The influence of stage of maturity is probably associated with the quantity and nature of the pasture lipids.


1947 ◽  
Vol 15 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 80-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. R. Barnicoat

1. Chemical estimations of carotene and vitamin A in New Zealand butters from two of the principal butter-making districts of the North Island during the seasons 1935–6 show that the total vitamin A potency was fairly high.2. There were seasonal variations apparently due to nutritional rather than physiological causes. The minimum values (33–37 i.u./g. butterfat) for total vitamin A were found in late summer (February) at the time when the pasture normally tends to dry up, while the peak values (42–53 i.u./g. butterfat) occurred in late winter and spring (July-October). The variations in vitamin A potency with season were in the opposite direction to the variations recorded in the literature for Europe and America. The difference is no doubt due to the practice of stall-feeding in these countries in contrast with the all-the-year-round grazing commonly practised on dairy farms in New Zealand. The spring flush of grass is also later in the season in Europe than in New Zealand.3. The more deeply-coloured Jersey butterfat was only slightly richer in total vitamin A potency than Friesian butterfat.4. Contents of carotene and vitamin A in the fat of colostrum were very high, but reached normal values within 4 or 5 days after parturition.


1970 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-298
Author(s):  
A. C. Rowland

SUMMARYThe seasonal incidence of rumen and liver lesions is recorded in traditional and in intensively managed cattle, together with the vitamin A status of the two groups. Rumen lesions were observed to reach a peak in the late winter and early spring in traditional cattle, at which time the liver vitamin A levels fell to the lowest point; liver lesions reached a peak in the late summer. No specific trend was observable in rumen and liver lesions in the barley beef group. The mean levels of vitamin A were approximately one-third of those shown by the traditionally managed animals.It did not prove possible using the agglutination test to identify the sera of animals showing active hepatic necrobacillosis at the time of slaughter.


1995 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 617 ◽  
Author(s):  
SH Hooker ◽  
RG Creese

An examination of the reproductive condition of a population of paua, H. iris, at Leigh in north-eastern New Zealand during 1986-87 revealed a long breeding season extending from late summer through autumn and winter and into early spring. Within this period, a sharp decrease of over 60% in the gonad index for both males and females indicated major spawning events in July and October. A smaller decrease in the gonad index in March suggested a third, minor spawning. These spawning events were confirmed by regular examination of histological sections of gonadal material. This breeding pattern is different from that previously described for southern localities in New Zealand, where spawning activity is limited to a four-month period from late summer into autumn. Paua in this northern population had a sex ratio slightly biased towards males (1 female to every 1.3 males) and achieved reproductive maturity between the sizes of 48 and 60 mm shell length. These features are also different from those described for southern populations of H. iris. These findings highlight the need to take regional differences in reproductive pattern into account when describing the population dynamics of marine gastropods.


Soil Research ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 985 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z Tan ◽  
RG Mclaren ◽  
KC Cameron

Seasonal variations in different forms of extractable sulfur (S) were examined in three New Zealand soils under permanent pasture. The concentrations of total extractable S, extractable inorganic sulfate-S (SO2-4-S), and extractable organic HI-reducible sulfur (HI-S) and carbon-bonded sulfur (C-S) were determined in field moist samples using four different extractants. During the course of the year, extractable SO2-4-S levels varied substantially. Concentrations of SO42--S in the soils peaked in the early spring and, for two of the soils, remained at relatively low levels throughout the rest of the year. The third soil, however, following a decrease in concentration in late spring, showed a continuous increase in SO2-4-S during the summer and autumn period. Concentrations of extractable organic C-S in soils were generally highest in the winter and declined significantly during the spring. Extractable organic HI-S concentrations fluctuated throughout the year with no clear trends. The proportions of the three forms of extractable S in soils also varied seasonally. The proportions of extractable organic HI-S in soils were more constant compared with the other two forms of S and generally accounted for less than 20% of the total extractable S. The seasonal changes in the proportions of SO2-4-S appeared to be inversely related to the changes in extractable C-S. This suggests that under the field conditions, the extractable organic C-S fraction is readily mineralized to sulfate when conditions are favourable for mineralization to take place.


Author(s):  
M. V. Carter

Abstract A description is provided for Eutypa armeniacae. Information is included on the disease caused by the organism, its transmission, geographical distribution, and hosts. HOSTS: As a pathogen on apricot (Prunus armeniaca) and Ceanothus spp. As a saprophyte on apricot (Prunus armeniaca), almond (Prunus amygdalus[Prunus dulcis]), apple (Malus sylvestris, walnut (Juglans regia), grapevine (Vitis vinifera), tamarisk (Tamarix sp.), Ceanothus spp. and Berberis darwinii. DISEASE: 'Gummosis' or 'dieback' of apricots in Australia (Adam et al., 1952). 'Cytosporina dieback' of apricots in California (42, 474). A contributing factor to the syndrome known as 'apricot apoplexy' in various European countries (Carter, private communications). Dieback of Ceanothus spp. in Australia and California (Moller et al., 1971). The dieback disease of apricots is also known to be associated with this pathogen in New Zealand (40, 88) and South Africa (Price, 1973). On apricot, the classical symptoms occur on trees of all ages: cankering, sometimes associated with exudation of gum, in the vicinity of wounds which expose the sapwood, most commonly those made by pruning instruments. Ultimately the leaves on the part of the branch distal to the canker wither and die, usually in mid- to late summer, typically remaining attached for many months because no abscission layer has formed. Internally, the sapwood is discoloured light brown to dark brown, with a dffluse margin. Pycnidia may appear, usually in winter, on wood and bark nearby advanced infections. The pycnidiospores have never been seen to germinate and appear to have no role in transmission of the pathogen. Perithecia are immersed in a stroma which may develop two or more years after death of a branch. The stroma may remain productive for at least six years, producing one generation of perithecia annually, maturing in early spring. In California and in South Africa, external canker symptoms were for many years confused with those caused by bacteria or the genus Pseudomonas, but the internal symptoms are usually quite distinctive and the presence of E. armeniacae has been confirmed by culturing and by serology. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION: Australia, New Zealand, North America (California), Europe (France, Spain, Switzerland), South Africa. Absent from Chile in a disease survey conducted by English et al. (1967). Absence of records from the Asian continent are attributed to lack of information. TRANSMISSION: Entirely by air-borne ascospores; secondary dispersal from the tree surfaces is by water-splash and run during rainfall, carrying ascospores to the vessels exposed at wounds (45, 511).


2019 ◽  
Vol 96 (1133) ◽  
pp. 139-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian Wu ◽  
Zhiwei Xu ◽  
Yi-Lin Dan ◽  
Chan-Na Zhao ◽  
Yan-Mei Mao ◽  
...  

ObjectiveAlthough patients with psoriasis frequently report seasonal changes in their symptoms, the seasonality of psoriasis has rarely been explored. This study aims to investigate the seasonal pattern of and global public interest in psoriasis using Google search data.MethodsInternet search data were collected from Google Trends. Data on the relative search volume (RSV) from January 2004 to December 2018 were retrieved using the term psoriasis. Cosinor analyses were conducted to examine the seasonality of psoriasis using data from two southern hemisphere countries (Australia and New Zealand) and four northern hemisphere countries (USA, Canada, UK and Ireland).ResultsOverall, searches for psoriasis steadily decreased between 2004 and 2010, and then rose from 2011 to 2018. On cosinor analyses, RSV of ‘psoriasis’ displayed a significant seasonal variation worldwide (p<0.025). Further analyses confirmed the seasonality of psoriasis-related RSV in Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, UK and Ireland (p<0.025 for all), with peaks in the late winter/early spring months and troughs in the late summer/early autumn months. The top 11 rising topics were calcipotriol/betamethasone dipropionate, ustekinumab, apremilast, shampoo, eczema, guttate psoriasis, seborrhoeic dermatitis, dermatitis, psoriatic arthritis, atopic dermatitis and arthritis.ConclusionThere was a significant seasonal pattern for psoriasis, with peaks in the late winter/early spring and troughs in the late summer/early autumn. Further studies are warranted to confirm the seasonal pattern of psoriasis using clinical data and to explore the underlying mechanisms.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (20) ◽  
pp. 4563-4576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan P. Goodrich ◽  
David I. Campbell ◽  
Louis A. Schipper

Abstract. Peatland ecosystems have been important global carbon sinks throughout the Holocene. Most of the research on peatland carbon budgets and effects of variable weather conditions has been done in Northern Hemisphere Sphagnum-dominated systems. Given their importance in other geographic and climatic regions, a better understanding of peatland carbon dynamics is needed across the spectrum of global peatland types. In New Zealand, much of the historic peatland area has been drained for agriculture but little is known about rates of carbon exchange and storage in unaltered peatland remnants that are dominated by the jointed wire rush, Empodisma robustum. We used eddy covariance to measure ecosystem-scale CO2 and CH4 fluxes and a water balance approach to estimate the sub-surface flux of dissolved organic carbon from the largest remaining raised peat bog in New Zealand, Kopuatai bog. The net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) was estimated over four years, which included two drought summers, a relatively wet summer, and a meteorologically average summer. In all measurement years, the bog was a substantial sink for carbon, ranging from 134.7 to 216.9 gC m−2 yr−1, owing to the large annual net ecosystem production (161.8 to 244.9 gCO2–C m−2 yr−1). Annual methane fluxes were large relative to most Northern Hemisphere peatlands (14.2 to 21.9 gCH4–C m−2 yr−1), although summer and autumn emissions were highly sensitive to dry conditions, leading to very predictable seasonality according to water table position. The annual flux of dissolved organic carbon was similar in magnitude to methane emissions but less variable, ranging from 11.7 to 12.8 gC m−2 yr−1. Dry conditions experienced during late summer droughts led to significant reductions in annual carbon storage, which resulted nearly equally from enhanced ecosystem respiration due to lowered water tables and increased temperatures, and from reduced gross primary production due to vapor pressure deficit-related stresses to the vegetation. However, the net C uptake of Kopuatai bog during drought years was large relative to even the maximum reported NECB from Northern Hemisphere bogs. Furthermore, global warming potential fluxes indicated the bog was a strong sink for greenhouse gases in all years despite the relatively large annual methane emissions. Our results suggest that adaptations of E. robustum to dry conditions lead to a resilient peatland drought response of the NECB.


1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (12) ◽  
pp. 3332-3336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerry M. Baskin ◽  
Carol C. Baskin

Seeds of Veronica peregrina collected from a field population in central Kentucky were buried in soil and exposed to seasonal temperature changes. Fresh seeds and those exhumed after 1–26 months were tested in light and darkness at five thermoperiods simulating those in the natural habitat from early spring through late autumn. Freshly matured seeds were dormant, but they came out of dormancy in June and July and germinated to 98–100% in light in August at thermoperiods of 20:10, 25:15, 30:15, and 35:20 °C. Seeds retained the ability to germinate to high percentages at these temperatures until late winter and spring, but they never germinated to high percentages in darkness. Thus, in the natural habitat in July and August germination is prevented only by darkness and (or) insufficient soil moisture. At simulated habitat temperatures, seeds germinated to 88–100% in March and April but to only 21–69% in May and June. Seeds incubated at 15:6 °C showed a decline in germination percentages in late summer and autumn and an increase during late autumn and winter. The same general pattern of seasonal changes in germination response to temperature occurred during the 2nd year of burial.


1964 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Y. Thompson ◽  
Kathleen M. Henry ◽  
S. K. Kon

SummaryTwo surveys were done, one in 1943–44 and one in 1958–60, of the seasonal variation in the concentration of vitamin A and carotene in milk fat from 13 different areas in Great Britain. In the 1958–60 survey α-tocopherol and vitamin D were also measured. The main purpose of the second survey was to find out if the marked swing from Shorthorns to Friesians, and the trend towards greater use of carotene-rich foods in winter feeds that occurred in the intervening 15 years, had affected the pattern of vitamin A activity. In addition, monthly samples of butter were obtained in 1958–59 from a single factory in New Zealand during a complete butter-making season (9 months) and were assayed for vitamin A, carotene, α-tocopherol and vitamin D. Three experiments were done to study the effect of breed on the vitamin A and carotene content of milk fat, and in one of them α-tocopherol and vitamin D were also determined.The seasonal trends for vitamin A and carotene were essentially the same in both surveys. A peak occurred in May after the spring flush of grass and was followed by a decline with a second peak in the autumn, except in 1959 when both the summer and autumn were very dry. Potencies were higher in the south than in the north, where the differences between summer and winter were more marked. In winter, mean vitamin A potencies of 5·8 and 7·7 μg/g fat were found for northern and southern areas, respectively; the corresponding values for β-carotene were 2·0 and 4·5 μg/g fat. Mean summer values were 8·8 and 9·7 μg/g fat for vitamin A and 5·1 and 6·5 μg/g fat for carotene, equivalent to increases of about 52 and 26% and about 155 and 44%, respectively, over winter values. Differences in mean potency between areas are explained by length of grazing season and type of winter feed.The concentration of vitamin A in the fat was essentially the same for Ayrshires, Friesians, Jerseys and Shorthorns but somewhat lower for Guernseys; that of carotene was higher for the Channel Island breeds, particularly Guernseys, than for the other breeds studied.Compared with this country, concentrations of carotene were higher and of vitamin A lower in milk fat from New Zealand, probably because of the predominance of Jersey cows in New Zealand herds. The seasonal trends for these vitamins were similar in both countries, but the spring peaks were earlier, the autumn peaks later and the summer declines more pronounced in New Zealand than in this country.Concentrations of α-tocopherol in British milk fat showed a trend similar to that found for both vitamin A and carotene and were again influenced by feeding practices. Mean values of 23 and 29 μg α-tocopherol/g fat were found in the summer for northern and southern areas, respectively; the corresponding winter values were 15 and 23 μg/g fat. Mean values of about 30 μg/g fat were found, over a 28-month period, for the milk fat of each of the 3 breeds, Ayrshire, Friesian and Jersey. No seasonal trend was observed in the New Zealand samples; the mean value for the 9 months was 32 μg/g fat (range 24–39 μg).Vitamin D potencies were higher in summer, when there is more sunshine, than in winter. The higher summer values in the northern than in the southern part of the country may have been related to a higher intake of vitamin D in the former from hay and pasture. Summer potencies of 0·44, 0·53 and 0·62 i.u. vitamin D/g fat, respectively, were found for Friesian, Jersey and Ayrshire milk; corresponding winter values were 0·06, 0·08 and 0·9 i.u./g fat. For the New Zealand butters, summerues values were higher than in this country, about 0·7 compared with about 0·4 i.u./g fat; winter values were similar in both countries.


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