Hematologic, biochemical, and protein electrophoretic values in captive tawny owls (Strix aluco)

BACKGROUND: The tawny owl (Strix aluco) is a protected species in Italy. Orphaned, injured, and ill owls often are sheltered and treated in rehabilitation centers, where hematologic and biochemical analyses would be helpful to evaluate and monitor the status of their health. OBJECTIVES: The major aim of this work was to assess hematologic and biochemical constituents together with protein electrophoretic fractions in healthy tawny owls. In addition, we compared laboratory methods for determining hemoglobin (Hgb), total protein, and albumin concentrations. METHODS: Heparinized blood samples were collected from 10 clinically healthy adult captive tawny owls between March 2001 and November 2003 for CBC, routine biochemical analysis, and protein electrophoresis. Alternate methods for Hgb (estimation as HCT/3 vs spectrophotometry), total protein (biuret vs refractometry), and albumin (bromcresol green vs electrophoresis) concentrations were compared in 34 samples from 16 unhealthy adult owls and 8 nestlings. RESULTS: Results were reported as mean, median, and range (minimum-maximum). Significant differences and poor concordance were observed between methods for Hgb, total protein, and albumin. CONCLUSIONS: Hematologic and plasma biochemical values in captive tawny owls may be useful in evaluating and monitoring the health of this species in captivity.     

Weak effects of habitat type on susceptibility to invasive freshwater species: an Italian case study

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Studies on potato sprout suppressants. 5. The effect of chlorpropham contamination on the performance of seed potatoes

Summary Potatoes of cv. Désirée and Pentland Crown, treated in February at 0, 0.6, 1.2, 2.5, 5, 10, and 20 mg kg¹ chlorpropham adsorbed on alumina, were sampled for analysis immediately before planting at the beginning of May. Chlorpropham was extracted using hexane as the solvent in the presence of anhydrous sodium sulphate. Emergence and yield data showed that low levels of chlorpropham (<0.3 mg kg⁻¹) that had little effect on total emergence, increased the mean emergence time and reduced yield. High levels of chlorpropham drastically reduced total emergence and yield.

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Zusammenfassung Chlorpropham (Isopropyl-N-(3-chlorophenyl) carbamat) ist ein weitverbreitetes Keimhemmungsmittel, das niemals bei Pflanzkartoffeln angewendet wird, da es ein die Zellteilung hemmendes Gift ist. Zuf?llige Kontamination kann jedoch erfolgen und es war daher der Sinn dieses Versuches, die Mengen an Chlorpropham zu bestimmen, die nachweislich den Auflauf, den Ertrag und die Gr?ssenverteilung der nachfolgenden Ernte beeinflussen. Zwei Proben von je 7,5 kg der Sorten Désirée und Pentland Crown wurden mit Chlorpropham in den Aufwandmengen von 0, 0,6, 1, 2, 2,5, 5, 10 und 20 mg/kg best?ubt. Nach der Lagerung bei 10°C in fest verschliessbaren Beh?ltern wurden sie zwei Wochen vor dem pflanzdatum vorgekeimt und 1 kg für die Rückstandsanalysen abgenommen. Der Rest wurde gepflanzt und Auflauf und Ertrag bestimmt. Die Extraktion von Chlorpropham erfolgte nach der Methode von Cerny & Blumenthal (1972) und es wurde eine neue Reinigungsmethode entwickelt, die den Einsatz eines Gaschromatographen mit einem Flammenionisationsdetektor erlaubt. Tabelle 1 zeigt die Rückstandswerte und die entsprechenden Angaben für den Feldbestand. Der Einfluss von Chlorpropham war bei der Sorte Pentland Crown deutlicher, aber allgemein verl?ngerten sehr kleine Rückstandswerte (<0.3 mg/kg) bereits die durchschnittliche Auflaufzeit und verringerten leicht den Ertrag, obwohl die gesamte Auflaufrate nahe bei 100% blieb. H?here Werte (0,3–1 mg/kg) verz?gerten den Auflauf und reduzierten den Ertrag. Rückst?nde über 1 mg/kg führten zu geringem Auflauf und einer drastischen Ertragseinbusse. Lagerh?user in denen Chlorpropham angewendet wird oder in denen behandelte Knollen gelagert werden sind offensichtlich Quellen der Kontamination mit geringen Mengen.

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Résumé Le chlorprophame (isoprophyl-N-(3 chlorophenyl) carbamate) est un inhibiteur de germination très employé mais jamais sur pomme de terre de semence parce que c'est un poison mitotique. Une contamination accidentelle peut avoir lieu et l'objet de cette expérimentation était de déterminer les taux de chlorprophame qui affectent de fa?on significative la germination, le rendement et la distribution par calibre de la culture suivante. Une expérimentation à 2 répétitions a été faite avec du chlorprophame par poudrage à différentes concentrations: 0, 0,6, 1,2, 2,5, 5, 10, et 20 mg/kg sur des échantillons de 7,5 kg pour les variétés Désirée et Pentland Crown. Ces échantillons ont été conservés à 10°C dans des bo?tes fermées hermétiquement et prégermés pendant 2 semaines avant la date de plantation tandis qu'un échantillon de 1 kg a été prélevé pour une analyse de résidus. Les tubercules restants ont été plantés et les notations de levée et de rendement ont été effectuées. La méthode de Cerny & Blumenthal (1972) a été employée pour extraire le chlorprophame et une nouvelle technique de lavage a été imaginé afin d'obtenir des échantillons adaptés á la chromatographie en phase gazeuse utilisant la détection thermoionique. Les teneurs en résidus et les notations au champ correspondantes sont indiquées dans le tableau 1. L'effet du chlorprophame était plus accentué pour les variétés Pentland Crown mais, en général, de faibles taux en résidus (<0,3 mg/kg) retardaient la durée de levée moyenne et réduisaient légèrement les rendements quoique la levée totale approchait 100%. Les taux de résidus plus élevés (0,3 → 1,0 mg/kg) retardaient également la levée et diminuaient les rendements. Les résidus supérieurs à 1,0 mg/kg provoquaient une mauvaise levée et des réductions sérieuses de rendement. Les locaux utilisés pour l'application du chlorprophame ou pour la conservation de tubercules traités sont indiscutablement des sources faibles de contamination.

     

Formulation and Physicochemical and Sensorial Evaluation of Biscuit-Type Cookies Supplemented with Fruit Powders

Cashew apple and guava residues from fruit juice industry were prepared as dehydrated fruit powders and used at different levels of wheat flour substitution for cookies formulations. The effects of guava and cashew apple fruit powders supplementation on physicochemical and sensorial characteristics of the cookies were evaluated. The pH, fibre and protein content were significantly affected. Biscuits with 15 g and 20 g/100g cashew apple and guava fruit powders showed the highest scores for sensorial attributes, respectively. The supplementation seems to be suited for wheat flour substitution and it is possible to obtain cookies with value-added food ingredient within the standards.     

Stand age and fine root biomass, distribution and morphology in a Norway spruce chronosequence in southeast Norway

We assessed the influence of stand age on fine root biomass and morphology of trees and understory vegetation in 10-, 30-, 60- and 120-year-old Norway spruce stands growing in sandy soil in southeast Norway. Fine root (< 1, 1-2 and 2-5 mm in diameter) biomass of trees and understory vegetation (< 2 mm in diameter) was sampled by soil coring to a depth of 60 cm. Fine root morphological characteristics, such as specific root length (SRL), root length density (RLD), root surface area (RSA), root tip number and branching frequency (per unit root length or mass), were determined based on digitized root data. Fine root biomass and morphological characteristics related to biomass (RLD and RSA) followed the same tendency with chronosequence and were significantly higher in the 30-year-old stand and lower in the 10-year-old stand than in the other stands. Among stands, mean fine root (< 2 mm) biomass ranged from 49 to 398 g m(-2), SLR from 13.4 to 19.8 m g(-1), RLD from 980 to 11,650 m m(-3) and RSA from 2.4 to 35.4 m(2) m(-3). Most fine root biomass of trees was concentrated in the upper 20 cm of the mineral soil and in the humus layer (0-5 cm) in all stands. Understory fine roots accounted for 67 and 25% of total fine root biomass in the 10- and 120-year-old stands, respectively. Stand age had no affect on root tip number or branching frequency, but both parameters changed with soil depth, with increasing number of root tips and decreasing branching frequency with increasing soil depth for root fractions < 2 mm in diameter. Specific (mass based) root tip number and branching density were highest for the finest roots (< 1 mm) in the humus layer. Season (spring or fall) had no effect on tree fine root biomass, but there was a small and significant increase in understory fine root biomass in fall relative to spring. All morphological characteristics showed strong seasonal variation, especially the finest root fraction, with consistently and significantly higher values in spring than in fall. We conclude that fine root biomass, especially in the finest fraction (< 1 mm in diameter), is strongly dependent on stand age. Among stands, carbon concentration in fine root biomass was highest in the 30-year-old stand, and appeared to be associated with the high tree and canopy density during the early stage of stand development. Values of RLD and RSA, morphological features indicative of stand nutrient-uptake efficiency, were higher in the 30-year-old stand than in the other stands.     

Causes of bruising in carcasses of beef cattle during farm,transport, and slaughterhouse handling in Brazil

This study aimed to assess preslaughter factors responsible for the occurrence of bruises to front, rib, loin, hip, and round sites of cattle carcasses. Data from the slaughter of 148 loads of cattle were assessed, totaling 4,611 carcasses. Evaluated bruising factor variables were animal gender, journey distance (km), vehicle type (m²), journey time (hours), load density (kg/m²), handling and facilities conditions (optimal, acceptable, and unacceptable), and unloading waiting time (min). Gender had the strongest influence on carcass bruising, being the first variable to enter in the majority of models related to the carcass sites. Female carcasses displayed higher bruising in all sites. Densities above 401 kg/m² caused more bruising. With the exception of the loin, unacceptable, and acceptable conditions assigned to farm facilities and handling resulted in higher average bruising. Articulated vehicles with a greater load capacity were more likely to cause bruising. The effects of variables causing bruises act differently in the various carcass sites. In this sense, the results of this study suggested possible management practices for specific problems during the preslaughter period to minimize losses by bruising to different carcass sites.     

IMAGING DIAGNOSIS — USE OF MULTIPHASE COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHIC UROGRAPHY IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF URETERAL TEAR IN A 6‐DAY‐OLD FOAL

A 6‐day‐old foal was evaluated for depression and inappetence. After initial stabilization, the filly developed a hypochloremic metabolic alkalosis and persistent hypercreatinemia. Abdominal ultrasound revealed fluid accumulation around the left kidney and a well‐defined rounded fluid filled structure dorsal to the urinary bladder. Computed tomography revealed a partial tear of the left ureter with distension of the retroperitoneal membrane. Exploratory celiotomy was performed to allow left kidney nephrectomy. At 6 months follow‐up, the filly was growing normally without complications. Ultrasound and CT imaging in this case provided an accurate diagnosis and a presurgical aid to select the appropriate therapeutic approach.