Associations between morphometric variables and weight and yields carcass in Pirapitinga Piaractus brachypomus

The objective of this work was to evaluate the association between morphometric variables and carcass characteristics in Pirapitinga. We used a thousand specimens of Pirapitinga with an average weight of 1,200 g, which were stunned, slaughtered, weighed, measured, and processed for morphometric and processing yield analysis, to obtain weights, carcass and fillet yields. Initially, the linearity of the variables was verified. Pearson's simple and partial correlation tests were performed between all metrics. Track analysis was performed considering the weights and yields of carcass and filet as dependent variables and the others as independent variables. Ridge regression models were used to eliminate the effects of multicollinearity among the independent variables. Observations showed that the simple correlations between body weights and yields were superior to the partial ones in terms of magnitude. The length and circumference of the specimens were the measures most linearly associated with weight, carcass weight and fillet with rib weight. As for carcass yield and fillet yield, linear correlation coefficients were low and not significant when associated with body weights. With the path analysis, we could observe significant positive correlations between the morphometric measurements for weight, carcass weight and fillet with rib weight. The standard length, body circumference and body circumference/body height ratio are the most correlated. The latter are the most important variables in the evaluation of body weights in Pirapitinga fish. They can serve as criteria for indirect selection in searching for fish with better carcass characteristics. As for fillet and carcass yields, the morphometric variables have not shown to be efficient for indirect selection.     

Dietary profile of n‐3 series LC‐PUFAs in rainbow trout under regular stripping condition: Semen production and quality,hepato‐somatic index,haemato‐immunologic values,oxidative stress and fatty acid composition of liver,muscle and semen

In this study, the semen production and quality, hepato‐somatic index, haemato‐immunologic values, oxidative stress and the fatty acid contents in liver, muscle and semen of rainbow trout fed diets supplemented n‐3 series long‐chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC‐PUFAs) under regular stripping condition were investigated. For this aim, three diets (Control, D1 and D2) were prepared. These diets were contained n‐3 LC‐PUFAs (as a percentage of dietary total fatty acid) at 3.14%, 7.84% and 13.63% respectively. Experimental fish were fed with the control and test diets. The highest hepato‐somatic index, spermatologic (semen pH and volume, sperm motility and density), haematologic (haematocrit value, haemoglobin, erythrocyte count, corpuscular volume, haemoglobin and its concentration in corpuscular), immunologic (nitroblue tetrazolium activity, leucocyte count, phagocytic index, protein and immunoglobulin [IgM] in total plasma) and antioxidants (reduced glutathione, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase) values were found in fish fed the D2, D1 and control diets respectively (p < 0.01). Increase in the dietary n‐3 LC‐PUFAs was not significantly (p > 0.01) increased the oxidative stress (malondialdehyde) in fish. The results indicated that the n‐3 LC‐PUFAs at 13.63% level of total fatty acid in the diet could increase the semen production and quality, hepato‐somatic index, haematologic and immunologic values, and the n‐3 LC‐PUFA contents in liver, muscle and semen of rainbow trout broodstock under regular stripping condition.     

微喷带单孔水量分布影响因素试验研究

为了探究微喷带管径、喷孔结构、工作压力以及喷射角度对单孔水量分布影响,以常用的机械打孔的Ф28,Ф32,Ф40和Ф50这4种微喷带为研究对象,通过调节微喷带的喷射角度和工作压力,研究微喷带正常运行时单孔喷水(其他孔进行遮挡,不混入测试单孔的水流中)特性,测定了不同工作压力条件下射程、湿润面积、干燥区宽度等参数.结果表明:喷水射程随喷射角度先增大再减小,射程最大值为30&deg;~ 40&deg;,随工作压力的增大而增大;湿润区宽度与喷射角度、工作压力均存在正相关的关系;射程与干燥区宽度随喷射角度的变化规律相同;湿润区面积的最大值出现在喷射角度为50&deg;时.在实际运行中,建议微喷带喷射角度为30&deg;~50&deg;,并应根据干燥区与射程合理布置相邻微喷带的铺设间距.     

黄瓜新品种‘粤丰’

 ‘粤丰’是由早熟抗病的‘豫优4号’为母本，与‘渝亮3号’杂交育成的华北型黄瓜一代杂种。生长势强，主侧蔓结瓜，雌花节率高，回头瓜多。瓜条顺直、美观，长棒形，瓜长38.0 cm，横径3.8 cm，肉厚1.2 cm，单瓜质量约390 g，皮色深绿，光泽度好，刺白，瘤小而密，肉质脆，味微甜，商品性好，耐热，抗病、抗逆性强。适合华南地区春秋季种植。     

Effects of Ropivacaine-sufentanil Epidural Analgesia on Labor and Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes

[Objectives]This study aimed to investigate the effects of ropivacaine-sufentanil epidural analgesia on labor and maternal and neonatal outcomes.[Methods]A tota...     

Effect of environmental conditions on the seasonal and inter‐annual variability of small pelagic fish abundance off North‐West Africa: The case of both Senegalese sardinella

The objective of this study was to assess the effect of environmental variations on the abundance of Sardinella aurita and Sardinella maderensis in Senegalese waters in the upwelling system. Monthly data indicating the abundance of sardinella were first estimated from commercial statistics, using Generalized Linear Model from 1966 to 2011. Abundance indices (AIs) were then compared with environmental indices, at the local scale, a Coastal Upwelling Index (CUI) and a coastal Sea Surface Temperature (SST) index, and on a large scale, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and the Multivariate El Niño Southern Oscillation Index (MEI), using correlations and times series analyses. The results showed that the abundance of sardinella is determined by a strong seasonal pattern and inter‐annual fluctuations. The abundance of S. aurita peaked in spring and in autumn, whereas that of S. maderensis peaked in the warm season (July–September). The trend of the sardinella abundance was significantly correlated with the CUI, especially in autumn and spring. Interannual fluctuations of S. maderensis and S. aurita abundance are, respectively, driven by the precocity and the duration of the upwelling season that is attributed to distinct migration patterns. Both sardinella species also respond with a delay of around 4 years to the winter NAO index and the autumn CUI, and the AMO index, respectively, both related to migration patterns. The wide variations in sardinella biomass are caused by variations in environmental conditions, which should be considered in the implementation of an ecosystem‐based approach in sardinella stocks management.     

Population pharmacokinetics of methadone hydrochloride after a single intramuscular administration in adult Japanese sika deer (Cervus nippon nippon)

ObjectiveTo assess the population pharmacokinetics of methadone in deer.Study designProspective non-randomized experimental trial.AnimalsTwelve healthy adult sika deer (nine males and three females).MethodsDeer received intramuscular administration of racemic methadone hydrochloride at 0.5 mg kg⁻¹ or 1 mg kg⁻¹. Plasma methadone and its metabolite 2-Ethylidene-1,5-Dimethyl-3,3-Diphenyl-Pyrolidine (EDDP) concentrations were determined by validated liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry methods, at times 0, 30 minutes, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 12 and 24 hours. Population pharmacokinetics analysis was undertaken using a non-linear mixed effects modelling (NONMEM).ResultsA two-compartment linear disposition model best described observed time-concentration profiles of methadone and EDDP. Population parameter estimates of methadone were elimination clearance (17.3 L hour⁻¹), metabolic clearance (34.6 L hour⁻¹), volume of distribution of compartment 1 (216.0 L) and volume of distribution of compartment 2 (384.0 L). Population parameter estimates of EDDP were elimination clearance (121.0 L hour⁻¹), volume of distribution of compartment 3 (1.08 L) and volume of distribution of compartment 4 (499.5 L). The total clearance and total volume of distribution of methadone and EDDP were 51.9 L hour⁻¹, 121.0 L hour ⁻¹, 600.0 L and 500.6 L, respectively. The methadone terminal elimination half-life was 8.19 hours. No adverse effects were observed after methadone administration.Conclusions and Clinical relevanceFollowing intramuscular injection, methadone was characterized by a large total volume of distribution, high systemic clearance and intermediate terminal half-life in sika deer.     

A novel epidemiological model to better understand and predict the observed seasonal spread of Pestivirus in Pyrenean chamois populations

Seasonal variations in individual contacts give rise to a complex interplay between host demography and pathogen transmission. This is particularly true for wild populations, which highly depend on their natural habitat. These seasonal cycles induce variations in pathogen transmission. The seasonality of these biological processes should therefore be considered to better represent and predict pathogen spread. In this study, we sought to better understand how the seasonality of both the demography and social contacts of a mountain ungulate population impacts the spread of a pestivirus within, and the dynamics of, this population. We propose a mathematical model to represent this complex biological system. The pestivirus can be transmitted both horizontally through direct contact and vertically in utero. Vertical transmission leads to abortion or to the birth of persistently infected animals with a short life expectancy. Horizontal transmission involves a complex dynamics because of seasonal variations in contact among sexes and age classes. We performed a sensitivity analysis that identified transmission rates and disease-related mortality as key parameters. We then used data from a long-term demographic and epidemiological survey of the studied population to estimate these mostly unknown epidemiological parameters. Our model adequately represents the system dynamics, observations and model predictions showing similar seasonal patterns. We show that the virus has a significant impact on population dynamics, and that persistently infected animals play a major role in the epidemic dynamics. Modeling the seasonal dynamics allowed us to obtain realistic prediction and to identify key parameters of transmission.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13567-015-0218-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Genomic prediction for meat and carcass traits in Nellore cattle using a Markov blanket algorithm

This study was carried out to evaluate the advantage of preselecting SNP markers using Markov blanket algorithm regarding the accuracy of genomic prediction for carcass and meat quality traits in Nellore cattle. This study considered 3675, 3680, 3660 and 524 records of rib eye area (REA), back fat thickness (BF), rump fat (RF), and Warner–Bratzler shear force (WBSF), respectively, from the Nellore Brazil Breeding Program. The animals have been genotyped using low-density SNP panel (30 k), and subsequently imputed for arrays with 777 k SNPs. Four Bayesian specifications of genomic regression models, namely Bayes A, Bayes B, Bayes Cπ and Bayesian Ridge Regression methods were compared in terms of prediction accuracy using a five folds cross-validation. Prediction accuracy for REA, BF and RF was all similar using the Bayesian Alphabet models, ranging from 0.75 to 0.95. For WBSF, the predictive ability was higher using Bayes B (0.47) than other methods (0.39 to 0.42). Although the prediction accuracies using Markov blanket of SNP markers were lower than those using all SNPs, for WBSF the relative gain was lower than 13%. With a subset of informative SNPs markers, identified using Markov blanket, probably, is possible to capture a large proportion of the genetic variance for WBSF. The development of low-density and customized arrays using Markov blanket might be cost-effective to perform a genomic selection for this trait, increasing the number of evaluated animals, improving the management decisions based on genomic information and applying genomic selection on a large scale.