Influence of Dietary Fat and Short-Time Starvation on the Composition of Sow-Milk Fat

The influence of cottonseed oil and of linseed oil upon the fatty-acid composition of milk fat was each studied in one sow. Each oil was added to the basic diet in an amount of 6.3 % for two periods of the lactation. As cottonseed oil has a fatty-acid composition that is similar to that of the basic diet, the supplement with this oil will, in general, increase the same kind of fat in the diet. The linoleic-acid content in the milk fat will be nearly redoubled (11.7 % to 20.5 %) when the cottonseed oil is added. The supplement with linseed oil (of which linolenic acid constitutes about 58 %) to the food raised the linolenic-acid level in the milk fat from 1.1 % to 18.3 %. The increase of linoleic and linolenic acid is counterbalanced by a decrease of shorter fatty acids (G 14 and G 16 acids). The fatty-acid composition of the milk fat adjusts itself to the dietary changes within two or three days.By feeding a diet containing 16.7 % cottonseed oil to a sow, about 27 % linoleic acid was obtained in the sow’s milk fat.The influence of 30 hours of starvation upon the fatty-acid composition was studied in two sows. The content of G 18 acids rose during starvation and that of shorter acids (C14 and C16) diminished.     

Finding best exotic breed proportion in crossbred lactating sheep kept under farmers’ conditions in Ethiopia determined by use of nested Legendre polynomials with limited data

ABSTRACT

The present study was conducted to estimate milk production performance and fit lactation curves for groups of ewes of Local and of Awassi crosses, with a variable blood level, reared under farmer’s environment. The Weigh-Suckle-Weigh method plus hand milking was used to estimate milk yield for ewes. A total of 466 observations from 115 ewes were used. Estimated least-squares adjusted means for the milk production over 120 days were 0.56?kg day^?1 (Local), 0.67 (<30% Awassi), 0.86 (30–50% Awassi), and 0.96 (>50% Awassi). Groups with 30–50% Awassi and >50% Awassi ewes produced significantly (p?<?0.05) more milk than Local ewes. Significant differences were observed between <30% Awassi and >50% Awassi crossbred groups. The best crosses (>50% Awassi) produced over 70% more milk than the local ewes which demonstrates the potential that exists in increasing milk production through the initiated crossbreeding programme with sheep in Ethiopia.     

Segment-based coancestry,additive relationship and genetic variance within and between the Norwegian and the Swedish Fjord horse populations

ABSTRACT

The Fjord horse originates from Norway but forms a global population due to several small populations in foreign countries. There exists no information about the additive relationship and the genetic variance between these subpopulations. By collecting blood samples from Norwegian and Swedish Fjord horses, a sample of 311 Norwegian and 102 Swedish horses gave 485,918 SNPs available for analysis. Their inbreeding coefficients were calculated and compared to the pairwise coancestry and the shared genomic segments. The effective population size was almost similar with the two methods in the Norwegian Fjord horse population (63 and 71), but very different in the Swedish population (269 and 1136) and unprecise due to a much smaller number of observations. The study showed that coancestry from shared genomic segments can be used to estimate additive genetic relationship and genetic variation within and between the global populations of the Fjord horse.     

The Distribution of Soluble Copper- and Zinc-Binding Proteins in Liver and Kidney of Chronic Copper-Poisoned Goats

The distribution of copper and zinc among the soluble proteins in the liver and kidney from chronic copper-poisoned goats was examined after gel filtration of the proteins. The concentrations of copper in the liver and kidney cortex from five experimentally copper-poisoned goats were: 550–810 µg/g liver and 190–420 µg/g kidney cortex (wet weight). In general the copper-binding proteins from, both the liver and kidney samples were separated into two different fractions with approximate molecular weights (m.w.) of > 65,000 and 10,000, respectively. From the liver samples, varying amounts of copper were eluted in a fourth fraction with m.w. < 2,000. In the majority of kidney samples the dominating copper-binding protein fraction was the high molecular weight fraction. Absolute amounts of copper recovered in the metallothionein-like protein fraction were nearly the samt for all samples investigated. The distribution of zinc-binding proteins in both liver and kidney samples was nearly the same. The high molecular weight fraction dominated, and no zinc was bound to metallothionein-like proteins.     

Twinning rate in Norwegian cattle: frequency, (co)variance components, and genetic trends

The overall twinning rate was shown to increase from .6% in the first parity to 4.0% in the sixth parity, and a positive phenotypic trend for twinning rate was observed during the time period considered (1978 to 1995). The distribution of bulls according to the average percentage of multiple births of daughters in first and second parity showed that some bulls had an extremely low twinning frequency and others exceeded the population mean by approximately six times. (Co)variance components were estimated for twinning in first and second parities using a linear sire model. The analysis included either first- and second-crop daughters (1.4 and .9 million records for first- and second-parity cows, respectively) or first-crop daughters only (.6 and .4 million records for first- and second-parity cows, respectively) from 2,043 sires. Heritability estimates were .7 to .8% in the first parity and 2.8% in the second parity. The genetic correlation between twinning in the first and second parities was approximately 1. Part of the phenotypic trend observed can be explained by a genetic trend for twinning rate.     

Prediction of intramuscular fat by ultrasound in lean cattle

To study the accuracy and precision of intramuscular fat prediction by ultrasound (USIMF) in lean cattle, prediction models were developed based on 325 pure and crossbred beef and dual purpose bulls originating from I) commercial herds (n = 180) and II) a performance test station (n = 145). The bulls were scanned across the 12th thoracic vertebrae using a Pie 200 SLC scanner. Five images were collected per individual bull for later processing in the lab. After slaughter, a 2.5 cm cross-sectional sample located by the 13th thoracic vertebrae was used for chemical analysis to determine intramuscular fat % (CHIMF; Mean 1.25%, SD 0.6%) at the image site. The data were analysed sequentially involving 1) the Total Dataset, 2) Dataset I and 3) Dataset II. Prediction models were developed separately for each dataset, using stepwise regression procedures. The validation model R², RMSE, overall mean bias, SEP, r_P and rank correlations for CHIMF and USIMF based on the best prediction model (Dataset I) were 0.48, 0.46%, − 0.02%, 0.46%, 0.70 and 0.67, respectively. Further improvement in prediction accuracy can probably be achieved by increasing the size of datasets and the CHIMF variation. The results strongly indicate that ultrasound has potential for IMF prediction in lean cattle, although the value in indirect selection of breeding cattle for meat quality needs to be further evaluated.     

A comparison between multivariate Slash, Student's t and probit threshold models for analysis of clinical mastitis in first lactation cows

Robust threshold models with multivariate Student's t or multivariate Slash link functions were employed to infer genetic parameters of clinical mastitis at different stages of lactation, with each cow defining a cluster of records. The robust fits were compared with that from a multivariate probit model via a pseudo‐Bayes factor and an analysis of residuals. Clinical mastitis records on 36 178 first‐lactation Norwegian Red cows from 5286 herds, daughters of 245 sires, were analysed. The opportunity for infection interval, going from 30 days pre‐calving to 300 days postpartum, was divided into four periods: (i) ?30 to 0 days pre‐calving; (ii) 1–30 days; (iii) 31–120 days; and (iv) 121–300 days of lactation. Within each period, absence or presence of clinical mastitis was scored as 0 or 1 respectively. Markov chain Monte Carlo methods were used to draw samples from posterior distributions of interest. Pseudo‐Bayes factors strongly favoured the multivariate Slash and Student's t models over the probit model. The posterior mean of the degrees of freedom parameter for the Slash model was 2.2, indicating heavy tails of the liability distribution. The posterior mean of the degrees of freedom for the Student's t model was 8.5, also pointing away from a normal liability for clinical mastitis. A residual was the observed phenotype (0 or 1) minus the posterior mean of the probability of mastitis. The Slash and Student's t models tended to have smaller residuals than the probit model in cows that contracted mastitis. Heritability of liability to clinical mastitis was 0.13–0.14 before calving, and ranged from 0.05 to 0.08 after calving in the robust models. Genetic correlations were between 0.50 and 0.73, suggesting that clinical mastitis resistance is not the same trait across periods, corroborating earlier findings with probit models.     

Low Mw-lignin fractions together with vegetable oils as available oligomers for novel paper-coating applications as hydrophobic barrier

Lignin residues are available in large amounts as kraft lignin from chemical pulping processes. This lignin is mainly incinerated in recovery boilers. The recovery boilers are often the bottle-necks in the overall pulping process when pulp production increases are desired. Through cross-flow nano-filtration of the black liquor from kraft pulping, a low-molecular weight lignin fraction can be removed thus decreasing the organic load on the recovery boilers. The low-molecular weight lignin fraction furthermore exhibit different characteristics compared to other commercial kraft lignins and represents a new raw material source in novel applications.The low-molecular weight lignin was used together with a vegetable oil to produce a new hydrophobic lignin derivative similar to suberin. The lignin and the lignin derivative was analysed with FT-IR, UV–vis and SEC. The ability of the product to make paper surfaces hydrophobic was also evaluated.The results demonstrate the possibility to make a suberin-like lignin derivative that is potentially of interest in paper-coating applications due to its capability to interact well with wood fibres and make paper hydrophobic.     

The nutrient status of Norway spruce in pure and in mixed-species stands

Atmospheric deposition of N and S appears to have caused nutrient imbalance in Norway spruce stands in southern Sweden. This calls for a change of forest management to procedures that promote nutrient balance. Studies have shown lower soil acidity in Norway spruce/deciduous mixed stands than in spruce monocultures, but the tree nutrient status in such mixtures has not been much investigated so far.

The nutrient status of Norway spruce foliage and top mineral soil chemistry in monocultures and in stands mixed with beech, birch, or oak was investigated through paired comparisons on 30 sites in southern Sweden (27 sites) and eastern Denmark (three sites). In total, 45 mixed stands and 34 pure stands were included in the study.

Spruce needles from mixed stands had higher concentrations and ratios to N of K, P, and Zn than needles from pure spruce stands. Among the mixed stands, the K status appeared to be positively correlated with the percentage of deciduous tree basal area. Soil samples from mixed stands had a higher Mg concentration, base saturation, and BC/Al ratio than soil samples from pure stands. The spruce needle nutrient status was comparable in pure stands on fertile sites and in mixed stands on poor sites. We did not detect any differences in spruce tree growth between pure and mixed stands.

This paper discusses possible reasons for a positive effect on the tree nutrient status in mixed-species stands and the possibility of using mixed-species stands as a forest management procedure to avoid nutrient imbalance.     

Herbivory by the pine weevil (Hylobius abietis L.) and short-snouted weevils (Strophosoma melanogrammum Forst. and Otiorhynchus scaber L.) during the conversion of a wind-thrown Norway spruce forest into a mixed-species plantation

The influence of above-ground insect herbivory and other agents of damage to seedlings was studied in a field experiment. Nine different tree species were planted in each of five randomised blocks. The species were: Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertner, Betula pendula Roth., Fagus sylvatica L., Fraxinus excelsior L., Larix eurolepis Henry, Picea abies (L.) Karst., Prunus avium L., Quercus robur L. and Tilia cordata Mill. The seedlings were monitored through the 2000–2002 growing seasons. Pine weevils (Hylobius abietis L.) fed significantly more on Norway spruce seedlings than on all other tree species. The following rough preference order was obtained: Norway sprucelarch>birch, beech, oak>cherry>alder, ash, lime. Thus, during the conversion of single-species coniferous plantations to mixed-species broadleaved stands, the use of costly insecticides against pine weevil is not required. Short-snouted weevils (e.g. Strophosoma melanogrammum Forst. and Otiorhynchus scaber L.) and other insects caused leaf and needle area loss primarily during the first growing season.