Effects of alpha-tocopheryl acetate supplementation and salt addition on the oxidative stability (TBARS) and warmed-over flavour (WOF) of cooked turkey meat.

1. Day-old turkey poults (n = 14) were randomly divided into 2 groups (n = 7) and fed diets containing 20 (E20) and 600 (E600) mg all-rac-alpha-tocopheryl acetate/kg food for 21 weeks prior to slaughter. Following slaughter, breast and leg meat was removed and 4 batches of patties were produced from each. Two of the batches were formed from E20 meat (E20) and E20 plus 1% salt (E20S). Two similar batches were formed from E600 meat (E600) and E600 plus 1% salt (E600S). 2. Patties were fried, cooled and overwrapped with high oxygen-permeable film. Overwrapped patties were displayed in a 4 microC cabinet under fluorescent light (616 lux). Lipid oxidation (TBARS numbers) was determined on d 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10, while taste panels to assess warmed-over flavour (WOF) were carried out on d 0, 2 and 4 of refrigerated (4 degrees C) display. 3. In the case of both leg and breast meat, E600 patties were the least susceptible of the 4 treatment batches to lipid oxidation. Salt had the effect of promoting lipid oxidation, with E20S and E600S patties having higher TBARS numbers than the corresponding patty batches where salt was absent. 4. Taste panel results showed that leg and breast patties formed from the meat of turkeys given alpha-tocopheryl acetate enriched diets developed significantly (P < 0.05) less WOF than those formed from control turkey meat on d 2 and 4 of refrigerated (4 degrees C) display. Patties containing 1% salt generally exhibited a greater degree of WOF than patties without salt. 5. A linear relationship was observed between TBARS numbers and WOF percentages for all batches of leg and breast patties.     

Owners' perceptions of the health and performance of Pony Club horses in Australia

Pony Club is one of the leading junior equestrian organisations in the world, and was established to teach young people the many aspects of horsemanship. The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of the health and performance of Pony Club horses from the perspective of their owners. In-depth interviews were conducted with Pony Club members at two sites in Australia, and topics relating to participants' background with horses, horse attributes valued by participants, horse health and performance, and Pony Club-related matters. The in-depth interviews were taped, transcribed and analysed, by describing the themes and issues recorded in the dialogue and conducting cross-case analysis (finding similarities and dissimilarities between participants with respect to each of the above-mentioned topics). A total of 32 interviews were conducted. The participants' background with horses varied greatly. The horse attributes valued by > or =59% of participants included temperament, size, ability and suitability for riders. A range of issues relating to health and performance were important to > or =53% of participants, including horse temperament, nutrition, internal parasites, lameness and foot-care, and colic. Soundness and preventive health measures were rarely mentioned (< or =16% of participants). Friends or knowledgeable horse people were identified as the first point of contact for horse-health matters, and veterinarians were only used as a last resort or for serious problems. Members of Pony Club learned about their horses by trial and error. Optimal performance was described as a horse that was willing to do as the rider asked. Poor performance was usually the result of the horse misbehaving, and could include a resistance to rider commands, pigrooting and bucking.     

Improvements in Urban Air Quality: Case Studies from New York State, USA

Air quality levels vary over regions due to meteorological factors, proximity to sources, and local conditions (i.e., topography). The Northeast USA is subjected to pollution inputs from both local sources and those from the upwind Midwest USA that are transported by prevailing meteorological patterns. With the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970 and the establishment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), national levels of air pollutants have declined significantly. Our study compared air quality time trends between five of the largest cities within New York State (Albany, Buffalo, New York City, Rochester, and Syracuse) and statewide means to national trends. Data were obtained from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Bureau of Air Quality Surveillance for six criteria pollutants: carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), ozone (O₃), particulate matter (PM_2.5), and lead (Pb). Regional Kendall tests found significant downward trends for each pollutant statewide from 1980 to 2007, while trends by city varied by decade and pollutant. The evaluation of historical trends of pollution in industrialized nations is useful in showing recent air quality improvements and also in the understanding what can be the result in air pollutant controls in those developing nations currently experiencing high levels of pollution.     

Eurasian perch Perca fluviatilis growth and fish community structure,inside and outside a marine‐protected area in the Baltic Sea

Growth of Eurasian perch Perca fluviatilis L. and fish community structure between sites within a marine‐protected area (MPA) and unprotected sites in the Baltic Sea were examined. Von Bertalanffy, logistic and Gompertz growth models were fitted to P. fluviatilis length at age data, and the logistic model was the most parsimonious for growth between locations. A larger mean maximum size (L_∞) and a smaller instantaneous growth rate (g) were found within the MPA. All three models also predicted that after age seven, fish inside the MPA would be larger. Community structure differed with more P. fluviatilis collected outside of the MPA, and more roach Rutilus rutilus (L.) and bleak Alburnus alburnus (L.) collected inside the MPA. These growth differences may be indicative of recreational fishing effects on P. fluviatilis outside of the MPA, a result of complex interspecific and intraspecific species interactions, or other undetected environmental variation between locations.     

Surveillance of dairy production holdings supplying raw milk to the farmhouse cheese sector for Escherichia coli O157, O26 and O111

Clinically healthy domestic animals can harbour Escherichia coli O157 and other verocytotoxigenic E. coli (VTEC) strains in their faeces. Milk filters can be used to microbiologically monitor direct milk secretion and environmental contamination for these pathogens. The aim of this study was to establish baseline data on the prevalence and characteristics of VTEC organisms in lactating animals (bovine, ovine and caprine) supplying milk to the farmhouse cheese sector, with particular emphasis on serogroups O157, O111 and O26. Fifty-six bovine, 13 caprine and 5 ovine herds/flocks, the majority of which supplying milk for farmhouse cheese production, were surveyed from May 2004 to July 2005. Milk filters were analysed by immunomagnetic separation followed by PCR, on a serogroup-specific basis for E. coli O157, O26 and O111. Positive isolates were examined using a multiplex PCR protocol, for their potential to produce verocytotoxins (vt1/vt2), the haemolysin-encoding gene (hlyA) and the gene encoding attaching and effacement (eae). Five verocytotoxigenic and 22 non-virulent E. coli O157 isolates were detected. Seventeen E. coli O26 isolates were also detected, four of which were verocytotoxigenic, seven isolates contained the eae gene only and six isolates were devoid of any of the virulence factors. The VTEC O157 and O26 isolates contained the hlyA and eae genes along with the verocytotoxin genes. No E. coli O111 isolates were detected. Some of the herds were positive on more than one occasion and multiple E. coli serogroups were isolated from the same milk filter sample. Although all food products tested were VTEC negative, routine surveillance for such pathogens in raw milk/raw milk products is of public health importance. Herd-level surveillance along with subsequent risk management action may be a cost-effective component of risk reduction strategies for food production, drinking water supplies and the protection of public health.     

The marketing of herd health and production management services on Dutch dairy farms: perceptions of dairy farmers and their veterinary surgeons

A questionnaire-based survey on veterinary herd health and production management services was conducted on 194 specialist dairy veterinarians and 466 dairy farmers. The farmers were randomly selected from greater than 6,000 farmer clients of the surveyed veterinarians. This paper reports these survey findings and the findings of an earlier survey conducted among the veterinarians. The survey included questions on the attributes of the service itself, the practitioners delivering the service, reasons for participation and the expected future of herd health and production management services. Reasons farmers participated in herd health and production management programmes included; access to routine screening of their herd; increasing profits; and receiving regular veterinary advice or solutions to remedy existing problems. Advantages of participation named included: good management support; higher profits; structural solutions to problems; and being better informed. Differences between farming styles were observed, pointing to the different needs and goals of farming styles. Farmers cited high costs and the time investment required as major disadvantages. The proportion of farmers citing these reasons was lower than expected by the veterinarians. In the future, preventive healthcare will be the main reason of farmers to participate. Farmers who are not using the service can potentially be encouraged to engage the services after gaining increased insight into the herd health and management service structure, the planning of activities, the cost-benefit of the service, veterinary surgeons being more co-operative with other farm advisors and veterinarians being more willing to pay attention to quality issues on the dairy farm.