Control of gallbladder motility in the rainbow trout,Salmo gairdneri

Immunohistochemistry revealed nerves containing VIP-like and 5-HT-like material in both gallbladder wall and bile duct of the rainbow trout, while endocrine cells containing gastrin/CCK-like and substance P-like material were present in the mucosa of the bile duct and the duodenum. Fluorescence histochemistry showed adrenergic nerves close to the muscle layer of the gallbladder.Sulphated CCK8, caerulein and non-sulphated CCK8 (in this order of potency), 5-HT and acetylcholine were excitatory on isolated strip preparations, while VIP and adrenergic agonists were inhibitory. The adrenergic drugs were probably actingvia a beta-adrenergic receptor, while the effects of 5-HT and cholinergic drugs were antagonized by methysergide and atropine respectively.Electrical stimulation of the gallbladder nervesin situ failed to show any effect or under certain conditions induced a rebound effect.It is concluded that the motility control of the rainbow trout gallbladder may involve an inhibitory innervation by adrenergic and possibly VIP-releasing nerves, while 5-HT, acetylcholine and a CCK-like substance may be involved in the excitatory control.     

Autonomic innervation of the ovary of the Atlantic cod,Gadus morhua

The autonomic innervation of the ovary of the Atlantic cod was investigated using histochemical and physiological/pharmacological methods. The paired ovary receives autonomic innervation via branches of the posterior splanchnic nerve (vesicular nerve).Histochemical studies demonstrated vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)-immunoreactive, 5-hydroxytryptamine-immunoreactive and adrenergic nerve fibers, but a number of antisera raised against other peptides failed to reveal any specific reaction in the tissue preparations. It is concluded that the cod ovary receives a double antagonistic autonomic innervation of excitatory cholinergic fibers and non-adrenergic inhibitory fibers. The nature of the inhibitory neurotransmitter is not known.     

Simple assay for analyzing five microcystins and nodularin in fish muscle tissue: hot water extraction followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A simple, specific, and sensitive procedure for determining six cyanotoxins, that is, microcystins RR, LR, YR, LA, and LW and nodularin, in fish muscle tissue is presented. This method is based on the matrix solid-phase dispersion technique with heated water as extractant followed by liquid chromatography (LC)-tandem mass spectrometry (MS) equipped with an electrospray ion source. Target compounds were extracted from tissue by 4 mL of water acidified to pH 2 and heated at 80 degrees C. After acidification and filtration, 0.2 mL of the aqueous extract was injected in the LC column. MS data acquisition was performed in the multireaction monitoring mode, with at least two precursor ion > product ion transitions selected for each target compound. Analyte recovery ranged between 61 and 82% and was not substantially affected by either the analyte concentrations or the type of fish. The nonexcellent recovery of some of the microcystins was traced to binding of these compounds to protein phosphatases in fish tissue occurring during sample treatment. The existence of covalently bound microcystins in fish has been evidenced by several studies. Compared to an older sample preparation procedure, this one extracted larger amounts of the analytes in a simpler and much more rapid way. On the basis of a signal-to-noise ratio of 10, limits of quantification were estimated to range between 1.6 and 4.0 ng/g. The effects of temperature and volume of the extractant on the analyte recovery were studied.     

Evaluating the necessity for thermal treatment in clay-based metal immobilization techniques as an environmentally acceptable sediment remediation process

Purpose

The objective of this research was to apply the same immobilization (stabilization/solidification) clay-based treatments to sediment contaminated with different metals (Pb, Cd, Ni, Zn, Cu, Cr) with different distributions and availabilities in sediment. We also examined the possibility of using clay as an immobilization agent without the application of thermal treatment, in order to reduce the economic cost of this expensive remediation procedure.

Materials and methods

Clay from a canal in Vojvodina, Republic of Serbia, was used as the immobilization agent in a stabilization/solidification treatment to remediate metal-contaminated sediment. Semi-dynamic and toxicity characteristic leaching tests were conducted to assess the effectiveness of the nonthermal and thermal immobilization treatments with clay, and the long-term leaching behavior of these metals was determined using the following parameters: cumulative percentage of metals leached; diffusion coefficients; leachability indices; and toxicity characteristic leaching test concentration.

Results and discussion

Based on these parameters, both clay-based treatments were effective in immobilizing metals in the contaminated sediment. Results suggest that both heating temperature and clay proportion in the sediment–clay mixture impact the degree of metal immobilization.

Conclusions

Clay-based products are potentially good immobilization materials for metal-contaminated sediments, with the distribution of metals in the original sediment not influencing the efficacy of the treatments. Even without the thermal treatment, the metals were effectively immobilized. The leaching of metals was largely inside the regulatory limits and the treated samples can be regarded as nonhazardous materials. This justifies the choice of not applying the more expensive thermal treatment during remediation, especially when treating sediments containing a mixture of pollutants.     

Acute Phase Responses of Different Positions of High-Goal (Elite) Polo Ponies

The aim of this study was to investigate the acute phase response (APR) in 15 horses by quantifying physiological venous blood variables and serum acute phase proteins (APP) at 5 minutes and 6 and 12 hours after a training match of high-goal polo. The horses were divided into three experimental groups based on their team positions, including defense (n = 6), midfield (n = 5), and attack (n = 4). Serum proteinograms were obtained by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Data were evaluated using analysis of variance for repeated measures. The match represented a high-intensity stimulus for all positions. Defenders appeared to use the anaerobic pathway more than the other positions, as shown by their lower pH and greater lactatemia. Alterations in muscle membrane permeability were observed in all horses, as seen by the increase in serum creatine kinase activity without a correlation with APR. Significant elevations in total serum protein, albumin, ceruloplasmin, haptoglobin, alpha-1 antitrypsin, and 23-kDa protein were seen only during the course of the physical exertion of the match, although there were no differences in these values among positions of the team. After 6 hours of the match, the concentration of transferrin declined, whereas that of alpha-1 acid glycoprotein remained unaltered at all assessed times. These results demonstrated that the defenders required the most use of the anaerobic pathway during the match, and that equestrian polo exercise triggers an acute phase response of relatively short duration; this APR is characterized as noninflammatory, as APR appears to be a physiological alteration related to the stress inherent in physical exercise.     

Throughput capacity of large quantities of chopped straw in partly slatted farrowing pens for loose housed sows

Abstract

The aim of the present paper was to study the throughput capacity (i.e. the ability of straw to drain through slatted flooring) of 15 kg of chopped straw used around the time of farrowing. A cohort study including 96 sows was conducted in two commercial herds, comparing chopped wheat straw of three length categories (mass median length 39, 70 and 130 mm). Straw with short and medium chop lengths was completely absent in 83% (plastic slats) and 85% (cast-iron slats), respectively, of the pens on Day 4 after farrowing, compared to 7% and 6% of pens provided with the longest straw category. We conclude that it is technically feasible to have an efficient throughput of straw and to maintain good pen hygiene in partly slatted farrowing pens provided with 15 kg of chopped straw at farrowing. However, straw chop lengths need to be adjusted to the type of slatted flooring used.     

Deoxynivalenol oligoglycosides: new "masked" fusarium toxins occurring in malt, beer, and breadstuff

The co-occurrence of deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside with its parent toxin, deoxynivalenol, has been recently documented in many cereal-based foods, especially in those produced by enzyme-catalyzed processes. The presence of this masked mycotoxin in the human diet has become an issue of health concern, mainly because of its assumed bioavailability. A selective immunoaffinity-based preconcentration strategy, followed by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution orbitrap mass spectrometry, revealed that, in addition to the most common deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside, also oligoglycosylated deoxynivalenols with up to four bound hexose units were present in cereal-based products. The structure, origination, and fate of these deoxynivalenol conjugates during malt/beer production and bread baking have been thoroughly investigated. Special attention has been paid to the changes of deoxynivalenol conjugates enabled by industrial glycosidase-based enzymatic preparations. To the authors' best knowledge, this is the first study documenting the complexity of masked deoxynivalenol issue.     

Herded cattle and wild grazers partition water but share forage resources during dry years in East African savannas

Wild herbivore diversity and abundance have declined in African savannas for the past 20 years. Competition for forage resources between wild herbivore and livestock species might contribute to this decline, given habitat and diet overlap under conditions of resource limitation. Development of conservation and management strategies rely on understanding the spatial distribution of resources for livestock and wildlife, especially since the combination of transhumance pastoralism and wildlife conservation is common over Africa. We studied the distribution patterns of wild grazers in relation to cattle abundance, and distance to permanent and seasonal water bodies in semi-arid Kenya between 1983 and 2000. Cattle were abundant far from permanent water bodies during dry and wet years. Wild grazers less dependent on water also concentrated far from water during all years. Only wild grazer species more dependent on water remained concentrated close to water. Hence, wild grazers and cattle show spatial partitioning in the use of permanent and seasonal water bodies, but not in their forage resources. Our study provides no strong evidence of spatial displacement of wild grazers by cattle. We suggest that pastoralist decisions on cattle distribution do not need to negatively affect wildlife distribution and that coexistence can be possible through spatial partitioning. Our results show that pastoralist decisions play an important role in the interactions between livestock and wildlife in African savannas and that herd mobility is a key component in supporting sustainable use of resources for both wildlife and livestock.     

Scoring tail damage in pigs: an evaluation based on recordings at Swedish slaughterhouses

Background

There is increasing interest in recording tail damage in pigs at slaughter to identify problem farms for advisory purposes, but also for benchmarking within and between countries as part of systematic monitoring of animal welfare. However, it is difficult to draw conclusions when comparing prevalence’s between studies and countries partly due to differences in management (e.g. differences in tail docking and enrichment routines) and partly due to differences in the definition of tail damage.

Methods

Tail damage and tail length was recorded for 15,068 pigs slaughtered during three and four consecutive days at two slaughterhouses in Sweden. Tail damage was visually scored according to a 6-point scale and tail length was both visually scored according to a 5-point scale and recorded as tail length in centimetres for pigs with injured or shortened tails.

Results

The total prevalence of injury or shortening of the tail was 7.0% and 7.2% in slaughterhouse A and B, respectively. When only considering pigs with half or less of the tail left, these percentages were 1.5% and 1.9%, which is in line with the prevalence estimated from the routine recordings at slaughter in Sweden. A higher percentage of males had injured and/or shortened tails, and males had more severely bitten tails than females.

Conclusions

While the current method to record tail damage in Sweden was found to be reliable as a method to identify problem farms, it clearly underestimates the actual prevalence of tail damage. For monitoring and benchmarking purposes, both in Sweden and internationally, we propose that a three graded scale including both old and new tail damage would be more appropriate. The scale consists of one class for no tail damage, one for mild tail damage (injured or shortened tail with more than half of the tail remaining) and one for severe tail damage (half or less of the tail remaining).