A preliminary equine abuse policy with potential application to veterinary practice

An equine abuse policy was developed as an adjunct to an equine management survey. If at least 3 of 5 categories caused concern, a report to the authorities was indicated. The policy was not used but, in the absence of other guidelines, it might assist veterinarians considering potential abuse cases.     

Use of gas chromatography-olfactometry to identify key odorant compounds in dark chocolate. Comparison of samples before and after conching

After vacuum distillation and liquid-liquid extraction, the volatile fractions of dark chocolates were analyzed by gas chromatography-olfactometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Aroma extract dilution analysis revealed the presence of 33 potent odorants in the neutral/basic fraction. Three of these had a strong chocolate flavor: 2-methylpropanal, 2-methylbutanal, and 3-methylbutanal. Many others were characterized by cocoa/praline-flavored/nutty/coffee notes: 2,3-dimethylpyrazine, trimethylpyrazine, tetramethylpyrazine, 3(or 2),5-dimethyl-2(or 3)-ethylpyrazine, 3,5(or 6)-diethyl-2-methylpyrazine, and furfurylpyrrole. Comparisons carried out before and after conching indicate that although no new key odorant is synthesized during the heating process, levels of 2-phenyl-5-methyl-2-hexenal, Furaneol, and branched pyrazines are significantly increased while most Strecker aldehydes are lost by evaporation.     

Thermal comfort indices assessed in integrated production systems in the Brazilian savannah

The objective was to evaluate the animal thermal comfort indices from two integrated crop-livestock-forestry (ICLF) systems. For this, temperature–humidity index (THI), black globe temperature and humidity index (BGHI), and the radiant thermal load (RTL) were assessed. Two ICLF (ICLF-1 and ICLF-2) systems and one control system were established. On the ICLF systems, the arboreal component was the eucalyptus tree (Eucalyptus grandis × Eucalyptus urophylla; H13 clone), planted in simple wide-spaced rows. The ICLF-1 system had a tree spacing of 14 × 2 m with 357 trees per hectare, and the ICLF-2 had a tree spacing of 22 × 2 m with 227 trees per hectare. The control system had five scattered native trees per hectare, pertaining to Gochnatia and Dipteryx species. The forage component in all three systems was piatã-grass (Brachiaria brizantha cv. BRS Piatã). The experimental design was a randomized block in a sub-subplot design scheme with four replications. The presence of shade provided by the trees offered better conditions of animal comfort when compared with the condition of full sun. The ICLF-1 system, with higher tree density, provided better indicators for thermal comfort, THI, BGHI, and RTL when compared with the condition of full sun, while ICLF-2 was no different than ICLF-1 for BGHI.     

Particle arrangement and internal porosity of coarse fragments affect water retention in stony soils

Information about water retention in stony soils lags behind due to methodological difficulties. We applied a new strategy to measure the water retention in soils with coarse fragments (CFs) and to get insights into the effect of CFs porosity on water retention. Water retention at zero, 10, and 150 m suction, bulk density, and the mass fraction of six particle size classes were measured in undisturbed blocks from soils with variable CFs contents, originating from three parent materials. The results showed that some soils contain porous CFs (2–250 mm) with a water holding capacity as high as the fine fraction (<2 mm). The water held in the suction range of 1–150 m in a soil with porous CFs was twice as high as in soils with non-porous CFs. Multilinear regressions revealed that both the water retention capacity at 1 m suction and in the range 1–150 m were more dependent on bulk density than on the fraction of CFs and fine particles. In the soil with porous CFs, there was no correlation between their fraction and soil water retention. These results show that the bulk water retention capacity of soils with CFs is underestimated when not considering the internal porosity of the CFs. A better understanding of the effect of the porosity of CFs on bulk soil porosity and water retention is important to propose suitable pedotransfer functions and refine physically-based hydraulic functions for stony soils.     

Cellular uptake and efflux of trans-piceid and its aglycone trans-resveratrol on the apical membrane of human intestinal Caco-2 cells

Two stilbenes (trans-piceid and its aglycone trans-resveratrol) were investigated in the uptake across the apical membrane of the human intestinal cell line Caco-2 in order to determine their mechanisms of transport. The uptake was quantified using a reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography method with fluorescence detection. The rate of cellular accumulation in the cells was found to be higher for trans-resveratrol than for trans-piceid. In addition, trans-resveratrol uses passive transport to cross the apical membrane of the cells, whereas the transport of trans-piceid is likely active. With regard to the mechanisms of transport, the involvement of the active transporter SGLT1 in the absorption of trans-piceid was deduced using various inhibitors directly or indirectly exploiting the activity of this transporter (glucose, phlorizin, and ouabain). Moreover, we investigated the involvement of the multidrug-related protein 2 (MRP2), an efflux pump present on the apical membrane, in stilbene efflux by Caco-2 cells. The effect of MK-571 (an MRP inhibitor) seems to implicate MRP2 as responsible for apical efflux of trans-piceid and trans-resveratrol.     

TDP-43 mutations in familial and sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal motor neuron disorder characterized pathologically by ubiquitinated TAR DNA binding protein (TDP-43) inclusions. The function of TDP-43 in the nervous system is uncertain, and a mechanistic role in neurodegeneration remains speculative. We identified neighboring mutations in a highly conserved region of TARDBP in sporadic and familial ALS cases. TARDBPM337V segregated with disease within one kindred and a genome-wide scan confirmed that linkage was restricted to chromosome 1p36, which contains the TARDBP locus. Mutant forms of TDP-43 fragmented in vitro more readily than wild type and, in vivo, caused neural apoptosis and developmental delay in the chick embryo. Our evidence suggests a pathophysiological link between TDP-43 and ALS.     

The effect of post‐mortem storage on the water‐soluble proteins of breast muscles of uneviscerated pheasant and chicken carcasses

Electropherograms, obtained by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, of water‐soluble proteins extracted from the breast muscles of uneviscerated pheasant and chicken carcasses which had been stored at 10 °C were compared. The results indicated that chicken muscle proteins remained largely unchanged, while marked changes occurred in pheasant muscle proteins especially after 10 d post‐mortem.     

Optimizing nitrogen use efficiency in wheat and potatoes: interactions between genotypes and agronomic practices

One approach to decrease the environmental impact of crop production and reduce costs is to optimize agronomic practices and genotypes so that nutrients are used more efficiently. In this study the effects of agronomic practices (rotations, crop protection, fertilization) on yields, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and associated parameters were studied in an experiment using two winter wheat genotypes (Cordiale and Scaro) in one season and two potato genotypes (Sarpo Mira and Sante) in two seasons. The wheat showed no varietal differences in yield and NUE; instead the fertilization regime was the main factor affecting yield and NUE with higher values observed when conventional fertilization was used. The exception was for wheat grown after three years grass/clover ley when there was no added yield benefit from conventional fertilization of the organically bred variety (Scaro). This demonstrates the potential for N fixing crops to provide sufficient N to high yielding cereals if grown for long enough prior to planting. The greatest gains in NUE were achieved by combining an N efficient genotype with conventional crop management in an organic rotation. Fertilization and genotypic variation were the main factors affecting potato tuber yield and NUE, with the late maturing Sarpo Mira displaying elevated yields and NUE compared with the early maturing Sante. The use of organic fertility sources resulted in lower NUE, but N release from organic sources may increase NUE of future crops. This highlights the need for long-term nutrient balance and modelling studies to assess NUE at the crop rotation scale.     

Preserved feedforward but impaired top-down processes in the vegetative state

Frontoparietal cortex is involved in the explicit processing (awareness) of stimuli. Frontoparietal activation has also been found in studies of subliminal stimulus processing. We hypothesized that an impairment of top-down processes, involved in recurrent neuronal message-passing and the generation of long-latency electrophysiological responses, might provide a more reliable correlate of consciousness in severely brain-damaged patients, than frontoparietal responses. We measured effective connectivity during a mismatch negativity paradigm and found that the only significant difference between patients in a vegetative state and controls was an impairment of backward connectivity from frontal to temporal cortices. This result emphasizes the importance of top-down projections in recurrent processing that involve high-order associative cortices for conscious perception.