Treatment of a femoral fracture with a titanium locking compression plate distal femur (LCP‐DF) in a young donkey

A closed complete mid‐diaphyseal spiral fracture of the left femur in a one‐year‐old donkey was treated with a 4.5 mm titanium locking compression plate distal femur (LCP‐DF)¹. This plate was originally manufactured for human orthopaedics, primarily for femoral osteosynthesis. The LCP‐DF¹ has a distal head plate that was advantageous in this case because the distal fragment was smaller. Post operative radiographs showed optimal femoral reconstruction and a callus was present 3 weeks after surgery. The donkey was sound at the walk and trot 2 months after surgery. Radiographs taken 5 months after surgery showed stable implants and complete healing without complications.     

Potential longevity (Ki) of malting barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) grain lots relates to their degree of pre-germination assessed through different industrial quality parameters

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) grain germination is required to perform the malting process. Maintenance of barley seed viability during storage is crucial for the malt industry; and modern cultivars are bred for rapid grain dormancy release after physiological maturity. Low dormancy level combined with rain close to harvest induces pre-germination/pre-harvest sprouting damage. Pre-germination might not affect viability in the short term after harvest, but it could reduce potential longevity (K_i) of a barley seed lot. K_i value is inherent for each barley lot; however, its determination is time-consuming which precludes its assessment at an industrial scale. In this study we sought quantitative relationships between K_i and the pre-germination degree of barley grain lots, assessed through quality tests routinely performed by malthouses [Falling Number (FN), α-Amylase Activity and Carlsberg]. Field pre-germinated lots from one old barley cultivar (Quilmes Palomar) and artificially pre-germinated lots from major varieties currently grown in Argentina were used. Associations between K_i and values obtained from all quality tests analysed were found for Q. Palomar. However, FN was the parameter that yielded the best and simplest explanation of K_i variability. A significant positive linear K_i -FN relationship was also obtained for each modern barley cultivar.     

Assessment of Suitable Porcine Semen for Freezing,According to the Ejaculate Characteristics in the Iberico × Landrace Breed

A total of 35 ejaculates were studied in order to assess the suitability of porcine semen for freezing according to the ejaculate characteristics. The effects of the freezing procedure were identified; a decrease in motility and acrosome quality was found after thawing. The best results on motility were linked to the ejaculates with a volume of less than 100 ml of the sperm‐rich fraction, a concentration lower than 450 × 10⁶ spermatozoa/ml and an agglutination score below 2. However, the best normal apical ridge (NAR) was found when the volume of the sperm‐rich fraction was greater than 150 ml. For this reason, an intermediate volume of the sperm‐rich fraction of the ejaculate for the best motility and the best NAR, a concentration lower than 450 × 10⁶ spermatozoa/ml and a rate of agglutination below 2 should provide the best quality after freezing. This study also attempted to determine whether a positive effect of ejaculate selection on the overall freezing performance might be expected.     

Multi‐temporal Digital Photogrammetric Analysis for Quantitative Assessment of Soil Erosion Rates in the Landola Catchment of the Upper Orcia Valley (Tuscany,Italy)

This paper focuses on the analysis of the slope and catchment erosion dynamics in a typical Mediterranean context and its sensitivity to recent climatic and socio‐economic changes. The main objective of the present study is to test the reliability of digital photogrammetric analysis to evaluate the time and space evolution of erosion processes mainly triggered by surface running waters and landslides for about the last 60 years. The selected test area is the Landola catchment, a minor tributary of the Upper Orcia River Valley (Southern Tuscany). The Upper Orcia valley is a key site for the comprehension of denudation processes typically acting in Mediterranean badland areas thanks to the following: (i) the availability of long‐lasting erosion monitoring datasets (20 years' long direct measurements at erosion ‘hot spots’); (ii) its representativeness as a sub‐humid Mediterranean badland area; and (iii) the rapidity of development of erosion processes, which makes it suitable as an open‐air laboratory for the study of badland dynamics. The outputs of this work highlight that the application of high‐resolution digital photogrammetric methodologies can represent a powerful and low‐cost tool to evaluate rates and spatial–temporal distribution of denudation processes, as confirmed by the validation through field point monitoring in areas close to the study area. The results obtained for the study area confirm that high erosion rates are a persistent environmental problem for the Upper Orcia Valley, which is not solved up to now, despite various land conservation interventions. The performed multi‐temporal analysis shows a slight decrease in the average water erosion rate during the last 60 years and a parallel increase in the frequency of mass wasting events. These variations are most likely related to a complex interplay between land use changes that have affected the study area during the studied period, revealing a very delicate equilibrium between farming activities and erosion processes. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Effect of Chromosome 1B/1R Translocation on the Yield Potential of Certain Spring Wheats (Triticum aestivum L.)

Nearly 50 percent of the 1988 advanced breeding lines of the CIMMYT bread wheat breeding program possess the 1B/1R homozygous translocation. Hence, a trial was conducted to estimate the effect of 1B/1R chromosome translocation on the yield potential of some of our high-yielding spring wheats, where non-limiting levels of fertility, moisture, preventive pest and disease programs were used. In conclusing the 1B/1R lines seemed to have increased their above-ground biomass yield, number of spikes per meter², 1000-grain weight and test weight. They also exhibited a slight advantage over the 1B homozygous lines on grain yield. The observed difference, however, was non-significant, as was the plant height difference observed among the two groups. Varietal comparisons indicated that the 1B/1R group headed later than the 1B group.     

The measurements of acid detergent fibre in rapeseed by visible and near-infrared spectroscopy

Visible and near‐infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) calibrations for acid detergent fibre (ADF) in intact rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) were performed for two different sample volumes (10 ml, 500 seeds approximately; and 1 ml, 50 seeds approximately). The inclusion of brown and yellow‐seeded cultivars in this work has allowed the whole range of ADF currently described in the literature for this character to be covered. Chemometric techniques have been used for developing calibration equations for both procedures when measuring the two different seed sample volumes. On the basis of the coefficient of determination in the cross‐validation (R²cv) obtained for the 10 and 1 ml assays (0.80 and 0.73), and SECV/SEL ratios (2.30 and 2.57), respectively, both equations showed an accuracy sufficient for screening purposes in an ADF range from 6.80 to 13.46% dry wt, which is presented in this work.     

Human voice recognition depends on language ability

The ability to recognize people by their voice is an important social behavior. Individuals differ in how they pronounce words, and listeners may take advantage of language-specific knowledge of speech phonology to facilitate recognizing voices. Impaired phonological processing is characteristic of dyslexia and thought to be a basis for difficulty in learning to read. We tested voice-recognition abilities of dyslexic and control listeners for voices speaking listeners' native language or an unfamiliar language. Individuals with dyslexia exhibited impaired voice-recognition abilities compared with controls only for voices speaking their native language. These results demonstrate the importance of linguistic representations for voice recognition. Humans appear to identify voices by making comparisons between talkers' pronunciations of words and listeners' stored abstract representations of the sounds in those words.     

Effect of aging on lees and of three different dry yeast derivative products on Verdejo white wine composition and sensorial characteristics

A study was made of the effect of aging on lees and of three different commercial yeast derivative products of different composition and degree of purification on the phenolic compounds, color, proteins, polysaccharides, and sensorial characteristics of white wines. The results obtained showed that the lees and yeast derivative products can interact or adsorb some of the phenolic compounds present in wines, reducing their concentration. This reduction depends on the treatment applied, the phenolic compound analyzed, and the stage of vinification or aging process. The use of lees and yeast derivative products can reduce the color intensity and the browning of the wines immediately following treatment. The monosaccharide and polysaccharide content of yeast derivative products depends on the manufacturing process and degree of purification of the product, both of which have an influence on wine treatments. After 6 months in the bottle, both the aging on lees and the treatment with commercial yeast derivative products gave rise to wines with better sensorial characteristics than in the case of the control wines.     

Demographic characteristics of scrapie-affected holdings identified by active and passive surveillance schemes in Great Britain: 2002–2005

Several surveillance techniques have been used to quantify the prevalence of both classical and atypical scrapie in British sheep, namely the recording of clinical suspects (RC) and the testing of animals slaughtered at abattoir (AS) or reported as fallen stock (FS). Any estimate of prevalence based on a particular source is likely to have been affected by demographic differences in the populations sampled. In this study, the demographic characteristics of scrapie-affected holdings detected by each of the surveillance streams (RC, AS, FS) in Great Britain were compared. Analyses of all three streams indicated that the probability of an affected holding being detected by a particular stream differed by geographical area, the number of animals brought onto the holding, the type of scrapie identified (classical vs. atypical) and the year. More detailed analysis of AS and FS suggested that the annual and regional differences between these surveys could be explained by differences in sampling effort.