Effect of germination temperatures on proteolysis of the gluten-free grains sorghum and millet during malting and mashing

Our study showed that sorghum and millet followed a similar pattern of changes when they were malted under similar conditions. When the malt from these cereals was mashed, both cereal types produced wide spectra of substrates (sugars and amino acids) that are required for yeast fermentation when malted at either lower or higher temperatures. At the germination temperatures of 20, 25, and 30 °C used in malting both cereal types, production of reducing sugars and that of free amino nitrogen (FAN) were similar. This is an important quality attribute for both cereals because it implies that variation in temperature during the malting of sorghum and millet, especially when malting temperature is difficult to control, and also reflecting temperature variations, experienced in different countries, will not have an adverse effect on the production and release of amino acids and sugars required by yeast during fermentation. Such consistency in the availability of yeast food (substrates) for metabolism during fermentation when sorghum and millet are malted at various temperatures is likely to reduce processing issues when their malts are used for brewing. Although sorghum has gained wide application in the brewing industry, and has been used extensively in brewing gluten-free beer on industrial scale, this is not the case with millet. The work described here provides novel information regarding the potential of millet for brewing. When both cereals were malted, the results obtained for millet in this study followed patterns similar to those of sorghum. This suggests that millet, in terms of sugars and amino acids, can play a role similar to that of sorghum in the brewing industry. This further suggests that millet, like sorghum, would be a good raw material for brewing gluten-free beer. Inclusion of millet as a brewing raw material will increase the availability of suitable materials (raw material sustainability) for use in the production of gluten-free beer, beverages, and other products. The availability of wider range of raw materials will not only help to reduce costs of beer production, but by extension, the benefit of reduced cost of production can be gained by consumers of gluten-free beer as the product would be cheaper and more widely available.     

Morphological variability of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar and brown trout Salmo trutta in different river environments

Abstract – The morphologies of sympatric juvenile Atlantic salmon Salmo salar parr and brown trout Salmo trutta parr were compared between Irish rivers with contrasting hydraulic environments – a high‐gradient and a low‐gradient tributary from the River Barrow catchment, south‐east Ireland and a high‐gradient river from the Burrishoole catchment, west of Ireland. The two catchments differ markedly in mean annual precipitation (849.0 mm year^?1 and 1370.3 mm year^?1 for the Barrow and Burrishoole catchments, respectively). Parr of both species demonstrated morphological variation between and within catchments. Changes in metrics such as pectoral fin length, body depth and body length between and within catchments suggest that hydraulic forces were a major determinant of morphological variation. Both species from the Burrishoole catchment had relatively larger pectoral fins, longer heads, larger eyes and shallower bodies than conspecifics from the Barrow catchment. In rivers subject to frequent rainfall‐driven high discharges, such as those in the Burrishoole catchment, a more fusiform body and head shape coupled with larger pectoral fins may reduce the energetic cost of maintaining position in the water column, as well as increase stability and manoeuvrability. The larger eyes in both parr species in the Burrishoole catchment could further be a response to the lower visibility of the more turbid and peat‐stained waters or to the reduced prey availability. The results of this study demonstrate that local adaptation to flow conditions can yield morphologically distinct populations and that multiple species can exhibit parallel phenotypic responses to changing environmental conditions.     

Characterisation of the kappa light chain of the brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula)

Two full length cDNA sequences encoding the kappa light chain of the Australian marsupial, Trichosurus vulpecula, the brushtail possum, were isolated from a mesenteric lymph node cDNA library. The constant regions (Ckappa) of the two light chains were identical, but the variable (Vkappa) and joining (Jkappa) regions were different. At the amino acid level, possum Ckappa was most similar to Ckappa of an American marsupial, Monodelphis domestica (75%), with similarity to eutherian Ckappa ranging from 47 to 63%. The availability of molecular data will enable the development of immunological reagents for studying immune responses and disease in marsupials, thereby aiding conservation strategies and veterinary medicine.     

Enhanced efficiency of electrostatically charged insecticide aerosols

The bioefficacy of a standard domestic aerosol insecticide has been compared with that of a similar spray in which the droplets were electrostatically charged. The aerosol was charged without the need for an external power supply, by enhancing natural charge separation processes that occur during atomisation. The charge-to-mass ratio achieved was 1.1 x 10(-4) C kg-1, compared with 2.2 x 10(-5) C kg-1 for the standard aerosol. Efficiency was assessed for insects in free flight. A direct space-spray application method was used to study the bioefficacy of these aerosols on houseflies, Musca domestica, and an indirect space-spray method on houseflies and mosquitoes, Culex quinquefasciatus. Two levels of concentration of active ingredients were compared. At low concentrations of 1.57 g kg-1 of bioallethrin and 0.29 g kg-1 of bioresmethrin, the charged aerosol achieved a significant reduction in KDT50 (time at which 50% of the flies were knocked down), compared with the standard aerosol. In the direct spray application to houseflies, the KDT50 was reduced by 50%, while in the indirect spray the KDT50 was reduced by 40%. In the indirect spray of mosquitoes, the KDT50 was reduced by 22%. With higher active ingredient concentrations of 2.09 g kg-1 for bioallethrin and 0.39 g kg-1 for bioresmethrin, the charged aerosol also demonstrated faster knockdown than the standard, but the improvement was less marked. In the direct spray application to houseflies, the KDT50 was reduced by 21% compared with the standard aerosol, while in the indirect spray the KDT50 was reduced by 16%. In the indirect spray of mosquitoes, the KDT50 was reduced by 24%. The percentage mortality after 24 h was also increased with the charged aerosol. Charge carried by the droplets results in increased interception of the insecticide, as the droplets are attracted to the insects in flight and space charge effects within the aerosol could cause improved dispersion in the test chamber.     

Use of standard toxicity tests with Typhlodromus pyri and Aphidius rhopalosiphi to establish a dose-response relationship

The existing standardised test systems for assessing the toxicity of crop protection products to the non-target arthropods Typhlodromus pyri (Acari: Phytoseiidae) and Aphidius rhopalosiphi (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae) are limit tests designed to compare a single-use rate of the product with a water control. The suitability of these test systems for generating dose-response data as required for refined ecotoxicological risk assessment was evaluated. Data on dose-response toxicity of crop protection products to T. pyri and A. rhopalosiphi were generated under worst-case laboratory and to T. pyri under extended laboratory conditions and analysed using the standard Probit method, a logistic regression, a generalised Probit analysis, and the moving average-angle method in order to calculate the LR₅₀-values (application rate killing 50% of the exposed organisms). The fit of the models, the precision of the resulting LR₅₀ values, and the required minimum number of replicates were compared. In 85% of the studies, at least one of the statistical methods led to satisfactory results. The moving average-angle method was the most widely applicable method. The results show that the existing guidelines can be used to perform dose-response tests. Implications for risk assessment are discussed.     

Comparison of methods to assess dog owners' therapeutic compliance

Objective To compare different methods for assessing the compliance of veterinary clients administering medication to their dogs.
Procedure Thirty-one owners whose dogs were prescribed amoxycillin-clavulanate, twice and thrice daily, for a duration of five to seven days were recruited from three Sydney veterinary hospitals. Compliance was assessed by electronic monitoring devices, return medication counts, client self-reports and veterinarians' estimation of likely compliance.
Results Electronic monitoring showed owners administered on average 84% (range 7 to 104%) of prescribed medication to their dogs. Both return medication counts and client self-reports tended to overestimate therapeutic compliance when compared with electronic monitoring. When questioned, the majority of owners (71%) claimed perfect compliance with the prescribed regimen. No correlation was found between veterinarians' estimates of owner compliance and that assessed electronically.
Conclusion Electronic monitoring provided valuable information on dose timing and variation, but proved costly and difficult to employ in veterinary practice. Simplicity and low cost of return medication counts makes this method attractive for use in veterinary compliance studies. Client self-reports reliably detected some noncompliers and permitted identification of individual problems or errors. For practical purposes a combination of return medication counts and client self-reports may have merit in future veterinary compliance studies.     

Lack of peripheral sympathetic control of uterine blood flow during acute heat stress

Peripheral alpha- and beta-adrenergic control of uterine blood flow (UBF) during acute heat stress of the gravid ewe was investigated. An electromagnetic blood flow probe was surgically implanted around the left miduterine artery and catheters inserted in the left carotid artery and right jugular vein in ewes between d 120 and 130 of gestation. Four or more days postsurgery, ewes were fitted with instruments to measure rectal temperature (Tr), heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), blood pressure (BP) and UBF. One-half hour after instrument calibration, a 15-min thermoneutral control period was initiated with carotid artery blood samples taken at 5-min intervals for pH and PCO2 determinations. Ewes were then subjected to a heat challenge that reached 40 C at 2 h. All physiological data were recorded every 5 min as 1-min mean values. In seven experiments on five ewes, an alpha-adrenergic blocking drug, phenoxybenzamine (PB) was infused at 1 mg/min for 15 min subsequent to maximum depression of UBF. A beta-adrenergic blocking drug, propranolol (PR) was infused at .35 mg/min for 15 min in eight experiments on five ewes. Analysis of variance comparisons were made between the control period and heat stress infusion periods within the PB and PR experiments. Further comparisons were made between the start and 5, 10 or 15 min of PB or PR infusion in order to test drug effects during an acute heat stress. Rectal temperature HR, RR and arterial pH were higher (P less than .05) at the start of PR and PB infusions than during the thermoneutral control period.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Taenia saginata derived synthetic peptides with potential for the diagnosis of bovine cysticercosis

Immunity in Taeniids is predominantly antibody mediated and thus many serological immuno-determinants will have potential in both protection and diagnosis. The antigenicity of six peptides derived from four potentially protective molecules cloned from a Taenia saginata oncospheres cDNA library have been evaluated as targets for the specific diagnosis of bovine cysticercosis. The six peptides consist of: two peptides (HP6-2 and HP6-3) derived from the sequence of the 18 kDa surface/secreted oncospheral adhesion antigen identified by McAb-HP6, two peptides (Ts45W-1 and Ts45W-5) derived from the sequence of the T. saginata homologue of the T. ovis 45W protective gene family, one peptide (TS45S-10) derived from a T. saginata sequence with significant similarity to the T. ovis 45S protective antigen, and one peptide (TEG-1) derived from the sequence of the T. saginata homologue of Echinococcus spp. main surface protein. Longitudinal studies indicate that T. saginata infected cattle respond to all six peptides by 3-4 weeks post-infection and that the antibody levels remain high for at least 12 weeks post-infection. As protection against Taeniid parasites is predominantly antibody mediated, some of these six peptides may be of value as immuno-prophylactic tools and hence also in assays to determine resistance to infection with the parasite. For diagnosis, on the other hand, only three peptides (HP6-2, TEG-1 and Ts45S-10) performed with the necessary sensitivity and specificity to determine exposure to infection with T. saginata, and now merit an exhaustive evaluation prior to employment as routine diagnostic tools.     

Unidentified coryneform bacterial strain from cases of polyarthritis in chickens: phenotype and fatty acid profile

We report isolation of a strain of fermentative coryneform bacteria from an outbreak of polyarthritis in chickens. This strain could not be assigned to any recognized bacterial taxon because its peculiar phenotype is not yet reported. The strain possessed phenotypic characteristics and fatty acid profile similar to Erysipelothrix but, on the other hand, exhibited temperature-dependent motility like Listeria. We found no evidence of either Mycoplasma synoviae or Chlamydia infection. Details of the phenotype and fatty acid profile of the isolate and measures undertaken to contain the outbreak have been described.