Chemometrical analysis of capillary electrophoresis casein fractions for predicting ripening times of milk mixture cheese

The effect of the ripening time on the proteolytic process in cheeses manufactured from mixtures of cow's and ewe's milk during a 167-day ripening period was monitored by capillary electrophoresis of the pH 4.6-insoluble fraction. Totals of 21 and 16 peaks were recognized and matched in the electropherograms obtained with a fused-silica capillary and a neutral capillary (hydrophilically coated), respectively. These peaks corresponded to intact bovine and ovine caseins and their hydrolysis products (e.g., alpha(s1)-casein, gamma-caseins). In 167-day-old cheeses, bovine alpha(s0)-casein (alpha(s1)-casein 9P) had been completely degraded and 6% of the residual bovine alpha(s1)-casein remained intact. Breakdown of the beta-casein fraction was lower than that of the alpha(s)-casein fraction. Finally, partial least-squares regression and principal component regression were used to predict the ripening time in cheeses. The root-mean-square errors in prediction by cross-validation were <7.8 days in all cases.     

Effects of density on growth and survival of juvenile Red Swamp Crayfish, Procambarus clarkii (Girard), reared under laboratory conditions

The aim of this study was to quantify the importance of population density on the growth and survival of juvenile red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii (Girard), and to understand the effects of density on both the period between moults and the increment per moult at high densities without food limitation. A laboratory experiment was performed to determine growth and survival of juvenile crayfish at five densities (20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 crayfish m^?2). Density clearly affected crayfish growth. The impact of density on final weight was higher than on total length increase, growth rate and final length (FL) (by decreasing order of effect). When comparing minimum and maximum densities, we observed that FL suffered a 34% reduction. Number of moults, mean intermoult period (IP) and survival were not significantly affected by density. Our results indicated that the IP and the percentage of increment per moult are affected by the size of crayfish before moult and we provide equations for these relations. Our findings are relevant both for crayfish aquaculture management and for the management of wild or harvested rice‐field crayfish populations.     

Molecular characterization of chestnut plants selected for putative resistance to Phytophthora cinnamomi using SSR markers

A set of nine short sequence repeat (SSR) loci was used for the molecular characterization of 32 accessions of 15 chestnut trees selected in the field because of their putative resistance to the ink disease caused by Phytophthora spp. The goal of the present study was to determine the genetic identity of those selected European chestnut trees (Castanea sativa) or interspecific hybrids, considering that hybridization programs between European chestnut and Asiatic species (mainly Japanese chestnut, Castanea crenata) have been carried out in Galicia (Spain) since the early 20th century. The results showed that the analyzed SSR loci were useful to discriminate three Asiatic and the European species of Castanea. The joint information provided by a factorial correspondence analysis (FCA) and the presence of privative alleles allowed the putative molecular assignment of the selected plants to a certain identity. Most of them were determined as hybrids between C. crenata and C. sativa. The individuals coded C036 and C048 were assigned, with a high probability, to C. sativa due to their clustering with accessions of this species and because they had a number of privative alleles of this species. Only a few individuals could not be assigned to any particular genotype.     

Morphological development and allometric growth of yellowtail kingfish Seriola lalandi V. larvae under culture conditions

Morphological development and allometric growth patterns of Seriola lalandi larvae were assessed to characterize normal growth patterns under culture conditions. Early ontogenetic stages of yellowtail kingfish exhibited an exponential growth in terms of standard length as a function of age. Five development stages were characterized from hatching to the juvenile stage: larval stage I (0–2 days post hatch, dph) with endogenous feeding, characterized by a small yolk sac, unpigmented eyes, primordial finfold surrounding the body and a closed mouth; larval stage II (2–15 dph) characterized by mouth opening, complete pigmentation of eyes and the beginning of the exogenous feeding; subsequently, in the larval stage III (15–25 dph) the posterior tip of notochord of the larvae bended upward and the first rays appeared in fins, concomitant with a change in swimming behaviour; thereafter, larval stage IV (post‐flexion stage; 25–30 dph) began when larvae resembled in morphology to a juvenile organism; however, caudal and dorsal fins were not completely development. Lastly, the juvenile stage was reached 30 dph characterized by a morphology and fin structures similar to those of the adults. Growth and development of structures and organs associated with vital functions such as feeding, sensorial and breathing systems seemed to be more critical previous to 23 dph, which was reflected with a positive allometric growth of head and eyes during this period. The results from this study can be used as a tool‐guide to assess normal development in larval research with S. lalandi to improve existing rearing protocols in hatchery production.     

Questionnaire on the process of recovering horses from general anesthesia and associated personnel injury in equine practice

ObjectiveTo collect data about the current practice of recovering horses from general anesthesia and recovery personnel safety.Study designOnline survey.MethodsAn online questionnaire, including questions on general demographic data, recovery drugs, modality and characteristics of equine recovery and morbidity and mortality, was designed and distributed via e-mail to equine practitioners worldwide.ResultsPractitioners from 22 countries completed 373 questionnaires; 53% of the participants were board-certified equine surgeons, and the remainder were board-certified anesthesiologists (18%), large animal residents (8%), general practitioners (7%), large animal interns (6%), anesthesia residents (4.5%) and veterinary technicians (1.6%). Respondents were employed by academia (58%) or private practice (42%). Of the respondents employed at a university, 93% had a board-certified anesthesiologist on staff compared with 7% of respondents employed at a private practice. Most of the respondents assist horses during recovery, with 23% assisting every recovery and 44% assisting recovery in the majority of cases. Reasons for choosing to assist horses during recovery were: orthopedic procedures (57%), neurological deficits (49%), bad health (47%), history of poor recovery (44%), foals (42%), draft breeds (30%), magnetic resonance imaging (17%) and computed tomography (16%). Unacceptable recoveries were reported by 77% of participants. Commonly reported complications during recovery with any method were: orthopedic injury (66%), myopathy (54%), skin abrasion (53%) and airway obstruction (37%). The incidences of unacceptable quality of recovery (p = 0.09) or personnel injury (p = 0.56) were not different between assisted and nonassisted recoveries; however, more equine fatalities were reported for assisted recoveries (p < 0.006). Practitioners in academia reported more unacceptable recoveries (p < 0.0007) and personnel injuries (p < 0.002) compared with those in private practice.ConclusionsThe method of recovery differs among hospitals. Recovery personnel injuries associated with assisting horses during recovery are an important and previously unreported finding.     

Ultrasonographic Evaluation of Equine Ocular Diseases: A Retrospective Study of 38 Eyes

Ocular ultrasonography in horses represents a valuable imaging diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of intraocular and periocular diseases, particularly when cornea or lens opacities preclude ophthalmoscopy of deeper structures. The authors studied normal and pathological aspects of the eye. Nineteen horses with opacities of the dioptric structures underwent an ultrasound examination. This technique allowed the diagnosis of a posterior synechia (1), cataracts (8), vitreous opacities (6), retinal detachment (3), and a foreign body (1). Ultrasonography provided helpful information about the structure and vascular pattern when the conventional ophthalmic evaluation was unable to achieve a correct diagnosis.     

Computing inbreeding coefficients and the inverse numerator relationship matrix in large populations of honey bees

The inbreeding coefficients are considered in breeding decisions, and the inverse numerator relationship matrix A ^?1 is a prerequisite for breeding value estimation. Polyandry and haploid males are among the specifics of relationships between honey bees. Brascamp and Bijma (2014) averaged out the manifold possible relationships among honey bees that appear to have the same parents in a pedigree and assigned a single entry in A to animals that behave as a unit, for example, the workers of a hive. Their methods of calculation connected full‐sibs in the variance matrix of the Mendelian sampling terms D , via nonzero off‐diagonal elements. This impedes the inversion of A and the closely connected calculation of inbreeding coefficients, because efficient algorithms for this task take D to be a diagonal matrix. Memory limitations necessitate their use for large data sets. We adapted the quickest of them to the block diagonal matrix D , that is postulated for the honey bee. To our knowledge, the presented algorithm is the first one that facilitates the method of Brascamp and Bijma (2014) on large data sets.     

Trawling for cephalopods off the Portuguese coast—Fleet dynamics and landings composition

Fleet dynamics was addressed for three cephalopod taxa of commercial interest, the squid Loligo vulgaris, the octopuses Octopus vulgaris and Eledone cirrhosa, and the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis, for 48 trawlers of the fish trawling fleet. Landing profiles (LP) were identified based on the species composition of the landings using hierarchical cluster analysis. Four out of a total of 12 different LP were related to cephalopods and other species associated with them.The effects on the landing proportions of a number of variables, year, season and vessel, are analysed for each of the species studied using generalized linear models (GLM). The factor “vessel”, including an ensemble of technical characteristics as well as the abilities of individual skippers, explained most of the model deviance, strongly reinforcing the existence of a fleet component dedicated to catch cephalopods. However, time also explains much of the variation found in the data.Seasonal alternation between landings of octopodidae and cuttlefish was observed within a small group of old trawlers operating mainly off the south coast, following the abundance cycles of these species. For a larger group of more modern trawlers, operating off the western coast, inter-annual shift between octopus and squid was found, together with a well marked seasonal pattern between the catches of cephalopods and horse mackerel.Spatial patterns of activity were identified using vessel monitoring system (VMS) data available for trawlers in Portugal, demonstrating the existence of cephalopod targeting strategies in Portuguese fish trawling activities.     

Technologies for the diagnosis and remediation of Fe deficiency

The objective of this paper is to review the developments in the last few years in two important issues related to Fe deficiency in plants. First, the current knowledge on the possible ways to carry out the diagnosis and prognosis of Fe deficiency in plants is discussed. This includes discussion on the best ways to carry out a meaningful analysis of Fe-containing compounds in different plant parts. We will also discuss other measurement techniques that can permit to assess the Fe nutritional status in plants, including leaf chlorophyll concentrations and others. Second, the new developments in management techniques to control and remediate iron deficiency are discussed. This includes possible improved ways to supply Fe compounds available to plants, both to the soil and to the irrigation water. We also discuss possible ways to supply directly the plant with Fe containing compounds, either to the foliage or to the stem. A particular emphasis is given throughout the paper to fruit tree crops growing in Mediterranean areas.     

The importance of dietary HUFA for meagre larvae (Argyrosomus regius; Asso, 1801) and its relation with antioxidant vitamins E and C

Despite the interest of meagre (Argyrosomus regius) as a fast‐growing candidate for Mediterranean aquaculture diversification, there is a lack of information on nutrition along larval development. Importance of highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) and the antioxidant vitamins E and vitamin C has not been investigated yet in this species. Six diets with two levels of HUFA (0.4% and 3% dw), two of vitamin E (1500 and 3000 mg kg^?1) and two of vitamin C (1800 and 3600 mg kg^?1) were fed to 15 dah meagre larvae. Larval growth in total length and dry body weight was significantly lowest in larvae fed diet 0.4/150/180 and showed few lipid droplets in enterocytes and hepatocytes and lower HUFA contents than the initial larvae. Increase in dietary HUFA up to 3%, significantly improved larval growth and lipid absorption and deposition. Besides, among fish fed 3% HUFA, increase in vitamin E and vitamin C significantly improved body weight, as well as total lipid, 22:6n‐3 and n‐3 fatty acids contents in the larvae. Thus, the results showed that 0.4% dietary HUFA is not enough to cover the essential fatty acid requirements of larval meagre and a high HUFA requirement in weaning diets is foreseen for this species. Besides, the results also pointed out the importance of dietary vitamin E and C to protect these essential fatty acids from oxidation, increase their contents in the larvae and promote growth, suggesting high vitamin E and C requirements in meagre larvae (higher than 1500 and 1800 mg kg^?1 for vitamin E and vitamin C respectively).