Health of farmed fish: its relation to fish welfare and its utility as welfare indicator

This brief review focuses on health and biological function as cornerstones of fish welfare. From the function-based point of view, good welfare is reflected in the ability of the animal to cope with infectious and non-infectious stressors, thereby maintaining homeostasis and good health, whereas stressful husbandry conditions and protracted suffering will lead to the loss of the coping ability and, thus, to impaired health. In the first part of the review, the physiological processes through which stressful husbandry conditions modulate health of farmed fish are examined. If fish are subjected to unfavourable husbandry conditions, the resulting disruption of internal homeostasis necessitates energy-demanding physiological adjustments (allostasis/acclimation). The ensuing energy drain leads to trade-offs with other energy-demanding processes such as the functioning of the primary epithelial barriers (gut, skin, gills) and the immune system. Understanding of the relation between husbandry conditions, allostatic responses and fish health provides the basis for the second theme developed in this review, the potential use of biological function and health parameters as operational welfare indicators (OWIs). Advantages of function- and health-related parameters are that they are relatively straightforward to recognize and to measure and are routinely monitored in most aquaculture units, thereby providing feasible tools to assess fish welfare under practical farming conditions. As the efforts to improve fish welfare and environmental sustainability lead to increasingly diverse solutions, in particular integrated production, it is imperative that we have objective OWIs to compare with other production forms, such as high-density aquaculture. However, to receive the necessary acceptance for legislation, more robust scientific backing of the health- and function-related OWIs is urgently needed.     

Biomass allocation and foliage heteroblasty in hard pine species respond differentially to reduction in rooting volume

Rooting space is considered as a resource in plants, but comparative studies on the biomass allocation plasticity in response to rooting volume (RV) are rare. We compared responses in growth, biomass allocation and ontogenetic heteroblasty in nine hard pine species of contrasted ecology. Seedlings were cultivated in containers of 0.2, 0.5, 1.0, 2.8 and 7 L for two growing seasons (425 days). Reduction in RV caused a reduction in plant absolute and relative growth rate and biomass allocated to stems but it increased biomass allocated to roots. RV affected to a lesser extent and in a less consistent direction allocation to leaves. Species that grew faster (higher relative growth rate) had a steeper decrease in growth with the reduction in RV. Ontogenetic heteroblasty, evaluated as the proportion of secondary needles in the needle biomass, showed highly different plasticity patterns in response to RV. Decrease in RV caused negligible or no change either in the most ontogenetically delayed Mediterranean pines or in the most ontogenetically advanced pines, the mesic Pinus sylvestris and P. uncinata. By contrast, ontogenetically intermediate species showed steep reaction norms in response to reduction in RV. While P. pinaster and P. brutia showed marked rejuvenation, P. nigra accelerated the development of adult foliage.     

Accuracy of the withdrawal reflex for localization of the site of cervical disk herniation in dogs: 35 cases (2004-2007)

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the accuracy of neurologic examination versus magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in localization of cervical disk herniation and evaluate the usefulness of withdrawal reflex testing in dogs. DESIGN: Retrospective case series. ANIMALS: 35 client-owned dogs with a single-level cervical disk herniation as determined via MRI. PROCEDURES: 1 of 2 board-certified neurologists performed a complete neurologic examination in each dog. Clinical signs of a cervical lesion included evidence of neck pain and tetraparesis. The withdrawal reflex was used for neuroanatomic localization (C1-C5 or C6-T2). Agreement between results of neurologic and MRI examinations was determined. RESULTS: Agreement between neurologic and MRI diagnoses was 65.8%. In 11 dogs in which the lesion was clinically localized to the C6-T2 segment on the basis of a decreased withdrawal reflex in the forelimbs, MRI revealed an isolated C1-C5 disk lesion. In 1 dog, in which the lesion was suspected to be at the C1-C5 level, MRI revealed a C6-T2 lesion. Cranial cervical lesions were significantly associated with an incorrect neurologic diagnosis regarding site of the lesion. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggested that the withdrawal reflex in dogs with cervical disk herniation is not reliable for determining the affected site and that a decreased withdrawal reflex does not always indicate a lesion from C6 to T2.     

Cytoprotection by neutral fraction of tannat red wine against oxidative stress-induced cell death

Some of the beneficial effects of the Mediterranean diet on human pathologies have been attributed to red wine polyphenols. It has been postulated that the antioxidant activity of the latter would be also responsible for the cytoprotective capacity of red wine that has been reported in a few papers. Nevertheless, red wine shows a complex composition, and the active fraction is not known yet. In this context, the protective capacity of total lyophilized extracts of red wine and anthocyanin, neutral, or acidic fractions, was explored in PC12 cells in culture after a hydrogen peroxide insult. Although all fractions showed high antioxidant activity, only the neutral fraction was cytoprotective. The analysis of this active fraction showed that it was rich in the aglycons quercetin and myricetin as well as the glycosides of kaempferol, isorhamnetin, epicatechin, and catechin, some of which are known to be cytoprotective. This is the first paper to reveal the active fraction of total wine responsible of its cytoprotection.     

Atomic absorption spectrophotometric determination of chromium in foods

A method is reported for determination of chromium in foodstuffs. Organic matter is digested with nitric acid, followed by oxidation to Cr(VI) and extraction with methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) after HCl addition. Chromium determinations are performed by flame absorption spectroscopy. Absence of interferences is verified and recovery tests are performed on food samples. Quantitation limit (3.8 ng/mL), accuracy (NBS Standard Reference Material 1,573 Tomato Leaves, 4,500 +/- 500 ng/g, found 3,860 +/- 409 ng/g), and precision (CV for vegetable matrix = 9.05%, CV for animal matrix = 14.95%) of the procedure are evaluated.     

Optimum Nutrient Concentrations and CND Scores of Mature White Spruce Determined Using a Boundary-Line Approach and Spatial Variation of Tree Growth and Nutrition

ABSTRACT

Standards of optimum nutrition are not readily available for mature trees of the Canadian boreal forest. The objective of this study was to determine foliar nutritional standards for white spruce for all major nutrients [nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and manganese (Mn)] using critical values (CVA) and compositional nutrient diagnosis (CND). Trees were sampled at two locations in Ontario and Quebec to cover a gradient of soil fertility levels. A boundary-line approach was used in combination with quadratic regression models to estimate the relationship between growth and foliar-nutrient concentrations or CND scores when free of the effects of interacting environmental factors. White spruce optimum nutrition ranges were computed from significant relationships (P ≤ 0.10) for N, P, K, Ca, and Mn concentrations and for N, P, and K CND scores. Optimum concentrations for first-year needles were 12.3, 1.9, 7.3, 6.5, and 0.39 mg g^?1 for N, P, K Ca, and Mn, respectively, whereas optimum CND scores were 0.17, ?1.65, ?0.40, and ?0.30 for N, P, K, and Ca, respectively. Samples from a broader range of environmental conditions will be required in order to establish standards for all major nutrients and to ascertain toxicity levels of most nutrients.     

Application of RAPD markers in the characterisation of Chrysanthemum varieties and the assessment of somaclonal variation

Characterisation of fifteen commercial varieties of Chrysanthemum was carried out through RAPD analysis. Varieties could be distinguished from each other and the level of similarity between varieties seemed to be not very high. In vitro cultures were establish from four varieties and were subjected to different proliferation conditions. Five individuals from each variety and treatment were analysed using RAPD at the beginning of the treatment and after a month of culture. Variation was detected at both stages of the culture period. The rate of variation found showed differences between varieties, but no significant difference was found between culture conditions. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The proteasome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is required for resistance to nitric oxide

The production of nitric oxide and other reactive nitrogen intermediates (RNI) by macrophages helps to control infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). However, the protection is imperfect and infection persists. To identify genes that Mtb requires to resist RNI, we screened 10,100 Mtb transposon mutants for hypersusceptibility to acidified nitrite. We found 12 mutants with insertions in seven genes representing six pathways, including the repair of DNA (uvrB) and the synthesis of a flavin cofactor (fbiC). Five mutants had insertions in proteasome-associated genes. An Mtb mutant deficient in a presumptive proteasomal adenosine triphosphatase was attenuated in mice, and exposure to proteasomal protease inhibitors markedly sensitized wild-type Mtb to RNI. Thus, the mycobacterial proteasome serves as a defense against oxidative or nitrosative stress.     

Antioxidant activity of olive pulp and olive oil phenolic compounds of the arbequina cultivar

The aim of this study was to characterize antioxidant activities of phenolic compounds that appear in olive pulp and olive oils using both radical scavenging and antioxidant activity tests. Antiradical and antioxidant activities of olive pulp and olive oil phenolic compounds were due mainly to the presence of a 3,4-dihydroxy moiety linked to an aromatic ring, and the effect depended on the polarity of the phenolic compound. Glucosides and more complex phenolics exhibited higher antioxidant activities toward oxidation of liposomes, whereas in bulk lipids aglycons were more potent antioxidants with the exception of oleuropein. Lignans acted as antioxidants only in liposomes, which could partly be due to their chelating activity, because liposome oxidation was initiated by cupric acetate. The antioxidant activity of virgin olive oil is principally due to the dialdehydic form of elenolic acid linked to hydroxytyrosol (3,4-DHPEA-EDA), a secoiridoid derivative (peak RT 36, structure unidentified), and luteolin.