Fish‐Net: Probabilistic models for fishway planning,design and monitoring to support environmentally sustainable hydropower

The construction of fishways for upstream and downstream connectivity is the preferred mitigation measure for hydropower dams and other riverine barriers. Yet empirical evidence for effective design criteria for many species is missing. We therefore assembled a group of international fishway designers and combined their knowledge with available empirical data using a formal expert elicitation protocol and Bayesian networks. The expert elicitation method we use minimizes biases typically associated with such approaches. Demonstrating our application with a case‐study on the temperate Southern Hemisphere, we use the resulting probabilistic models to predict the following, given alternative design parameters: (i) the effectiveness of technical fishways for upstream movement of migratory fish; (ii) habitat quality in nature‐like bypasses for resident fish; and (iii) rates of mortality during downstream passage of all fish through turbines and spillways. The Fish Passage Network (Fish‐Net) predicts that fishways for native species could be near 0% or near 100% efficient depending on their design, suggesting great scope for adequate mitigation. Sensitivity analyses revealed the most important parameters as follows: (i) design of attraction and entrance features of technical fishways for upstream migration; (ii) habitat preferences of resident fish in nature‐like bypasses; and (iii) susceptibility of fish to barotrauma and blade strike during turbine passage. Numerical modelling predicted that mortality rates of small‐bodied fish (50–100 mm TL) due to blade strike may be higher for Kaplan than Francis turbines. Our findings can be used to support environmentally sustainable decisions in the planning, design and monitoring stages of hydropower development.     

Longitudinal evaluation of diagnostics in experimentally infected young calves during subclinical and clinical paratuberculosis

Five calves were inoculated orally at 2 weeks of age with a dose of 5 × 10⁹ colony-forming units of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) on 2 consecutive days. Two calves developed clinical Johne’s disease at 12 and 16 months of age after being consistently positive for MAP on fecal culture and antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), starting 2 to 3 weeks and 4 to 5 months after inoculation, respectively.     

Methodological approach to the study of the formation and physicochemical properties of phosphate-metal-humic complexes in solution

The aim of this work is to study the suitability of the complementary use of ultrafiltration (UF) and the interaction with an anion-exchange resin (AR) to characterize of phosphate-metal-humic complexes in solution. The results indicate that a methodological approach consisting of the validation and calibration of the AR method by the UF method and the further use of the AR method is suitable for characterizing phosphate-metal complexes. Such an approach has proven to be useful for calculating the phosphate maximum binding capacity of iron-humic complexes and stability constants. It might also be used to obtain valuable purified phosphate-metal-humic complexes for further structural characterization.     

Occurrence of a CGRP-like molecule in siki (Centroscymnus coelolepsis) hydrolysate of industrial origin

Fish protein hydrolysates (FPH) may have potential as bioactive components in functional foods as nutraceuticals. This study focused on the identification of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) molecules in FPH. CGRP is a neuropeptide belonging to the calcitonin/CGRP family and is known as potent arterial and venous vasodilator in humans. Hydrolysates of industrial origin were prepared from siki (Centroscymnus coelolepsis) heads and were analyzed for the presence of CGRP-like molecules using specific radioimmunoassays and radioreceptorassays. The biological activity of the CGRP-related molecules was assessed by their ability to stimulate the adenylate cyclase activity in rat liver membranes. They were finally purified using gel exclusion chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). These molecules presented a molecular weight around 1500-2500 Da and were obtained with a purification factor of 79. The incorporation of FPH with CGRP-like molecules in functional foods could lead to the development of new useful products for health and nutrition markets.     

Validity and reproducibility of two semi-quantitative alcohol frequency questionnaires for the Colombian population

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relative validity and reproducibility of two alcohol intake frequency questionnaires (AFQ-A; AFQ-B), designed to classify subjects according to their alcohol intake level, in Bucaramanga, Colombia. METHOD: One hundred and nine randomly selected subjects, aged between 20 and 60 years, completed three 30-day semi-quantitative alcohol intake records (30-DR). The AFQs were applied three months after the last 30-DR. AFQ-A contained 53 items; AFQ-B contained five items, with the alcoholic drinks for AFQ-B selected by Max_r. The correlation and agreement between alcohol intake assessed with the AFQs and the 30-DR were obtained using Pearson's correlation coefficient (r), Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (rhoC), Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (rS), Bland and Altman's limits of agreement (LOA) and Cohen's weighted kappa statistic (Kw). RESULTS: The reproducibility of the 30-DR was poor; rS ranged from 0.33 to 0.41. The reproducibility of the AFQs was higher, with rS between 0.50 and 0.73. The agreement (Kw) of the 30-DR and the AFQs was 0.40. The lower and upper LOA were between -56.4% and -11.0%. The AFQs and 30-DR were well correlated. Assessment of relative validity between the two methods yielded r values for alcohol between 0.52 and 0.60, which reduced to 0.20-0.29 after energy adjustment. CONCLUSIONS: These AFQs may be useful to rank subjects according to their alcohol intake. The AFQ-B is easy and quick to apply, and is also highly cost-effective.     

Evaluation of modified vaccinia virus Ankara expressing VP2 protein of infectious bursal disease virus as an immunogen in chickens

A recombinant modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) virus expressing mature viral protein 2 (VP2) of the infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) was constructed to develop MVA-based vaccines for poultry. We demonstrated that this recombinant virus was able to induce a specific immune response by observing the production of anti-IBDV-seroneutralizing antibodies in specific pathogen-free chickens. Besides, as the epitopes of VP2 responsible to induce IBDV-neutralizing antibodies are discontinuous, our results suggest that VP2 protein expressed from MVA-VP2 maintained the correct conformational structure. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the usefulness of MVA-based vectors for developing recombinant vaccines for poultry.     

Potential of advanced breeding lines of bread‐making wheat to accumulate grain minerals (Ca,Fe, Mg and Zn) and low phytates under Mediterranean conditions

About 3 billion people may suffer from micronutrient deficiency such as Ca, Fe, Mg or Zn, caused not only by a mineral deficiency in staple food but also by a high content of phytates which bind those minerals and inhibit their absorption. With the aim of evaluating the potential of new cultivars of bread‐making wheat to accumulate those minerals and low phytates, nine advanced breeding lines from an ongoing Portuguese breeding program were studied during 2 years in a field experiment. A wide genetic variability was found between the studied genotypes in all the parameters studied, especially grain yield (ranging on average between 2,027 and 3,209 kg/ha) and grain Mg and Zn concentrations (ranging on average between 1,070 and 1,336 mg/kg, and 23.4 and 30.7 mg/kg, respectively). In global terms, the cultivars with best performance, and therefore, the most potentially suitable to be used in a breeding program, were the Cultivars 3 and 4. However, such a potential varied depending on the analysed trait, and it was clearly influenced by the climatic conditions. The consumption of 100 g of Cultivar‐4 produced under the most favourable conditions might provide a 5.2% of Ca, 26.4% of Fe, 38.9% of Mg and 31.9% of Zn of the recommended daily intakes, with a very good bioavailability for Fe and Ca, but low for Mg and Zn.     

Detection of Leishmania infantum in captive wolves from Southwestern Europe

The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of Leishmania infantum infection in a wild reservoir host (Canis lupus) throughout an endemic area for the disease (Southern Europe). For that reason, the serum and peripheral blood samples of 33 captive wolves from the European Breeding of Endangered Species Programme (EEP) were analyzed using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). L. infantum was detected in three samples from Central Portugal and Central and Northern Spain. Even though L. infantum infection in positive samples was low, surveillance of zoonotic leishmaniosis in this population is recommended as the parasite load could be higher in other tissues due to parasite tropism and most of the EEP institutions studied are located in endemic areas for canine leishmaniosis in Europe.