Grain quality characteristics of rice in Madagascar retail markets

A survey of rice in retail markets of Madagascar with emphasis on the surplus regions of Marovoay and Lac Alaotra and the deficient area, Antananarivo City showed rices of Madagascar to be predominantly medium-long, medium-shaped, with high apparent amylose content, low gelatinization temperature, and soft, hard or medium gel consistency. Mean protein content was 7.5%. Percent white grains among red and white grains ranged from 0 to 100% (mean 56%), head rice 0–94%, translucency 6–66% and Kett whiteness 12–48%.     

Screening of quinalphos,trifluralin and dichlorvos residues in fresh water of aquaculture systems in Mekong Delta,Vietnam

To develop an easy and reliable method for detecting pesticides and their residues in the Mekong Delta, a GC‐MS analytical method was developed and validated according to European guidelines (SANTE/11945/2015) for the determination of residues of three pesticides (quinalphos, trifluralin and dichlorvos) in water. The limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.002 and 0.007 μg/L, respectively, for quinalphos and trifluralin, and 0.016 and 0.053 μg/L, respectively, for dichlorvos and quinalphos. The repeatability, the within‐laboratory reproducibility as well as the trueness met the European criteria. The recovery rate ranged between 72% (for dichlorvos and quinalphos) and 82% (for trifluralin). The developed method was then applied for the analysis of 33 water samples, collected in April 2013, at the beginning of the rainy season in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. Thirteen samples were from rice field, 10 were collected from cat fish ponds and from red tilapia cages. Results showed that only 9% of total water samples analysed contained residues of pesticides, but only in water from rice fish systems. From the 13 samples taken in these systems, quinalphos was detected in three samples. The other two pesticides were not detected. A comparison between analytical results obtained from GC‐MS and an alternative method, that is GC‐ECD indicated that GC‐ECD is less sensitive than GC‐MS, with LOQ ranging from 0.37 to 1.18 (depending on the pesticide). However, for samples with concentrations above these LOQ, no significant difference was observed between the results obtained from the two analytical methodologies.     

Distribution and establishment of the alien Australian redclaw crayfish,Cherax quadricarinatus,in the Zambezi Basin

1. Crayfish are invasive polytrophic keystone species, which are phylogenetically unique on the African continent. The Australian redclaw crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus is invasive in southern African freshwater systems including the Zambezi River Basin. Surveys conducted across the Zambezi Basin (Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Zambia) between 2017 and 2019 showed that C. quadricarinatus is broadly distributed across the Upper and Middle Zambezi and is rapidly spreading through natural and human-mediated means across several ecoregions.
2. The probability of capture (P_capture), catch per unit effort (CPUE) and population characteristics of C. quadricarinatus from the recent Barotse floodplain invasion were compared with older invasions from Lake Kariba and Kafue River.
3. The P_capture and CPUE of C. quadricarinatus in the recently invaded region of the Barotse floodplain were similar to those of the older invasions. Mass and carapace length of C. quadricarinatus from the Barotse floodplain were significantly lower than those of C. quadricarinatus from the older invasions. Sex ratios differed significantly between the three invasive populations. The Barotse floodplain population had a disproportionate investment in females (65.3%) and intersex individuals (8.4%). No crayfish were detected in the Zambezian Headwaters or the Okavango Floodplains ecoregions, but current spread rates are 49 km yr⁻¹ downstream and 12 km yr⁻¹ upstream.
4. Investment in population management and the prevention of spread will have high conservation value across the invaded regions in order to restrict crayfish ecological impacts via direct predation and competition. In areas where crayfish are in high abundance, existing fisheries are affected through damage to nets, leading to increased net abandonment and ghost gear pollution in invaded regions.
5. The emphasis should be on developing cohesive transboundary biosecurity policies in southern Africa to limit further spread that will threaten the integrity of freshwater ecosystems. However, long-term monitoring is needed to gauge invasion risk to sensitive areas such as the Okavango Floodplains ecoregion and determine field-based ecological impacts.

     

Effects of formic acid in abalone diets that contain ingredients derived from fish processing by-products

The study aimed to investigate the effects of formic acid inclusion in abalone diets, which contained ingredients produced from fish processing by-products, and to quantify effects on production performance. Four diets (a commercial reference and iso-nutrient diets containing fish silage oil, unprocessed rainbow trout viscera or shrimp protein hydrolysate) were evaluated both with and without addition of 2 g kg^?1 dietary formic acid, thus yielding a total of eight treatments, in feeding trials with cultured South African abalone Haliotis midae. Results indicated that inclusion of unprocessed rainbow trout viscera without formic acid decreased production performance of experimental animals, as evidenced by significantly decreased final animal weight and daily weight gain, and significantly increased feed conversion ratio compared to the iso-nutrient control. The decreased production performance was attributed to decreased feed water stability of the diet incorporating untreated trout viscera. Dietary formic acid supplementation partially mitigated the negative impacts of viscera inclusion on production performance of the experimental animals, as seen in significantly higher final animal weight and daily weight gain, and lower feed conversion ratio when compared to non-formic acid-supplemented, viscera-containing diet. However, no beneficial effects on production performance or water stability were found upon formic acid inclusion in diets not containing trout viscera. In conclusion, dietary formic acid can partially mitigate negative impacts on production performance when unprocessed trout viscera are included in formulated abalone diets by improving feed water stability, but the exact mechanism by which this is achieved was not established.     

Rainbow trout silage as immune stimulant and feed ingredient in diets for Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus)

Peptides and free amino acids resulting from protein hydrolysis could act as stimulants of fish non‐specific immunity. The study aimed to determine the potential of rainbow trout viscera silage as immune stimulant and feed ingredient for Mozambique tilapia, and to establish whether formic acid used during silage preparation contributed to any effects. Four diets were evaluated: a reference diet (R), one containing 6.5 g kg^?1 formic acid (FA) and two silage diets containing 160 g kg^?1 (SL, low inclusion) and 285 g kg^?1 (SH, high inclusion) silage. Low silage inclusion improved phagocytic activity of leucocytes compared with the reference, while high inclusion showed no improvement. No other non‐specific immunity parameters or haematology were affected by any treatments. High silage inclusion significantly decreased growth and led to higher mortality, while formic acid had no effect on growth. It is concluded that rainbow trout viscera silage can stimulate the cellular non‐specific immunity of Oreochromis mossambicus, and that protein hydrolysis products (and not formic acid) is responsible for the stimulation. The silage can also serve as source of dietary protein and essential amino acids in tilapia diets. However, both fish growth performance and improvement in cellular immunity are dependent on silage inclusion level.     

Accuracy of computed tomographic arthrography for assessment of articular cartilage defects in the ovine stifle

Articular cartilage defects are one of the features of osteoarthritis in animals and humans. Early detection of cartilage defects is a challenge in clinical veterinary practice and also in translational research studies. An accurate, diagnostic imaging method would be desirable for detecting and following up lesions in specific anatomical regions of the articular surface. The current prospective experimental study aimed to describe the accuracy of computed tomographic arthrography (CTA) for detecting cartilage defects in a common animal model used for osteoarthritis research, the ovine stifle (knee, femoropatellar/femorotibial) joint. Joints in cadaver limbs (n = 42) and in living animals under anesthesia (n = 13) were injected with a contrast medium and imaged using a standardized CT protocol. Gross anatomy and histological assessment of specific anatomic regions were used as a gold standard for the evaluation of sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, and positive predictive value for CTA identification of articular cartilage defects in those regions. Pooled estimated sensitivity and specificity were 90.32% and 97.30%, respectively, in cadaver limbs, and 81.82% and 95.24%, respectively, in living animals. Pooled estimated positive predictive value and negative predictive values were 98.25% and 85.71%, respectively, in cadaver limbs, and 81.82% and 95.24%, respectively, in living animals. The delineation of cartilage surface was good for anatomical regions most frequently affected by cartilage defects in the ovine stifle: medial femoral condyle, medial tibial condyle, and patella. This study supported the use of CTA as an imaging technique for detecting and monitoring articular cartilage defects in the ovine stifle joint.     

The rediscovery of a lost frog: Arthroleptis troglodytes Poynton, 1963

The cave squeaker Arthroleptis troglodytes Poynton, 1963 was first collected in 1961/62, and not observed again for 54 years despite several attempts to locate it. We rediscovered this species near the type locality in the Chimanimani mountain range in eastern Zimbabwe. We describe for the first time the call and colour in life, and highlight several morphological and habitat features not previously recorded for this species.     

阻止病原体的传入

防止病原体入侵是搞好生物安全、保持猪群健康的核心任务。养猪生产中的生物安全包括了一系列能够防止猪群污染和减少疾病传播的措施。每个猪场经理都需要认真考虑病原体在猪场之间传播的最重要途径     

A case of feline leprosy caused by Mycobacterium lepraemurium originating from the island of Kythira (Greece): diagnosis and treatment

A 2-year-old, 4 kg, healthy, domestic shorthair female cat presented with ulcerated subcutaneous nodules on the commissures of its mouth. The cat was negative for feline leukaemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus. Skin mycobacteriosis was diagnosed after detection of numerous acid-fast bacilli in Ziehl Neelsen-stained smears from the ulcers. Feline leprosy was suspected following preliminary polymerase chain reaction results: positive for Mycobacterium genus but negative for Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium avium complexes. Mycobacterium lepraemurium was later identified following DNA sequence analysis of the 5' end of the 16S rRNA gene and the 16S-23S internal transcribed spacer region. Microscopic lesions consisted of pyogranulomas containing mainly large foamy macrophages with 10-100 intra-cellular acid-fast bacilli per field. The cat was cured after surgery and a 14-week course of clofazimine (30 mg daily) and clarithromycin (50 mg twice daily).