Effects of elevated dietary iron on the gastrointestinal expression of Nramp genes and iron homeostasis in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Diet is the primary source of iron (Fe) for freshwater fish, and the absorption of Fe is believed to occur via the Nramp family of divalent metal transporters (also called DMT1). Presently, the homeostatic regulation of dietary Fe absorption in fish is poorly understood. This study examined the gastrointestinal mRNA expression of two Nramp isoforms, Nramp-β and Nramp-γ, in the freshwater rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), following exposure to elevated dietary Fe [1,256 mg Fe/kg food vs. 136 mg Fe/kg food (control)] for 14 days. The physiological performance, plasma Fe status and tissue-specific accumulation of Fe were also evaluated. In general, the mRNA expression level of Nramp was higher in the intestine relative to the stomach. Interestingly, fish fed on a high-Fe diet exhibited a significant induction in Nramp expression after 7 days, followed by a decrease to the level observed in control fish on day 14. The increase in Nramp expression correlated with the elevated gastrointestinal and plasma Fe concentrations. However, the hepatic Fe concentration remained unchanged during the entire exposure period, indicating strong homeostatic regulation of hepatic Fe level in fish. Fish appeared to handle increased systemic Fe level by elevating the plasma transferrin level, thereby enhancing the Fe-binding capacity in the plasma. Overall, our study provides new interesting insights into the homeostatic regulation of dietary Fe uptake and handling in freshwater fish.     

Slaughterfloor decontamination of pork carcases with hot water or acidified sodium chlorite - a comparison in two Australian abattoirs

A decontamination trial on the effectiveness of hot water or acidified sodium chlorite (SANOVA) treatment on Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli and Total Viable Count (TVC) was undertaken on pork carcases prior to primary chilling in two large pork abattoirs in Australia using belly-strip excision sampling. A total of 123 samples from Abattoir A and 400 samples from Abattoir B were cultured and analysed. Test pigs were selected from herds with a known high level of on-farm Salmonella infection. At Abattoir A, Salmonella spp. were not isolated from carcases. The prevalence of E. coli on control carcases was 92.9% compared with 9.8% for hot water and 12.5% for SANOVA treated carcases. The mean log(10) E. coli concentration for control carcases was 0.89 cfu/gram, compared with -0.83 cfu/gram from hot water and -0.75 cfu/gram from SANOVA treated carcases. The mean log(10) TVC for control carcases was 4.06 compared with 1.81 cfu/gram for hot water and 2.76 cfu/gram for SANOVA treated carcases. At Abattoir B, the prevalence of Salmonella on control carcases was 16% compared with 2.7% for hot water and 7.0% for SANOVA treated carcases. The prevalence of E. coli on control carcases was 69.3% compared with 22% for hot water and 30% for SANOVA treated carcases. The mean log(10) E. coli concentration for control carcases was 0.45 cfu/gram, compared with -0.65 cfu/gram from hot water and -0.60 cfu/gram from SANOVA treated carcases. The mean log(10) TVC for control carcases was 3.00 cfu/gram compared with 2.10 cfu/gram for hot water and 2.53 cfu/gram for SANOVA treated carcases. The reductions in prevalence and mean log(10) concentrations in the present trial were all found to be statistically significant and indicate that carcases decontamination with either hot water or SANOVA are effective risk management options immediately available to the pork industry.     

Trauma‐associated acute mesenteric ischemia in a dog

Objective – To describe the successful management of acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) in a dog. Case Summary – An 11‐year‐old, 21.4 kg, male castrated Rough‐Coated Collie was referred for evaluation of an acute abdomen following sustaining injuries in a vehicular accident. On presentation to the hospital, clinicopathologic assessments were within normal limits and distended intestinal loops were evident on abdominal palpation. Plain and contrast radiography demonstrated diffusely distended gas‐filled intestinal loops with a delayed barium transit time. Emergency surgical exploration was performed. The cecum and the proximal two‐thirds of the colon were dark purple to black in color and there were no palpable pulses in the mesenteric arteries associated with the cecum and colon. The cecum and proximal two‐thirds of the colon were resected and an ileocolic anastomosis was performed. The dog recovered well from surgery and was discharged 2 days later. Histopathologic examination was consistent with AMI. New or Unique Information Provided – AMI is uncommonly reported in human medicine and is a rare complication from even minor blunt abdominal trauma. This is the first reported case of trauma‐associated AMI in a dog.     

Current bycatch levels in Auckland Islands trawl fisheries unlikely to be driving New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri)population decline

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Fishing in the dark-local knowledge,night spearfishing and spawning aggregations in the Western Solomon Islands

Within the marine conservation community there is considerable interest in combining local knowledge and science to achieve management objectives. Yet there remain few studies which have examined the merits and caveats of local knowledge, or shown how combining both knowledge systems has resulted in better management outcomes. This study outlines collaborative efforts to conserve fish spawning aggregations (FSAs) in Roviana Lagoon, Western Solomon Islands. Baseline information on FSAs was obtained through local knowledge and spearfishing creel surveys. This information provided the starting point for establishing a 2-year community-based underwater monitoring program at the largest known FSA in Roviana Lagoon, where the brown-marbled grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus), camouflage grouper (Epinephelus polyphekadion) and squaretail coralgrouper (Plectropomus areolatus) co-aggregate. This participatory research shows that local knowledge on FSAs is utilised to maximise returns from fishing, with spearfishermen targeting aggregations at night during the lunar periods when abundances peak. Because of its shallow distribution P. areolatus is the most vulnerable of the three groupers to nighttime spearfishing, with two fishermen capable of removing 15–30% of the total spawning biomass in two nights. Underwater monitoring demonstrates that while fishermen provided accurate information on many aspects of FSAs, their knowledge on spawning seasons was inaccurate for the FSA reported on here. Peak aggregations occurred from December to April each year, which differs from the traditionally recognised grouper season of October to January. A combination of local knowledge and science was used to develop appropriate management measures for this FSA, with the aggregation declared a community-based marine protected area (MPA) in 2006.     

Varietal susceptibility to damage in potatoes

Summary Samples of 62 varieties of potato grown under identical conditions were harvested with much and little damage. From the much damaged samples the damage index was calculated for each variety. The less damaged samples were examined with a Lampe penetrometer for skin hardness and hardness after removing 2 mm of tissue. The varieties were ranked in order of damage susceptibility, and though generally damage index and surface penetrometer reading were inversely related, some varieties gave anomalous results, showing prediction by penetrometer of susceptibility to mechanical damage to be unreliable. Penetrometer readings for the skin and the tissue 2 mm deep were compared to see if susceptibility to bruising is influenced by the relative strengths of inner and outer tissue. The susceptibility of varieties bruised by a standard technique was compared with that predicted. The relative strength of skin and internal tissue gave only a very approximate guide to bruising susceptibility.

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Zusammenfassung 62 Kartoffelsorten wurden unter gleichen Bedingungen angebaut. W?hrend der Ernte mit einem Siebkettenroder wurden von jeder Sorte Muster entnommen, sowohl nach zu starkem Schütteln des Siebes, um viele mechanische Sch?den zu verursachen, als auch nach Reduzierung der Schüttelbewegung, um den Schaden auf dem Minimum zu halten. Die ersten Muster wurden mit P-Kresol (Robertson, 1961) behandelt, um die Identifizierung der oberfl?chlichen mechanischen Sch?den (aber nicht Blaufleckigkeit) und den für jede der acht Gr?ssenklassen errechneten Schadenindex zu erleichtern. Die zweiten Muster wurden für die Prüfungen der Schalenfestigkeit mit dem Lampe-Penetrometer gebraucht (Lampe, 1959). Für jede Knolle wurde eine Oberfl?chen-Ablesung mit dem Penetrometer gemacht; dann wurde eine 2 mm dicke Scheibe von der Knolle entfernt und eine zweite Ablesung vorgenommen. Der Vergleich mit der Oberfl?chen-Ablesung mit jener 2 mm tiefer zeigt relative St?rke der Schale und des inneren Gewebes. Es wird angenommen, dass wenn das Schalengewebe viel st?rker ist als das innere Gewebe, die Entwicklung von Blaufleckigkeit m?glich ist, w?hrend bei relativ festerem innerem Gewebe keine Blaufleckigkeit entstehen dürfte. Die Sorten wurden klassifizicrt als sehr früh, früh, mittelfrüh und mittelsp?t, und in den Tabellen 1–4 sind sie in absteigender Reihenfolge ihres Schadenindexes nach Gewicht aufgeführt, so das die am leichtesten zu besch?digenden Sorten in jeder Tabelle oben und die gegen Besch?digungen am widerstandsf?higsten Sorten am Schluss stehen. W?hrend im allgemeinen eine Sorte mit einem hohen Schadenindex eine kleinere Belastung im Penetrometer anzeigt und umgekehrt, gibt es dafür einige Ausnahmen, z.B. Craig's Alliance, Dunbar Rover, Ulster Classic und Désirée. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass ein Penetrometer nicht immer ein verl?ssliches Instrument für die Vorhersage der Empfindlichkeit einer Sorte auf mechanische Sch?den darstellt. Es hat sich auch gezeigt, dass der Gebrauch des Penetrometers als Hilfsmittel zur Vorhersage sortenbedingter Empfindlichkeit auf Blaufleckigkeit unzuverl?ssig ist. Wenn bei einigen Sorten durch Fallenlassen einer Stahlkugel auf die Knollen Blaufleckigkeit induziert wird (Tabelle 5), zeigt sich, dass die Hypothese des Einflusses der relativen Festigkeit des ?usseren und inneren Gewebes auf die Empf?nglichkeit der Sorten für Blaufleckigkeit nicht aufrechterhalten werden kann.

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Résumé Soixante-deux variétés ont été mises en végétation dans des conditions identiques. Au cours de la récolte avec une arracheuse-élévatrice, on a prélevé des échantillons doubles, l'un après agitation excessive des cha?nes pour causer le maximum de dommages mécaniques, l'autre après réduction de l'agitation des cha?nes pour réduire les dommages au minimum. On a traité le premier échantillon avec du p-crésol (Robertson, 1961) pour faciliter l'identification des dommages mécaniques de surface (mais non les taches cendrées) et on a calculé l'indice d'endommagement (Robertson, 1966) pour chacune des 8 classes de grosseur. Le second échantillon a été utilisé pour les tests de dureté de la peau au moyen du pénétromètre Lampe (Lampe, 1959). On fait une première lecture de surface sur chaque tubercule, puis une seconde après enlèvement d'une tranche de 2 mm. La comparaison de la lecture de surface avec celle à 2 mm de profondeur révèle les résistances du tissu de surface et du tissu interne. Il est supposé que si le tissue de surface est beaucoup plus fort que le tissu interne, le développement des taches cendrées peut être possible, tandis qu'avec un tissu interne relativement fort les taches cendrées ne peuvent se produire. Les variétés sont classées dans les catégories: première précocité, seconde précocité, récolte principale, tardive; les tableaux 1 à 4 montrent les variétés dans leur catégorie, classées par ordre décroissant d'indice d'endommagement par poids, les variétés sensibles se trouvant donc au sommet des colonnes, les plus résistantes en dessous. Alors qu'en général une variété avec un haut indice d'endommagement montre une faible charge de pénétration avec le pénétromètre et vice-versa, il appara?t quelques exceptions, par example Craig's Alliance, Dunbar Rover, Ulster Classic et Désirée. Ces résultats montrent que le pénétromètre n'est pas toujours un instrument valable pour prévoir la susceptibilité d'une variété aux dommages mécaniques. L'usage du pénétromètre en tant qu'aide pour prévoir la susceptibilité d'une variété aux taches cendrées s'est également montré non valable. L'induction de meurtrissures sur quelques-unes des variétés en laissant tomber des boules d'acier sur les tubercules (tableau 5) a montré que l'hypothèse de l'influence des résistances relatives des tissus externes et internes sur la prédisposition des variétés aux meutrissures n'est pas confirmée.

     

Three cases of disputed paternity in dogs resolved by the use of DNA fingerprinting

DNA fingerprinting with the probes 33.15 and alpha-globin 3'HVR has been used to resolve three cases of disputed paternity in dogs. For each pedigree it was necessary to establish which bands in the DNA fingerprints of the offspring were of paternal origin, and then establish which putative sire carried all these bands. In the first case, a litter of Rhodesian Ridgebacks, twelve DNA bands were informative in establishing paternity. In the second case, a litter of Afghan hounds, five DNA bands established paternity, Lastly, in a litter of Border collies, five DNA bands established paternity. In each case a single dog only sired the entire litter.