Dietary protein sources and their effects on faecal odour and the composition of volatile organic compounds in faeces of French Bulldogs

The strong odour of faeces and excessive production of gases in some dog breeds have long been a concern of owners. The pet food industry uses nutritional alternatives, such as high-quality ingredients and additives, to improve the odour of faeces. However, there are still some dog breeds, such as the French Bulldog, that present this problem due to the presence into the large intestine of indigested protein. Therefore, a deeper understanding of the volatile compounds that influence the odour of dog faeces is important. This study aimed to identify changes of faecal odour compounds that are most prevalent in French Bulldogs based on food containing different high-quality protein sources and their effect in sensory analysis. Four maintenance foods with different protein sources were formulated: P, poultry meal food; W, wheat gluten food; PW, poultry meal and wheat gluten food; and PWH, poultry meal, wheat gluten, and hydrolysed protein food. Eight adult French Bulldogs were arranged in a 4x4 Latin square design and adapted to foods for 28 days. Fresh faeces were collected for analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and sensory analysis. The means were compared by SAS, and statistical significance was indicated by p ≤ 0.05. No adverse effects were observed in the animals regarding VOCs, and a significant difference was observed in two of the 68 compounds identified. The animals fed a P food had higher concentrations of phenol in the faeces, whereas the indole compound was present at higher concentrations in animals fed the W food. P food was associated with higher odour perception during sensory evaluation. In summary, the source of protein in the foods had little impact on the composition of VOCs, and a greater perception of the odour was determined by sensory analysis when foods containing animal protein were administered.     

Genetic diversity in accessions of lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.) determined from agro-morphological descriptors and SSR markers for use in breeding programs in Brazil

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.) have high genetic diversity, especially in Brazil, which has been maintained both on farms and in germplasm banks. Knowledge...     

Synthesis and physical properties of pH-sensitive semi-IPN hydrogels based on poly(dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate-co-PEG dimethacrylate) and poly(acrylic acid)

Hydrogels of semi-interpenetrating polymer networks (semi-IPNs) were prepared by two step reactions. Dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAM) and poly(ethylene glycol)-dimethacrylate (PEGDM) were copolymerized to yield hydrogels, and then acrylic acid (AA) monomer were adsorbed in the hydrogels followed by polymerization of AA to produce semi-IPNs. The swelling behavior of semi-IPNs depends largely on pH of medium, showing that the degree of swelling of the semi-IPNs exhibits a minimum at pH 6.0. It is observed that the elastic modulus of semi-IPNs is closely related to its swelling behavior.     

Evidence for genetic differentiation in the european conger eel Conger conger based on mitochondrial DNA analysis

ABSTRACT:   The European conger eel Conger conger is an important marine benthic fish in the North-East Atlantic and represents a valuable fishery resource. However, little is known about its reproductive biology. In an attempt to gain a better understanding of the conger eel population structure, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences were examined. A region with 432 bp of the control region of the mtDNA was sequenced from 40 individuals from six different locations around the central and eastern North Atlantic Ocean. Thirty variable positions defined 28 distinct haplotypes. The average sequence difference within samples (1.3–4.2%) was comparable to those between samples (1.4–3.6%). MtDNA sequence-based statistical tests showed significant geographic differentiation between some local population samples, suggesting that the conger eel does not comprise a single panmictic population. However, given our sample sizes, these preliminary results should be interpreted with caution and more individuals from more sites, including the Mediterranean Sea, should be analyzed in detail. The genetic variability detected in this study is an initial step to elucidate the genetic background of the conger eel population structure.     

Quality improvement by vacuum treatment of boiled skipjack loins for the production of dried skipjack

ABSTRACT: This study attempted to reduce the lipid and water contents in boiled skipjack loins by vacuum treatment and the quality of vacuumed boiled meat was then evaluated during the chilled and frozen storage. The boiled meats were vacuumed at a pressure of 400 Pa for 30 min using a vacuum freeze dryer as an experimental convenience in order to degrease, cool and dehydrate rapidly. The vacuumed boiled meats were stored at 0.0 ± 0.2°C for 10 days and at −20 ± 0.5°C for 90 days. The unvacuumed boiled meats were cooled by air-cooling and stored as the control. Lipid content on a wet basis (w.b.) was reduced as much as 0.5% in the ventral part and 0.4% in the dorsal part of the boiled meats after vacuum treatment. Water content (w.b.) was reduced as much as 2.5% in the ventral part and 3.0% in the dorsal part. The thiobarbituric acid and volatile basic nitrogen values in vacuumed boiled meats were significantly lower ( P < 0.05) than that in unvacuumed boiled meats during storage. Inosine monophosphate (IMP) was only detected as a major nucleotide (about 70%) in boiled meats, and the decomposition of IMP in vacuumed boiled meats was smaller than that in unvacuumed boiled meats during storage. It was concluded that the quality of boiled skipjack loins could be improved by vacuum treatment as a preprocessing procedure in the production of dried skipjack such as katsuobushi .     

A comparative study of production performance and animal health practices in organic and conventional dairy systems

Health and production management strategies influence environmental impacts of dairies. The objective of this paper was to measure risk factors on health and production parameters on six organic and conventional bovine, caprine, and ovine dairy herds in southeastern Brazil over six consecutive years (2006–2011). The organic operations had lower milk production per animal (P?≤?0.05), lower calf mortality (P?≤?0.05), less incidence of mastitis (P?≤?0.05), fewer rates of spontaneous abortions (P?≤?0.05), and reduced ectoparasite loads (P?≤?0.05) compared to conventional herds and flocks. Organic herds, however, had greater prevalence of internal parasitism (P?≤?0.05) than conventional herds. In all management systems, calves, kids, and lambs had greater oocyte counts than adults. However, calves in the organic group showed lower prevalence of coccidiosis. In addition, animals in the organic system exhibited lower parasitic resistance to anthelmintics. Herd genetic potential, nutritive value of forage, feed intake, and pasture parasite loads, however, may have influenced productive and health parameters. Thus, although conventional herds showed greater milk production and less disease prevalence, future research might quantify the potential implications of these unreported factors.     

In vitro efficacy of doxorubicin and etoposide against a feline injection site sarcoma cell line

Feline injection site sarcoma (ISS) is a locally invasive tumor, in which surgical treatment is frequently combined with radiation or chemotherapy to improve tumor control. The focus of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of doxorubicin or etoposide on a feline injection site sarcoma cell line (JB) and to assess the impact of combining these drugs on cell death and cell cycle. Both single agent and combination drug administration increased cell death and significantly reduced the number of viable cells. Cells in G0/G1 were significantly reduced while the G2/M fraction was significantly increased following treatment. Collectively, combining doxorubicin and etoposide at the lower EC yielded comparable results to the EC50 of either drug alone in degree of cytotoxicity, level of apoptosis, and % of cells in G2/M. The results of this study indicate that doxorubicin and etoposide alone and in combination differentially alter ISS cell viability and cycle.     

Osseous metaplasia within a canine insulinoma

An 11‐year‐old male castrated mixed‐breed dog was presented for exercise intolerance, tetraparesis, and persistent hypoglycemia. Abdominal ultrasound examination revealed 2 nodules within the right limb of the pancreas. Cytology from one nodule was consistent with a carcinoma of neuroendocrine origin, with a primary differential diagnosis of insulinoma. Histologic evaluation and immunohistochemistry for synaptophysin and insulin confirmed the diagnosis of insulinoma. Additionally, there was a solitary nodule of mineralized compact bone composing approximately 60% of the mass. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of osseous metaplasia within an insulinoma (islet cell carcinoma).