Impact of Waxy,Partial Waxy,and Wildtype Wheat Starch Fraction Properties on Hearth Bread Characteristics

Thirteen different wheat cultivars were selected to represent GBSS mutations: three each of wildtype, axnull, and bxnull, and two each of 2xnull and waxy. Starch and A‐ and B‐granules were purified from wheat flour. Hearth bread loaves were produced from the flours using a small‐scale baking method. A‐granules purified from wildtype and partial waxy (axnull, bxnull, and 2xnull) starches have significantly higher gelatinization enthalpy and peak viscosity compared with B‐granules. A‐ and B‐granules from waxy starch do not differ in gelatinization, pasting, and gelation properties. A‐ and B‐granules from waxy starch have the highest enthalpy, peak temperature, peak viscosity, breakdown, and lowest pasting peak time and pasting temperature compared with A‐ and B‐granules from partial waxy and wildtype starch. Waxy wheat flour has much higher water absorption compared with partial waxy and wildtype flour. No significant difference in hearth bread baking performance was observed between wildype and partial waxy wheat flour. Waxy wheat flour produced hearth bread with significantly lower form ratio, weight, a more open pore structure, and a bad overall appearance. Baking with waxy, partial waxy, and wildtype wheat flour had no significant effect on loaf volume.     

Some serum parameters of first lactation cows in relation to their supply of macro and trace elements as well as of vitamins

At the Institute of Animal Nutrition of the Federal Agricultural Research Centre (FAL) in Braunschweig a feeding trial with 30 first lactating cows (German Holstein) was realised in 2004 for a complete lactation. All animals received a diet based on maize- and grass-silage ad libitum at the rate of 60:40 (DM-base) and concentrate depending on their milk yield.The animals were fed with energy and protein as recommended (GfE 2001) and were kept in loose housing. After calving they were split randomly into two feeding groups with 15 animals each. Group 1 was fed a concentrate according to the recommendations of the GfE (2001), whereas group 2 was offered the same concentrate with roughly the double amount of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, zinc, beta-carotene and vitamins A and E. To study the influence of the different concentrates on the serum concentrations of minerals and vitamins, blood, feed and milk samples were regularly taken and analysed in the course of lactation. Significantly higher blood concentrations were detected for phosphorus, zinc and vitamin E in group 2, but therefore a direct influence of the feeding on the blood concentrations was detected only for zinc and vitamin E. Over the whole lactation the average milk yield of group 1 was 2.6 kg/day higher and the average milk fat content was reduced about 0.6 percent points compared to group 2.     

Dwarf shrub litter as a food source for macro-decomposers in alpine pastureland

Dwarf shrub litter is thought to be of poor quality and palatability for macro-decomposers. In laboratory feeding experiments, however, it was found that this litter type represents a potential food source for earthworms and millipedes. Here we tested whether this is true under natural conditions by conducting a 1 year field experiment on an abandoned alpine pasture in Tyrol (Austria). As the natural isotopic signatures of plant litter do not allow discriminating between different plant species, dwarf shrub litter, artificially enriched in ¹⁵N, was offered in experimental plots to the macro-decomposer community. Both the earthworm Lumbricus rubellus and the millipede Cylindrojulus fulviceps fed on dwarf shrub litter as indicated by their increased δ¹⁵N signatures, but IsoError analysis indicated a clear preference for grass litter for all macro-decomposer species investigated.Soil δ¹⁵N signatures were only marginally affected by the experimental provision of ¹⁵N-enriched dwarf shrub litter, whereas litter from other, unlabelled, plants became enriched by the isotopic tracer to some extent. Except for one grass species, plants harvested at the end of the experiment were not enriched in ¹⁵N, suggesting that the N-uptake from decomposing litter material by plants on abandoned alpine pastureland is slow.     

Veterinarians teaching at schools of agriculture in Germany (up to 1950)--their contribution to animal nutrition

During the 19th century in Germany mainly veterinarians working at agricultural schools or appointed to veterinary schools from there (for example HAUBNER, ROLOFF, DAMMANN, ALBRECHT, KRONACHER) made considerable contributions to the development of animal nutrition. They disseminated knowledge of feedstuffs and feeding techniques to the interested public at large by books concerning animal husbandry and especially "Gesundheitspflege" (health regimen; Tab. 1). Their experimental work (Tab. 2) extended from digestibility of feedstuffs, Ca-, P- and rumen metabolism (NPN), respectively, to feed intoxications. The interest in preventive measures being stronger at school of agriculture than at veterinary schools probably stimulated this development.     

Livestock nutrient management concerns: regulatory and legislative overview

A greater focus on manure nutrient disposition from concentrated animal-feeding operations has developed from environmentalists, concerned citizens, and regulatory agencies. The establishment and enforcement of manure nutrient regulations will alter the future of livestock production. Proposed legislation and strategies may provide a false sense of security regarding environmental preservation or restoration and may impose monitoring and record keeping on the livestock operators. Existing regulations and proposed regulations and strategies are presented. Implications of legislation and proposed strategies, policies, and regulations are discussed. Livestock operations will need to comply with regulations to remain in business and to minimize environmental liability.     

Antibody response to glycoprotein E after bovine herpesvirus type 1 infection in passively immunised, glycoprotein E-negative calves

This study was conducted to determine whether young calves with maternal antibodies against bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV-1) but without antibodies against glycoprotein E (gE) can produce an active antibody response to gE after a BHV-1 infection. Five calves received at birth colostrum from gE-seronegative cows which had been vaccinated two or three times with an inactivated BHV-1, gE-deleted marker vaccine. After inoculation with a wild-type virulent strain of BHV-1, all the passively immunised gE-negative calves shed virus in large amounts in their nasal secretions. All the calves seroconverted to gE within two to four weeks after inoculation and then had high levels of gE antibodies for at least four months. The development of an active cell-mediated immune response was also detected by in vitro BHV-1-specific interferon-gamma assays. All the calves were latently infected, because one of them re-excreted the virus spontaneously and the other four did so after being treated with dexamethasone. The results showed that under the conditions of this work the gE-negative marker could also distinguish between passively immunised and latently infected calves.     

Monoclonal Gammopathy in a Dog With Chronic Pyoderma

A monoclonal gammopathy composed of immunoglobulin G, with concurrent light-chain proteinuria and generalized lymph node plasmacytosis, was associated with chronic pyoderma in a dog. A uniform population of plasma cells was observed cytologically and histologically in multiple lymph node specimens. A diagnosis of monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance was eventually made by exclusion of other known causes of monoclonal gammopathy, resolution after antibiotic therapy, and no evidence of lymphoproliferative disease after 11 months of follow-up and subsequent necropsy. This report expands the diagnostic considerations for monoclonal gammopathies in the dog.     

The effect of treatment with eprinomectin on lungworms at early patency on the development of immunity in young cattle

An experiment was carried out to study the effect of topical application of eprinomectin at early patency on the build up of infection and development of protection against Dictyocaulus viviparus in young cattle. Three groups of six calves were used and parasitological and blood variables were monitored at weekly intervals throughout the trial. At the start of the experiment calves in groups A and B were experimentally inoculated with 100 D. viviparus infective third-stage larvae (L3) for five consecutive days, whereas calves in group C served as uninfected controls. The calves in group A were each treated with eprinomectin (0.5mg/kg bodyweight) in a pour-on formulation at early patency at day 24 post the first inoculation, whereas the calves in groups B and C were left untreated. Seven weeks following anthelmintic treatment all groups were challenged with 1500 L3. Another 4 weeks later the animals were sacrificed and established worms in the lungs were counted. Moderate transient signs of lungworm disease occurred both in groups A and B. However, group B calves were found to be about 8 times more resistant than those in group A, whereas the naive infection controls in Group C was found to be about 35 times more susceptible to infection. Also the ELISA values showed that the course of infection was different between experimental groups. The eosinophil counts prior to and at the time of slaughter indicate that immunity was involved in the protection and the response was correlated with previous exposure and worm load. Weight gains differed significantly, but only between groups A and C and between groups B and C that on an average were approximately 13kg heavier at the termination of the experiment. It was concluded that eprinomectin was effective against established adult lungworms. However, the untreated calves (group B) developed a more marked resistance to lungworms compared to those that were subjected to anthelmintic treatment at early patency (group A). On the other hand, the cumulative number of excreted larvae was on an average 43 times higher in group B as compared to group A. Consequently, infected calves that remain out on pasture should be treated. This will restrain transmission of the parasite despite the fact that immunity is deteriorated.