Fibre type-dependent response of broiler muscles to dietary antioxidant supplementation for oxidative stability enhancement

1. The influence of dietary antioxidants and quality of oil on the oxidative and physico-chemical properties of chicken broiler breast and thigh meat stored was studied in either an oxygen-enriched (HiOx: 80% O₂/20% CO₂) or an air-permeable polyvinylchloride (PVC) packaging system during retail display at 2–4°C for up to 14 and 7 d, respectively.

2. Broilers were fed on a diet with either a low-oxidised (peroxide value (POV) 23 meq O₂/kg) or a high-oxidised (POV 121 meq O₂/kg) oil, supplemented with or without an algae/selenium-based antioxidant with organic minerals, for 42 d.

3. Lipid and protein oxidation, myofibrillar protein profile and purge loss were analysed. In both packaging systems, lipid oxidation (thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances [TBARS]) was inhibited by up to 65% and 57% in chicken breast and thigh, respectively, with an antioxidant-supplemented diet compared to those without. In both breast and thigh samples, protein sulfhydryls and water-holding capacity (purge loss) were better protected by the antioxidant dietary treatment, regardless of oil quality.

4. Thigh muscles had up to sevenfold greater TBARS formation and more myosin heavy chain losses compared to breast samples. Antioxidant supplementation was more protective against lipid oxidation and water-holding capacity in the group fed on high-oxidised oil compared to those fed on low-oxidised oil.

5. The results suggest that dietary antioxidants can minimise the negative impact of oxidised oil on broiler meat quality, and this protection was more pronounced for thigh than breast muscle, indicating inherent variations between muscle fibre types.

     

Foliar sprays against potato common scab: compounds related to 3,5-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid

In glasshouse tests against the soil-borne disease potato common scab (Streptomyces scabies), foliar sprays (0 · 9 mm) of several compounds inhibited symptom development as effectively as 3,5-D (3,5-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid). These compounds were of two main types: (1) compounds very similar in structure to 3,5-D, viz. 3,5-disubstituted phenoxyacetic acids in which the substituents were dibromo-, di(trifluoromethyl)- or any combination of bromo-, chloro- and iodo- except diiodo-; (2) compounds which could be metabolized to 3,5-D within the plant, viz. 4-(3,5-dichlorophenoxy)butanoic acid, 3,5-dichlorophenoxy-acetamide, 3,5-dichlorophenoxy-N,N-diethylacetamide and 2-(3,5-dichlorophenoxy)ethylamine. No compound of either type was significantly more effective than 3,5-D, and those which were as effective shared its effects on tuber yield, number and shape. About 30 other compounds related to 3,5-D were less effective or ineffective.     

The development of a healthy eating indicator shopping basket tool (HEISB) for use in food access studies-identification of key food items

OBJECTIVES: To develop an objective, nutrient-based, healthy eating indicator shopping basket (HEISB) tool for use in studies of access to healthy food. DESIGN: Tool development used a literature search to identify previous practice, web information on current definition of healthy foods by the UK Food Standards Agency, and population-based dietary surveys to identify culturally acceptable foods. These findings were then appraised with respect to practical fieldwork considerations. SETTING: The review took account of surveys undertaken in a range of geographical areas. RESULTS: Previous tools have varied in the foods selected and the rationale for inclusion. Most have considered nutritional composition but no systematic definition has been used and foods have been subjectively classified as 'less healthy' or 'more healthy'. Recent UK work on nutrient profiling enabled individual food items to be objectively assessed for inclusion. Data from national food surveys enabled commonly consumed and culturally acceptable foods to be identified. Practical considerations included item use in meals, convenience, price, and fieldwork constraints. Other issues including health and price discriminators as well as regional preferences were considered. The final HEISB tool comprised 35 items within the following categories - 17 from fruit and vegetables, nine from potatoes, bread and cereal, five from fish/meats, three from dairy, and one from fatty and sugary foods. CONCLUSIONS: The tool provides a rational basis for examining access and availability of healthy foods in cross-sectional and longitudinal retail and consumer studies.     

A new abundance estimate for Maui’s dolphin: What does it mean for managing this critically endangered species?

Hector’s dolphin Cephalorhynchus hectori is found only in New Zealand waters. We carried out a population survey of the North Island subspecies Cephalorhychus hectori maui, also known as Maui’s dolphin. The total population size estimate is 111 individuals (95% confidence interval = 48-252). The small population size confirms its critically endangered IUCN status. A sustainable level of human-caused mortality for this population would be 0.16 (one dolphin every 6.4 years). This essentially means that fisheries bycatch, and where possible other human impacts, need to be eliminated to allow population recovery. A protected area has been created to reduce the threat from entanglement in fishing gear. Gillnet fishing is prohibited along a 210 nautical mile stretch of coastline. The main concerns are that gillnet fishing is still allowed inside harbours and trawling continues inside the protected area.     

Distribution of elements in some Fe-Mn nodules and an iron-pan in some gley soils of New Zealand

Three soil nodules and an iron-pan have been analysed for the elements Al, Si, Ti, V, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn using an electron microprobe. From the surface analysis it appears that the nodules consist of two major concentration zones of enrichment, viz. Mn-rich, Fe-rich zones and a third zone low in Mn and Fe. The elements Co, Ni, Cu and Zn are enriched in the first zone, whereas vanadium is enriched in the second zone. Four concentration zones are distinguishable in the iron-pan, Ti-rich, Fe-rich, Ti and Fe-rich and a zone low in Ti and Fe. The metals Mn, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn are mainly enriched in the Ti/Fe-rich zone. The associations of the trace elements with the major components of the nodules and iron pan are discussed in terms of physico-chemical factors.     

Potential of butyric acid for control of soil-borne fungal pathogens and nematodes affecting strawberries

The effects of butyric acid were evaluated on fungal and nematode endo-parasites of strawberries under controlled laboratory conditions. Verticillium dahliae, Rhizoctonia fragariae, R. solani, Phytophthora fragariae, and a Pythium sp. were killed after a 2-d incubation in butryic acid-treated sand (0.88 and 8.8 mg g⁻¹). No fungal growth occurred in the presence of vapors from 0.1 and 1 M butyric acid solutions. Gall formation on tomato roots by Meloidogyne hapla, and M. incognita was reduced by 73-100% relative to controls when egg masses were incubated in butyric acid solution (0.1, 1 M) or treated sand (0.88 and 8.8 mg g⁻¹). Drenching strawberry plants infested with Pratylenchus penetrans with butyric acid (0.1 and 1 M) reduced nematode densities by 98-100%. These results suggest that butyric acid warrants further evaluation as an alternative to synthetic soil fumigants for control of nematodes and fungal pathogens in strawberry.     

Nitrogen Fertility Island Stability around Prosopis glandulosa Sprouts after Mechanical Shrub Control in a Degraded Grassland

We examined the effects of mechanical chopping to reduce shrub cover for grassland restoration in a semi-desert environment near Douglas, Arizona, USA. Specifically, soils were sampled to determine spatial and treatment differences, after 10 years, in soil-N fertility islands associated with undisturbed honey mesquite shrubs (Prosopis glandulosa Torr. var. glandulosa) compared with resprouted mesquite shrubs. Honey mesquite is the dominant shrub of this degraded grassland community.

One decade after mechanical crushing of shrubs for grassland restoration, soil amino sugar nitrogen (N) values and patterns for resprouted honey mesquite and undisturbed shrubs did not differ from one another according to a repeated measures analysis of variance. However, the concentrations in samples of the surficial 30-cm of soil around undisturbed and resprouted shrubs combined differed statistically at 161 parts per million (ppm) at trunk, 100 ppm midway between trunk and dripline, 78 ppm at the dripline, and 46 ppm beyond the dripline.

The results indicate that soil N fertility remained stable, but with decreasing levels at regular, radial sample points extending from the trunk to beyond the dripline, around mesquite shrubs that resprouted 10 years after mechanical crushing of tops for grassland restoration.     

Application of biological indicators to assess recovery of hydrocarbon impacted soils

Remediation programmes are considered complete when human risk-based criteria are met. These targets are unrelated to the ecological parameters that may be important with regard to future soil uses. As a consequence, there has been a move towards the consideration of biological indicators for hazard assessment in conjunction with the remediation of contaminated soils. This study uses a range of biological assays to assess the ecological health of soils from a former gas works site undergoing various remediation treatments. The indicators that optimally differentiated the extent of soil remediation were biomass-C, respiration, dehydrogenase activity, earthworm toxicity and mustard seed germination. Although they had different end-points, once robust and sensitive biological indicators were incorporated into a quantitative soil quality index, they gave a clearer representation of ecological health than chemical data alone by their integration of contamination effects at a number of trophic levels.