Feeding behaviour and growth of lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus L.) fed with feed blocks

The aim of this project was to investigate if lumpfish can be fed using specially designed feed blocks instead of regular fish feed pellets. Two studies were performed. In Part I different designs of feed blocks were introduced and fish observed with underwater cameras to record feeding behaviour. Results indicate that lumpfish require feed blocks with grooves in order to graze from them and that the acclimation period is relatively short (2–4 hr) before the fish will use them as a feed source. In the second part of the project two duplicate groups of lumpfish with an initial mean (±SD) weight of 125.4 ± 45.7 g were individually weighed and randomly distributed into six 3.5 m³ circular flow‐through tanks with 45 fish in each tank. Fish in three tanks were fed using feed blocks with grooves and fish in three tanks were fed using a regular commercially available lumpfish extruded feed. Both groups received a daily feeding rate of 2% body/weight. From day 14 onwards, fish fed with marine pelleted feed had a significantly higher mean weight compared to fish fed with feed blocks. Although not significant, the condition factor was higher in the feed block group during the study period. Results from this study show that lumpfish will readily graze from feed blocks if they are presented in a way that allows them to do. In addition, the acclimation period required before the fish will utilize them appears to be short thus potentially allowing for their use in commercial salmon cages.     

Leaf,stolon and root growth of white clover (Trifolium repens L.) in response to irrigation with saline water

The effect of irrigation with water at salinity concentrations of 2.6 and 5.2 dS m^–1 on the growth of pure swards of six cultivars of white clover (Trifolium repens L.) was examined over three irrigation seasons at Tatura, Victoria, Australia. After two irrigation seasons, soil EC _e levels increased to 6 dS m^–1 at 0–60 cm depth in the higher salinity treatment resulting in highly significant (p < 0.001) reductions in shoot dry matter production, flowering densities and petiole and stolon densities. These saline conditions also increased (p <0.001) concentrations of Cl and Na in the shoots and reduced (p < 0.001) leaf water potentials and canopy photosynthetic efficiency rates especially at high temperatures. In contrast, root growth increased at shallow depths (0–15 cm) under both saline irrigation treatments (p <0.001). Cultivars differed significantly in salt tolerance (p < 0.001), with cultivars Haifa and Irrigation exhibiting superior tolerance in terms of lower reductions in herbage yield (p <0.05) and petiole densities (p <0.001) during one irrigation season and lower concentrations of Na and Cl in the shoots (p <0.05) compared with the other four cultivars (Aran, Kopu, Pitau and Tamar). In addition, canopy photosynthetic efficiency rates (A ^*) in plots irrigated with water at 5.2 dS m^–1 were higher in cultivar Haifa compared with cultivar Tamar (p <0.05). The salt tolerance ranking obtained for the six cultivars was in broad agreement with earlier greenhouse studies. Consequently, it appears that, while white clover is an extremely salt-sensitive species, it is possible to grow cultivars which display greater salt tolerance than other cultivars and which provide some scope to increase, or at least to maintain, pasture yields in areas where the soil salinity is low to moderate or where pumped saline groundwater is re-used for Irrigation.     

Prognostic factors in canine exocrine pancreatic insufficiency: prolonged survival is likely if clinical remission is achieved

BACKGROUND: Response to therapy in canine exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) varies considerably, making it difficult to determine prognosis for individual patients. HYPOTHESIS: Response to initial treatment (RIT) and survival are affected by signalment, clinical variables, and therapeutic regimen employed. ANIMALS: Client-owned dogs diagnosed with EPI between 1990 and 2002 were included in this study. METHODS: The study comprised a retrospective, questionnaire-based review. RESULTS: One hundred seventy-eight completed questionnaires were returned. RIT was good in 60% of treated dogs, partial in 17%, and poor in 23%. On univariate analysis, dogs that received antibiotics (P = .037) or had high serum folate concentration (P = .037) had a poorer RIT. On multivariate analysis, there were no strong predictors of good RIT. Nineteen percent of treated dogs were euthanized within 1 year, but overall median survival time for treated dogs was 1919 days. No clear benefit of changing to a fat-restricted diet could be demonstrated, but marked hypocobalaminemia (< 100 ng/L) was associated with shorter survival (P = .012). Use of uncoated pancreatic enzyme supplements, antibacterials, or H2 antagonists was not associated with longer survival. Breed, sex, age at diagnosis ( < or = 4 years or > 4 years), and clinical signs at diagnosis also made no difference. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Long-term prognosis in canine EPI is favorable for dogs that survive the initial treatment period. Although there are few predictors of good RIT or long-term survival, severe cobalamin deficiency is associated with shorter survival. Therefore, parenteral cobalamin supplementation should be considered when hypocobalaminemia is documented.     

Prediction of susceptibility of potato tubers to internal bruising by using a pendulum-mounted accelerometer

Summary Impact tests were conducted on two potato cultivars: Record, which is susceptible to blackspot, and King Edward, which is susceptible to internal crushing and shatter bruising. The type and size of each bruise resulting from each impact were recorded. A pendulum impact tester which had a piezo-electric accelerometer attached to the impacting head so that the acceleration-time curve of an impact could be recorded on a storage oscilloscope, was used. No difference was found between the dimensions of acceleration-time curves obtained from bruised and undamaged tubers. The occurrence of internal crushing and shatter bruising could be predicted with 77–87% accuracy from the characteristic shape of the acceleration-time curve produced by impacting susceptible tubers. The possibility of identifying the susceptibility of tubers to internal crushing and shatter bruising by using a pendulum impact tester with an accelerometer attached, is discussed.

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Zusammenfassung Der Ablauf der Verlangsamung eines auf eine Kartoffelknolle schlagenden Pendels wurde als Schnelltest zur Erfassung der Anf?lligkeit von Knollen gegen spezifische Typen von internen Besch?digungen verwendet. Ein piezoelektrischer Beschleunigungsmesser wurde in den Schlagkopf des Pendels derart eingebaut, dass die Beschleunigungs-Zeitkurve eines Schlages auf einem Lagerungs-Oscilloskop erfasst werden konnte. Für die Schlagtests wurden zwei Kartoffelsorten verwendet: Record, welche gegenüber Schwarzfleckigkeit anf?llig ist, und King Edward, welche gegenüber internen Quetschungen und Schlagverletzungen anf?llig ist. Die Schlagtests wurden an den Knollen zwei Tage nach der Ernte und nach 6-monatiger Lagerung durchgeführt. Typ und Gr?sse jeder Verletzung pro Schlag wurden erfasst. Schwarzfleckigkeit konnte von internen Quetschungen durch die eher blaugraue als braune Verf?rbung unterschieden werden, und bei der eher diffusen als scharfen Abgrenzung der Besch?digungen. Keine Unterschiede ergaben sich zwischen den Dimensionen der Beschleunigungszeit von besch?digten und unbesch?digten Knollen. Betrachtung der Kurven der Beschleunigungszeit von verschiedenen Knollen zeigte die Produktion zweier verschiedener Kurventypen. Die Kurven hatten entweder einfache oder mehrzackige Gipfel (Abb. 2). Von den Einfachgipfel-Schlagkurven konnten 83–87% auf Knollen bezogen werden, die unbesch?digt blieben. Von den Mehrgipfel-Schlagkurven liessen sich 77–78% auf Knollen mit internen Quetschungen oder Schlagverletzungen zurückführen (Tabellen 1 und 2). Kein Unterschied ergab sich zwischen der Form der Beschleunigungs-Zeit-Kurven von Knollen, die Schwarzfleckigkeit entwickelten, und von Knollen, die unbesch?digt blieben. Schwarzfleckigkeit k?nnte mit Sch?digung der Zellinhalte ohne gr?ssere Zellwand-Sch?digung Zusammenh?ngen (McIlroy, 1976). M?glicherweise war der Beschleunigungsmesser nicht empfindlich genug, Schaden nur für die Zellinhalte aufzuzeichnen, jedoch empfindlich genug zur Aufzeichnung von internen Quetschungen und Schlagverletzungen, die mit Zellwand-Sch?digung einhergehen (Hughes, 1981). Diese Begrenzung der Accelerometer-Technik wird als nicht schwerwiegend betrachtet, zumal die Ergebnisse dieser Untersuchung (Tab. 2) wie auch die Ergebnisse und Beobachtungen anderer Bearbeiter (Hughes, 1981; Specht, 1981) gezeigt haben, dass interne Quetschung und Schlagverletzung die vorherrschenden Formen interner Verletzungen zur Ernte oder kurz danach sind. Es wird vorgeschlagen, dass ein Pendelschlag-Testger?t mit einem angebauten Beschleunigungsmesser als Ausleseverfahren für interne Quetschungen und Schlagbesch?digungen in einem frühen Stadium eines Züchtungsprogrammes verwendet wird. Die Technik macht Sch?len oder Schneiden der Knollen nicht erforderlich, ferner wird die zeitliche Verz?gerung bis zur Verf?rbung, die mit der Entwicklung interner Besch?digungen einhergeht, vermieden.

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Résumé La mesure de la décélération d'un pendule percutant un tubercule de pomme de terre est utilisée comme test instantané d'estimation de la sensibilité à différents types d'endommagements internes. Un accéléromètre piézoélectrique est fixé au niveau de la tête d'impact du pendule afin de pouvoir enregistrer la courbe accélération — temps d'un choc sur un oscilloscope à mémoire. Deux variétés de pommes de terre sont utilisées pour les tests: la variété Record sensible au noircissement interne et la variété King Edward sensible à l'écrasement interne et l'éclatement. Les tests d'impacts sont rélisés sur des tubercules récoltés depuis 2 jours on stockés pendant 6 mois. Le type et la taille de l'endommagement sont notés pour chaque impact. Le noircissement interne est distingué de l'écrasement interne par sa coloration gris-bleue plut?t que brune et par des bords moins nets de la zone d'impact. Pour les tubercules blessés ou indemnes, la dimension des courbes accélération-temps est équivalente. L'examen des courbes accélération-temps obtenues à partir de tubercules différents montre qu'il existe deux formes distinctes de courbes: des courbes à pic simple ou à pics multiples. Parmi les courbes d'impact à pic simple, 83–87% correspondent à des tubercules restés indemnes. Parmi les courbes à pics multiples, 77–78% proviennent de tubercules atteints d'écrasement interne ou d'éclatement (tableau 1 et 2). La forme des courbes accélération-temps est semblable pour les tubercules présentant du noircissement interne ou restés indemnes. Le noircissement interne peut être associé à des endommagements intracellulaires sans endommagement important des parois cellulaires (McIlroy, 1976). Il est probable que l'accéléromètre ne soit pas suffisamment sensible pour enregistrer l'endommagement intracellulaire, mais suffisamment pour détecter l'écrasement interne et l'éclatement, qui eux sont associés à l'endommagement des parois cellulaires (Hughes, 1981). Cette restriction n'est pas considérée comme importante d'autantque les résultats de cette étude (tableau 2) ainsi que des travaux d'autres chercheurs (Hughes, 1981; Specht, 1981) ont montré que l'écrasement interne et l'éclatement sont les formes les plus communes d'endommagements internes à la récolte ou juste après récolte. Un système pendulaire couplé à un accéléromètre peut être utilisé comme test de dépistage de la sensibilité à l'écrasement interne et l'éclatement dans les premières étapes d'un programme de sélection. La technique évite le pelage ou le tranchage des tubercules ainsi que les délais nécessaires au développement de la coloration associée à l'endommagement interne.

     

Peralkaline silicic volcanic rocks in northwestern nevada

Late Tertiary silicic ashflow tuffs and lavas peralkaline in chemical character (atomic Na + K greater than Al), mainly comendites, occur over wide areas in northwestern Nevada and appear to be widespread in southeastern Oregon. Such peralkaline rocks-which are not uncommon in the western United States-and other chemically unusual silicic rocks are found near the margins rather than toward the center of the Great Basin.     

Aspects of bacterial resistance to antimicrobials used in veterinary dermatological practice

Aspects of bacterial resistance to the major classes of antimicrobials used in veterinary dermatology are presented in this review. Resistance of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria to tetracyclines, macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin antibiotics, chloramphenicol, mupirocin, sulphonamides, trimethoprim, aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones and β-lactam antibiotics are depicted with respect to the different mechanisms of acquired and intrinsic resistance. Examples are given for the three major resistance mechanisms, enzymatic inactivation, decreased intracellular drug accumulation and target modification. In addition, basic information about mobile genetic elements which carry resistance genes, such as plasmids, transposons and gene cassettes, and their modes of spreading via transduction, conjugation, mobilization and transformation is provided.     

Epidemiological investigation of the buller steer syndrome (riding behaviour) in a western Canadian feedlot

Objective To describe the buller steer syndrome in a Western Canadian feedlot. Design A retrospective epidemiological study. Animals 78,445 male cattle that entered a 24,000-head feedlot in western Canada from 1991 to 1993. Procedure All cattle were given a hormonal growth promotant containing 20 mg oestradiol benzoate and 200 mg progesterone within 24 h of arrival at the feedlot. A ‘buller’ was a steer that was observed at daily pen checking to be ridden persistently by pen mates or had evidence of having been persistently ridden by pen mates. At the completion of the feeding period, animal health records for bullers were collected and analysed. Results The prevalence of bullers in the total population was 2139/78,445 (2.7%, range per pen 0 to 11.2%). The prevalence of bullers increased with increasing weight and age. The relapse risk after first treatment (three days in the feedlot hospital plus treatment for concurrent disease) was 30% on average (27 to 35%). Individual records from 9734 yearling steers that entered the feedlot in 1991 and 1992 showed that bullers were significantly (P < 0.05) heavier at processing than non-bullers. Bullers occurred as a point source epidemic with the cause occurring soon after cattle arrived at the feedlot and were mingled into pen groups. This gave a ‘days on feed’ distribution. The peak incidence of bullers occurred much sooner after arrival and dropped off much quicker in older cattle. The daily incidence of bullers was temporal, but was not related to season of the year, weather conditions or any other feedlot management practice. It was related to the seasonal arrival of cattle at the feedlot, their age at entry to the feedlot and the post arrival occurrence of bullers. Reimplantation with hormonal growth promotants and castration of intact bulls did not produce an epidemic of bullers. Conclusion The findings of this study support the theory that bullers are the result of agonistic interactions, which occur concurrent with the establishment and maintenance of a social hierarchy within pens of feedlot cattle.     

Soil management for raising crop water productivity in rainfed production systems in Lao PDR

This study investigated the impacts of organic- and clay-based soil amendments, and their combinations on crop water productivity (CWP) using maize as a test crop. On-station field trials were established over two consecutive years at the Naphok and Veunkham sites in Laos. At each site, 10 treatments were applied in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatments were control, rice husk biochar (10 t ha^?1), bentonite clay (10 t ha^?1), compost (4 t ha^?1), clay-manure compost (10 t ha^?1), rice husk biochar compost (10 t ha^?1), bentonite clay + biochar, bentonite-clay + compost, biochar + compost, and bentonite clay + biochar + compost. All treatments were applied in 2011. Significant (p < 0.05) treatment effects in CWP and growing period evapotranspiration were determined. At Naphok, differences between the amended and control plots in CWP varied between 0.1 and 0.6 kg m^?3 in 2011 and from 0.1 to 0.4 kg m^?3 in 2012, whereas differences at Veunkham varied between 0.3 and 1.0 kg m^?3 in 2011 and from 0.05 to 0.29 kg m^?3 in 2012. At both sites, CWP in 2012 was significantly lower than 2011. Our results illustrate that organic- and clay-based soil amendments improve CWP, indicating that soil-based interventions could be suitable options for improving agricultural productivity.