Assessment of organoleptic postmortem inspection techniques for bovine offal

Objective To evaluate organoleptic postmortem inspection techniques for bovine livers and kidneys.
Study design At Australian export abattoirs, bovine liver and kidneys are assessed and graded by qualified meat inspectors during normal operations. Over a 12-month period at a large abattoir in eastern Australia during 1997 and 1998, a sample of these organs was reassessed independently using a range of pathological and microbiological methods. Agreement between routine inspection and independent assessment was evaluated using methods of inter-rater agreement.
Results A total of 944 livers and 1374 kidneys were included in the study. All of these organs had been classified during routine inspection. The authors examined 363 livers and 329 kidneys both grossly and histologically, including 36 livers and 14 kidneys that were also subjected to microbiological examination. All other organs were only examined grossly. There was only a moderate level of agreement between the routine and independent assessment methods. For livers, the percentage agreement was 80.2%, McNemar's test of symmetry 55.2 (3 degrees of freedom, P < 0.001) and kappa 0.63. For kidneys, the percentage agreement was 67.8%, McNemar's test of symmetry 9.9 (1df, P = 0.002) and kappa 0.35.
Conclusions The results reinforce concerns from a number of authors about organoleptic postmortem inspection. Risk assessment methodologies offer the opportunity to modify inspection techniques in a manner that is most relevant to current public health concerns.     

Comparison of immune response stimulated in sheep, rabbits and guinea pigs by the administration of multi-component clostridial vaccines

Over 3 years, the immunogenic responses of various batches of multi-component clostridial vaccines in sheep, rabbits and guinea pigs were compared. Fully susceptible healthy sheep were found to be more suitable than rabbits or guinea pigs for testing the potency of multi-component clostridial vaccines containing Clostridium novyi type B, C. perfringens type D, C. septicum and C. tetani, and recommendations are made that sheep are the preferred species for testing the potency of clostridial vaccines.     

CERTAIN EQUILIBRIUM ION RATIOS FOR A SOLONETZIC SOIL

A method is described for determining the true equilibrium soil solution for a saline soil adjusted to various moisture contents by interpolation of ion ratios in solution before and after equilibration. Over the moisture range studied, equilibrium values were different at each moisture content. The ionic strengths of the equilibrium solutions were considered to be too high for calculation of activity coefficient and therefore concentration ratios were used instead of activity ratios. The ionic strength and ion ratios for the soil equilibrium solutions changed gradually over the moisture range 35 to 100 per cent, but abruptly over the lower moisture range (5 to 35 per cent). The expression log(Na)–½ log(Ca) is regarded as being particularly important.     

ULTRASONOGRAPHIC CHARACTERIZATION OF FELINE ILEOCECOCOLIC ABNORMALITIES

The clinical signs of 29 cats with ultrasonographic abnormalities at the ileocecocolic junction were reviewed. Twenty‐eight cats had gastrointestinal signs, with acute vomiting and diarrhea being most prevalent. Eighteen of 29 cats had enlarged cecal lymph nodes. Focal hyperechoic mesenteric fat was noted in 18 of 29 cats, and mild focal fluid accumulation was seen in seven of 29 cats. Six cats had a round cecum, and eight cats had cecal content. The cecal wall was thickened in 19 cats, and the ileal wall was mildly thickened in six cats. Three cats had changes involving the ascending colon adjacent to the ileocecocolic junction. Fourteen cats had no ultrasonographic evidence of changes in the remainder of the gastrointestinal tract, and 13 of these 14 cats were symptomatic for gastrointestinal disease. Four cats with resolution of the ultrasonographic changes also had resolution of clinical signs. These results suggest that ultrasonographic abnormalities at the level of the ileocecocolic junction in cats are clinically significant and are seen in cats with acute vomiting or diarrhea. Fine‐needle aspirates and biopsies of the ileocecocolic area had a low diagnostic yield. When no other gastrointestinal abnormalities are detected, we therefore recommend follow‐up ultrasound examinations of these patients.     

Detrital Zircon Link Between Headwaters and Terminus of the Upper Triassic Chinle-Dockum Paleoriver System

New detrital-zircon geochronologic data reveal that a through-going paleoriver connected Texas with Nevada in Late Triassic time. Sandstone from the Upper Triassic Santa Rosa Sandstone (Dockum Group) from northwestern Texas contains a detrital zircon suite nearly identical to that found in western Nevada in the Upper Triassic Osobb Formation (Auld Lang Syne Group, correlative with the Chinle Formation). The Santa Rosa Sandstone was derived in large part from the eroded Cambrian core of the Amarillo-Wichita uplift, as evidenced by abundant zircons with ages of 515 to 525 million years. Other zircon grains in the sandstone are Permian, Devonian, Proterozoic, and Archean in age and, with the exception of the Archean grain, are also matched by the population in the Nevada strata.     

Use of turkey meal as partial and total replacement of fish meal in practical diets for sunshine bass (Morone chrysops × Morone saxatilis) grown in tanks

Economical, nutritious diets for hybrid striped bass (HSTB) are required for the continued expansion and sustainability of this industry. Turkey meal (TM) is a by‐product of the US turkey industry and is a potentially‐valuable local, alternative protein source for use in aquaculture diets because of its excellent nutritional composition and quality. TM may substitute for more expensive fish meal (FM)‐based diets; however, there are no published data with regard to using this ingredient in sunshine bass diets. Therefore, a 16‐week feeding trial was conducted with juvenile (36 g) sunshine bass (Morone chrysops × Morone saxatilis) to evaluate growth, feed conversion and body composition when fed diets with decreasing levels of FM (300, 200, 100 and 0 g kg^?1) and increasing levels of turkey meal (0, 97, 175 and 264 g kg^?1). Four practical diets were formulated to contain 400 g kg^?1 protein and similar energy levels. Twenty fish were stocked into each of the 12, 1200‐L circular tanks and were fed twice daily ad libitum. At the conclusion of the feeding trial, there were no significant (P > 0.05) differences in final mean weight, percentage weight gain, specific growth rate and feed conversion ratio among treatments, which averaged 363.7 g, 904.3%, 2.02% day^?1 and 1.73, respectively. Percentage survival of fish fed diet 4 (0 g kg^?1 FM and 264 g kg^?1 TM) was significantly (P > 0.05) lower (survival = 88.3%) than fish fed diet 3 (100 g kg^?1 FM and 175 g kg^?1 TM; survival = 95%), but not different from fish fed diet 1 (survival = 92.5%) and fish fed diet 2 (survival = 93.3%). Fillet weight and amount of abdominal fat were not significantly different among all treatments and averaged 258 and 58 g kg^?1, respectively. Fish fed diet 1 (300 g kg^?1 FM, 0 g kg^?1 TM) and diet 2 (200 g kg^?1 FM and 970 g kg^?1 TM) had a significantly (P < 0.05) lower hepatosomatic index (2.83 and 3.01, respectively) than fish fed diet 4 (3.33), but not different (P > 0.05) compared to fish fed diet 3 (3.14). Lipid in the fillet of fish fed diet 2 (197 g kg^?1) was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than fish fed all other diets; and the percentage lipid in the fillet of fish fed diet 1 (126 g kg^?1) was significantly lower than fish fed diets 2 and 4, but not different (P >0.05) compared to fish fed diet 3. Fillet moisture, protein and ash were similar among fish fed all diets and averaged 748, 798 g kg^?1 and 51.0 g kg^?1 (dry‐matter basis), respectively. The amino acid composition of fillets was similar among all treatments with a few slight significant differences. Results from the present study indicate that tank‐grown sunshine bass can be fed a diet containing 264 g kg^?1 TM with 0 g kg^?1 FM, compared to diets containing up to 300 g kg^?1 FM, without adverse effects on weight gain, growth rate, feed conversion and body composition. Further research should be conducted using lower‐protein diets to determine minimum protein level for tank‐grown sunshine bass.