Acidification of “dry” caustic peeling waste by lactic acid fermentation

The wurpeel process used by the potato industry produces a peel waste of high solids. This material is easily handled and collected, but due to the caustic used for peel release it has high residual alkalinity. This waste when acidified to neutralize the excess alkali yields a useful feedstuff for cattle. A method for neutralization of the excess alkali by lactic acid fermentation is described.     

Influence of Initial Plant Size and Temperature on Competitive Interactions in Pasture Grasses

Research has suggested that larger initial seedling size conferred a distinct advantage on the more competitive species. Therefore, competitive relationships between ryegrass, prairie grass and cocksfoot were evaluated using seedlings at the same growth stage, in order to minimise the advantages of seedling size differences between species. This study demonstrated that the performance of species in mixtures and their competitive abilities were related to their ability to accumulate dry matter. Simulated spring and autumn temperatures showed that temperature had no significant effect on the competitive relationships between these species.     

THE DEVELOPMENT OF SURFACE SEEDING

The principles of surface seeding as they apply to conditions in the north of Scotland are described and are illustrated by results from trials. The types of land and vegetation most suited to exploitation by surface seeding are indicated, and the need to consider the improvement of rough grazings in relation to a farm as a whole is stressed.
Ploughing is not necessary but some seed bed preparation is desirable, except on ideal sites. Investigations show the importance of suitable seeds mixtures in association with adequate lime and fertilizer applications in both the establishment and maintenance of these swards. Reference is made to new techniques such as lime-coated seed and chemical pre-treatment.     

Inflammation induced by subcutaneous turpentine inoculation of young American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)

Turpentine-induced skin lesions in young American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) kept at 25 C were used to study inflammatory response in a reptile. Skin harvested at intervals between 4 hours and 30 days after inoculations were done had no gross changes until days 24 to 26, when superficial skin necrosis was evident. Early responses of congestion and dermal edema (4 to 8 hours) were seen by light microscopy, and these were followed by necrosis and granulocyte migration (1 to 3 days). Later, there was predominance of monocytic cells, including vacuolated macrophages (7 to 30 days). Evident at 14 days and prominent by day 30 were central dermal zones of necrotic debris surrounded by orderly palisades of vacuolated multinucleated giant cells and capillary-laden immature fibrous connective tissue. Systemic illness or visceral lesions were not observed. Controls, given inoculations of sterile saline solution, had no gross or microscopic changes.     

Serodiagnosis of acute toxoplasmosis in macropods

The sera of 34 Australian macropods, the brains of which had been bioassayed for Toxoplasma gondii, were used to establish that a titre greater than 1/32 was significant for a direct agglutination test against toxoplasmosis. In addition, the concentration of 2-mercaptoethanol required to destroy the IgM fraction of macropod serum was confirmed in a modified direct agglutination test. To further validate the tests, the serological responses of three eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) dosed orally with T. gondii oocysts and one M. giganteus injected with T. gondii cysts were studied. The tests were then used to investigate a diagnosis of acute toxoplasmosis in four Tasmanian pademelons (Thylogale billardierii) clinically suspected of acquiring toxoplasmosis naturally. One hundred and fifty-one Bennett's wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus rufogriseus) and 85 T. billardierii were also tested to determine the prevalence of acute toxoplasmosis of macropods in the wild. Four percent of M. r. rufogriseus and 1.2% of T. billardierii possessed T. gondii-specific IgM in their sera.     

A survey of the hygienic quality of beef and pork carcasses in Norway

The bacteriological quality of beef and pig carcasses was assessed at 9 Norwegian abattoirs by sampling 10 carcasses at multiple sites on each of several visits. On beef carcasses the following sites consistently carried higher numbers of bacteria: the Brisket, the Fore-ribs, the Flank groin, and the Round medial. There was no evidence that beef slaughter and dressing in the hanging position was superior to methods where the carcass was lying until the hide puller. On pork carcasses the Cheek, and the Abdomen lateral surface (belly) were most heavily contaminated. The hygienic quality of pork carcasses in abattoirs where singeing was a separate step tended to be better than where a combined singeing and dehairing machine was used.This survey suggests that bacteriological monitoring of slaughter at this level of sampling and visiting is able to detect consistently poor hygienic practices.Where direct comparisons with data from other countries could be made, the present investigation indicates that the bacterial counts on Norwegian beef and pork carcasses are of the same order or better.Key words: abattoir, slaughter, beef, pork, hygiene