Priorities in the cage size and flooring preferences of domestic hens

1. Battery‐kept hens (Sykes Tints) showed a preference for a large (0.76 x 0.86 m) over a small (0.38 x 0.43 m) cage, but preferred the smaller cage when this had a litter floor to the one 4 times larger with a wire floor.

2. The hens still showed a preference for litter when they could obtain access to it only by entering an even smaller cage (0.38 x 0.215 m) in which they could hardly turn round. This cage gave far less space than that recommended by the UK Welfare Codes (1971).

3. The experiments described demonstrate that hens prefer larger to smaller cages and litter floors to wire ones, but that they give highest priority to flooring. Increasing the space allowed to battery‐kept hens may not therefore be as “valuable” to them as giving them access to litter.     

Spread of potato virus Y in potato cultivars (Solanum tuberosum L.) with different levels of sensitivity

The aim of this work was to correlate the appearance of the symptoms, multiplication and spread of virus after mechanical inoculation of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivars showing different levels of susceptibility and sensitivity to Potato virus Y^NTN (PVY^NTN). The potato cultivars used were the resistant cultivar Sante and susceptible cultivars Igor, Pentland squire and Désirée. The spread of the virus PVY^NTN in infected plants was monitored using different methods: DAS-ELISA, tissue printing, immuno-serological electron microscopy and real-time PCR. In all three susceptible cultivars, the virus was detected in the inoculated leaves 4–5 days after inoculation. From there virus spread rapidly, first into the stem, then more or less simultaneously to the upper leaves and roots. Real-time PCR was shown to be very sensitive and enabled viral RNA to be detected in non-inoculated leaves of susceptible cultivar Igor earlier than other methods. Therefore, for exact studies of plant–virus interaction, a combination of methods which detect viruses on the basis of their different properties (coat protein, morphology or RNA) should be used to monitor the spread of viruses.     

Welfare and environmental benefits of integrating commercially viable free-range broiler chickens into newly planted woodland: A UK case study

The commercial, welfare and environmental impacts of rearing small colonies of free-range chickens in newly planted woodland at two sites in the UK, during the first 2 years of the enterprise, were investigated. Newly planted rather than established trees were used so that commercially viable species could be planted in a way that would suit the management of the chicken enterprise, and small colonies were used so that farmers wishing to diversify could buy into the system progressively. It was anticipated that marketing a high specification product would provide an immediate income, whilst waiting for the future investment in trees to grow.     

Evidence for long-term prevalence of cucumber vein yellowing virus in Sudan and genetic variation of the virus in Sudan and the Mediterranean Basin

Cucumber vein yellowing virus (CVYV) is emerging throughout the Mediterranean Basin, where it causes significant damage to cucumber and melon crops. It has been suggested that CVYV originated from the Middle East and has spread only recently to other areas. In this work, an isolate from Sudan was characterized, and surveys performed in that country between 1992 and 2012 revealed a long-term presence of CVYV with a high molecular variability, showing that the virus has long been endemic in sub-Saharan Africa. Comparison of the full-length sequences of 11 CVYV isolates from different geographic origins revealed recombination events in CVYV populations from the Mediterranean Basin and the Middle East, and evidence for different selection pressures along the genome. These results shed a new light on the evolution of CVYV.     

Influence of noncellulosic contents on nano scale refinement of waste jute fibers for reinforcement in polylactic acid films

In the present study, nanofibrils of cellulose are extracted from waste jute fibers using high energy planetary ball milling process in wet condition. The rate of refinement of untreated fibers having non-cellulosic contents was found slower than treated fibers due to strong holding of fiber bundles by non-cellulosic contents. At the end of three hours of wet milling, untreated fibers were refined to the size of 850 nm and treated fibers were refined to the size of 443 nm. In the subsequent stage, composite films of poly lactic acid (PLA) were prepared by solvent casting with 3 wt% loading of untreated jute nanofibrils, treated jute nanofibrils and microcrystalline cellulose. The influence of non-cellulosic contents on mechanical properties of PLA films are investigated based on results of tensile test, dynamic mechanical analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. The maximum improvement was observed in case of treated jute nanofibril/PLA composite film where initial modulus and tensile strength increased by 207.69 % and 168.67 %, respectively as compared to neat PLA film. These improvements are attributed to the increased interaction of treated jute nanofibrils with PLA matrix due to their higher precentage of cellulosic contents and mechanically activated surface.