Feed preference and growth response of juvenile Litopenaeus vannamei to supplementation of marine chemoattractants in a fishmeal‐challenged diet

This study compared the feed preference and growth response of Litopenaeus vannamei to chemoattractants. A diet with 3% fishmeal was supplemented with either 3% salmon meal (POS), 3% soy protein concentrate (NEG), 3% krill meal (KRM), 3% squid meal (SQM), 3% shrimp head meal (SHM), 3% shrimp meal (SM), 3% squid liver meal (SLM), or 5% liquid sardine hydrolysate (SAH). Shrimp with a body weight (BW) of 0.99 ± 0.08 g were stocked at 100 animals/m² in 56 tanks of 1 m³ and fed 10 times daily for 74 days. Feed preference was evaluated by feeding shrimp of 10.87 ± 1.82 g in excess twice a day for 10 days in two separate feeding trays allocated in 50 tanks of 0.5 m³. Survival reached 93.3 ± 5.80% and was unaffected by supplementation. Final BW was the highest for shrimp fed the KRM‐supplemented diet (11.97 ± 0.93 g), followed by POS (11.11 ± 0.77 g) and SQM (11.01 ± 1.17 g). Diets SHM, SM, SLM, and NEG showed a lower shrimp BW than POS, but were not statistically different among them. Shrimp fed the SAH diet achieved the lowest BW (10.06 ± 1.02 g). The highest gained yield was obtained with diets KRM and POS. No statistical difference was observed in shrimp yield among other diets. The lowest feed conversion ratio (FCR) was achieved with shrimp fed KRM (1.31 ± 0.05) when compared to diets SHM (1.47 ± 0.05), SAH (1.47 ± 0.07), and SLM (1.45 ± 0.17). Two‐by‐two comparisons indicated that shrimp preferred SHM and KRM, except when these were compared to SQM and SLM. No difference in feed preference was found between diets with SQM and SLM. SAH was the least preferred raw material in all comparisons. Results indicated that KRM acts as a powerful feeding effector and growth enhancer in fishmeal‐challenged diets for whiteleg shrimp. A dietary supplementation with 3% KRM is more effective than the same dose of any other chemoattractant evaluated.     

Venom immunotherapy for Hymenoptera allergy in a dog

A 1.5-year-old male castrated dog was presented in anaphylactic shock after suffering an apparent bee sting. Immunotherapy with bee venom was initiated based upon history, skin testing and serological testing for allergen-specific immunoglobulin (Ig)E. The dog was maintained on venom immunotherapy for five years and showed no signs of adverse effects from therapy or from repeated bee stings.     

Suitability of Amaranthaceae and Polygonaceae species as food source for the sugar beet weevil Asproparthenis punctiventris Germar

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - This study explores the food plant spectrum of the sugar beet weevil (Asproparthenis punctiventris Germar; Coleoptera: Curculionidae), one of the most...     

Water availability affects nectar sugar production and insect visitation of the cup plant Silphium perfoliatum L. (Asteraceae)

The perennial cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum L.) is considered as an alternative feedstock to maize for biogas plants. Due to its ecological advantages of an extensive management and function as food resource for pollinators, it can be grown in Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs) since 2018. However, studies at the Julius Kühn-Institute in Braunschweig (Germany) showed that the assumed advantage of the cup plant of a high drought tolerance could not be confirmed regarding aspects of crop production and yield. We complemented this experiment by assessing how different soil moisture conditions affect the production of floral resources and insect visitation. In 2014, we sampled three irrigated and three rainfed plots of the cup plant. We quantified the nectar volume and sugar mass per inflorescence, the number of inflorescences per plant and calculated the total nectar sugar production. We further counted insect visitation on the inflorescences. Due to reduced numbers of inflorescences per plant and an earlier harvest, the estimated nectar sugar production was 58 kg/ha regarding irrigated and 20 kg/ha regarding rainfed plots. Honeybee visitation per inflorescence was about twice as high in the irrigated plots. Furthermore, the early harvest is a disadvantage for wild pollinators with a late activity period.     

Urban evictions,public housing and the gendered rationalisation of kampung life in Jakarta

The dispossession of urban communities across class and racial lines is a global phenomenon linked to the expansion of international investment in the development of ‘exemplary’ city space. However, city evictions are also historically informed and gendered processes which are continuous with past colonial and postcolonial urban rationalisation projects. Drawing on testimonies of women evictees in Jakarta, as well as interviews with public housing managers, this article details the gendered nature of the rationalisation of urban life in the context of a contemporary evictions regime. We argue that the rationalisation of urban space serves to sharpen the gender order by placing material constraints on women's roles, limiting their economic activities and defining them as hygiene‐responsible housewives. Further, and in turn, the limited provision of ‘rusunawa’ public housing, which we show to be a gendered spatial and social transition informed by state doctrine on the family, provides the state with justification for dispossession itself. Finally, women's everyday acts of refusal and resistance show not only that kampung forms of social life continue to be preserved in Jakarta, but also that rationalisation itself is a negotiated and contingent process.     

Time lag between peak concentrations of plasma and salivary cortisol following a stressful procedure in dairy cattle

Background

Measurement of salivary cortisol has been used extensively as a non-invasive alternative to blood sampling to assess adrenal activity in ruminants. However, there is evidence suggesting a considerable delay in the transfer of cortisol from plasma into saliva. Previous studies in cattle have used long sampling intervals making it difficult to characterise the relationship between plasma and salivary cortisol (PLCort and SACort, respectively) concentrations at different time points and determine whether or not such a time lag exist in large ruminants. Therefore, the objective of this study was to characterise the relationship between plasma and salivary cortisol and determine if there is a significant time lag between reaching peak cortisol concentrations in plasma and saliva across a 4.25 h time-period, using short sampling intervals of 10–15 min, following social separation in dairy cattle.Five cows were separated from their calves at 4 days after calving, and six calves were separated from a group of four peers at 8 weeks of age. Following separation, the animals were moved to an unfamiliar surrounding where they could not see their calves or pen mates. The animals were catheterised with indwelling jugular catheters 1 day before sampling. Blood and saliva samples were obtained simultaneously before and after separation.

Results

In response to the stressors, PLCort and SACort increased reaching peak concentrations 10 and 20 min after separation, respectively. This suggested a 10 min time lag between peak cortisol concentrations in plasma and saliva, which was further confirmed with a time-series analysis. Considering the 10 min time lag, SACort was strongly correlated with PLCort (P < 0.0001).

Conclusions

Salivary cortisol correlates well with plasma cortisol and is a good indicator of the time-dependent variations in cortisol concentrations in plasma following acute stress. However, there is a time lag to reach peak cortisol concentrations in saliva compared to those in plasma, which should be considered when saliva samples are used as the only measure of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis response to stress in cattle.     

Recent findings on certain bioactive components in whole grain wheat and rye

Whole grain wheat and rye are important sources of many bioactive compounds and contribute significantly to the total intake of cereals in many countries. Alkylresorcinols, benzoxazinoids, lignans, phenolic acids, phytosterols and tocols are common bioactive compounds present in these cereals. In this review, we report recent findings (mainly from 2010 onwards) regarding their content, composition, effects of food processing and their uptake, elimination and bioactivities with implications for health.     

Atmospheric Deposition in a Rural Area in India - Net and Potential Acidity

Atmospheric deposition in India is generally described as alkaline and well buffered against an increase of acidifying components. Such conclusion has been based on measurements usually performed in urban or suburban areas. Our data on deposition in NE India (in the countryside N of Bhubaneswar) obtained with wet-only and bulk collectors show that: 1) the weighted mean concentrations (and wet deposition) of H⁺ and HCO₃ ^? are almost equal, with dustfall contributing a negligible amount of HCO₃ ^?, 2) the deposition of potential acidity, defined as the acidity that would give the same acidity contribution to the receiving surface as the actual deposition provided that all ammonium was converted to nitrate in the soil, could be as high as 40 mmol H⁺ m^?2 a^?1 corresponding to a pH of 4.3 in precipitation. The low buffer capacity against acidification and high potential acidity were discovered from long- term measurements in a vegetation covered rural area. Similar measurements in a nearby suburban area gave a much higher input of HCO₃ ^? both in wet deposition and dustfall. Further increase of the emission of acidifying components in the region will increase the acid deposition.     

Total folate content and retention in rosehips (Rosa ssp.) after drying

Folate concentrations in rosehips and commercial rosehip products and factors affecting folate retention during drying were investigated. On the basis of the raw material studied during 3 years, rosehips were shown to be a rich folate source, 400-600 microg/100 g based on dry matter and 160-185 microg/100 g based on the fresh weight (edible part). Rosehips are not often consumed fresh; therefore, drying to produce stable semimanufactures is a crucial step. The degradation of folate was shown to be dependent on the drying time until the water activity was below 0.75. The required drying time was reduced by cutting the rosehips in slices and to some extent also by increasing the temperature. Retention of folate and ascorbic acid was affected by the same factors, and high content of ascorbic acid could provide a possible protection for folate degradation.