Urine flavonoids and plasma carotenoids in the validation of fruit, vegetable and tea intake during pregnancy in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa)

OBJECTIVE: To validate a new food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for measuring the intake of fruit, vegetables and tea reported by women participating in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). DESIGN: Intake of fruits, vegetables and tea estimated by the FFQ was compared with urinary flavonoid excretion, plasma carotenoid concentration and intake measured by a 4-day weighed food diary (FD). The triangular method was applied to calculate FFQ validity coefficients using two independent biomarkers. SETTING AND SUBJECTS: One hundred and nineteen women participating in MoBa. RESULTS: The FFQ estimate of fruit intake was significantly correlated with urine phloretin (r = 0.33), citrus fruit/juice with urine hesperetin (r = 0.44), cooked vegetables with plasma alpha-carotene (r = 0.37), and tea with urine kaempferol (r = 0.41) (P < 0.01 for all). On average, 60% of the participants fell into the same or adjacent quintiles when classified by FFQ and biomarkers. Significant correlations between the FFQ and FD were found for fruit (r = 0.39), vegetables (r = 0.34), juices (r = 0.50) and tea (r = 0.53). The FFQ validity coefficient was 0.65 for citrus fruit/juice and 0.59 for cooked vegetables as calculated by the triangular method. CONCLUSIONS: The validation study shows that the MoBa FFQ can be used to estimate fruit, juice, vegetable and tea intake in pregnant Norwegian women, and to rank individuals within the distribution.     

Establishment techniques in under-sown perennial ryegrass for seed production

Abstract

Establishment methods have proven to be of major importance for grass-seed production. The objective of this research was to test the effect of different sowing techniques on plant establishment and the subsequent seed yield. Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) is used as the model grass due to its large importance in Danish agriculture.

In a three-year trial six different methods of under-sowing of perennial ryegrass in a spring barley cover crop were employed. Perennial ryegrass was either sown directly at different depths within the spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) rows or placed 2, 6, or 12 cm from the spring barley rows. Results of dry-matter yield indicate that the best establishment of the grass occurred when placing the grass 6 or 12 cm from the cover-crop row, and this is of importance in less vigorous grasses. Overall, no seed-yield difference has been observed for perennial ryegrass when placing the grass 2, 6, or 12 cm from the cover-crop row. Placement of the ryegrass seed crop 6 cm from the cereal row showed that a significant yield increase of 34–71 kg ha^?1 can be obtained compared with sowing in the cereal row.     

The efficacy of a single intraperitoneal injection of either flumequine or oxytetracycline hydrochloride in prevention of outbreaks of atypical Aeromonas salmonicida infection in goldsinny wrasse, Ctenolabrus rupestris L., following stress.

In this investigation, the efficacy of a single intraperitonealinjection of either flumequine or oxytetracycline hydrochloride to preventoutbreak of atypical Aeromonas salmonicida infection ingoldsinny wrasse, Ctenolabrus rupestris, following stresswas studied. Six groups of goldsinny wrasse, each of 50 individuals, weretreated with an intraperitoneal injection of either propylene glycol : saline(50 : 50), 200 mg kg^–1 of oxytetracycline or 50mg kg^–1 of flumequine dissolved in propyleneglycol : saline (50 : 50). Three days following medication the fish in allgroups were stressed by an intraperitoneal injection of prednisolone acetate(0.05 ml) and a rise in seawater temperature from 9 to 11°C. Mortality was observed daily for 21 days. Flumequine wasthe more effective with a mean cumulative mortality of 5% compared tooxytetracycline with 54%. The mean cumulative mortality in the unmedicatedcontrol groups was 84%. Bacterial examination of kidneys from dead fishconfirmed the presence of atypical A. salmonicida as theprobable cause of death. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values forflumequine and oxytetracycline against the isolated A.salmonicida were determined to 0.13 gml^–1, and 2.0 g ml^–1,respectively.     

Serum C-reactive protein concentration as an indicator of remission status in dogs with multicentric lymphoma

BACKGROUND: The acute-phase protein C-reactive protein (CRP) is used as a diagnostic and prognostic marker in humans with various neoplasias, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate if CRP could be used to detect different remission states in dogs with lymphoma. ANIMALS: Twenty-two dogs with untreated multicentric lymphoma. METHODS: Prospective observational study. Blood samples were collected at the time of diagnosis, before each chemotherapy session, and at follow-up visits, resulting in 287 serum samples. RESULTS: Before therapy, a statistically significant majority of the dogs (P = .0019) had CRP concentrations above the reference range (68%, 15/22). After achieving complete remission 90% (18/20) of the dogs had CRP concentrations within the reference range, and the difference in values before and after treatment was statistically significant (P < .001). CRP concentrations of dogs in complete remission (median, 1.91; range, 0.2-103) were significantly different (P = .031) from those of dogs with partial remission (median, 2.48; range, 0-89), stable disease (median, 1.77; range, 1.03-42.65), or progressive disease (median, 8.7; range, 0-82.5). There was profound variation of CRP measurements within each dog. CONCLUSIONS: CRP is useful in determining complete remission status after treatment with cytotoxic drugs. However, the individual variation between dogs means CRP concentration is not sufficiently different in other remission states to permit its use in monitoring progression of the disease. Greater reliability in determining remission status might be achieved by combining CRP concentration with other serum markers.     

Field validation of a decision support system for the control of pests and diseases in cereals in denmark

The decision in 1986, on an action plan to reduce pesticide use in Denmark by 50% led to increased research on the potential of reducing dosages. A decision support system (PC-Plant Protection), developed by The Danish Institute for Plant and Soil Science, implements this research. It combines a detailed use of threshold values to support decisions on treatment need, choice of pesticides and the appropriate dosage for actual problems in cereals. The pest and disease module within the system has been available commercially since 1993 and up to the end of April 1995, 2000 licences have been issued for its use at agricultural schools and by advisers and farmers. The recommendation model for pest and disease control has been validated in field trials since 1990. The validation has shown that the model is able to provide recommendations for the control of pests and diseases to a satisfactory level, without affecting farmers' gross margins. The model was able to adjust pesticide use to large yearly variations and the average amount of pesticides in the plots treated according to the model was well below that in the reference plots and in the commonly used strategies in Denmark.     

Pre-weaning eating activity and morphological parameters in the small and large intestine of piglets

The effect of pre-weaning eating activity on the intestinal morphology in piglets was investigated on the day of weaning and 5 days post-weaning. The eating activity of each piglet was recorded by means of direct observations. On day 5 post-weaning the villous heights were reduced and the crypt depths were increased irrespective of the pre-weaning eating activity. In the caecum and colon the crypt depth was increased post-weaning and no effect of pre-weaning eating activity was observed. The muscle thickness in the small intestine did not change during the immediate post-weaning period whereas the muscle thickness in the large intestine was doubled in the same period. In conclusion, pre-weaning eating activity did not affect the structural alterations of the small and large intestine. However, the actual number of piglets consuming creep feed prior to weaning was low and the eating activity was highly variable. Therefore, more or later weaned piglets may be needed to show effects of pre-weaning eating activity.     

Homogenization conditions affect the oxidative stability of fish oil enriched milk emulsions: oxidation linked to changes in protein composition at the oil-water interface

Fish oil was incorporated into milk under different homogenization temperatures (50 and 72 degrees C) and pressures (5, 15, and 22.5 MPa). Subsequently, the oxidative stability of the milk and changes in the protein composition of the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) were examined. Results showed that high pressure and high temperature (72 degrees C and 22.5 MPa) resulted in less lipid oxidation, whereas low pressure and low temperature (50 degrees C and 5 MPa) resulted in faster lipid oxidation. Analysis of protein oxidation indicated that especially casein was prone to oxidation. The level of free thiol groups was increased by high temperature (72 degrees C) and with increasing pressure. Furthermore, SDS-PAGE and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) indicated that high temperature resulted in an increase in beta-lactoglobulin adsorbed at the oil-water interface. This was even more pronounced with higher pressure. Less casein seemed to be present at the oil-water interface with increasing pressure. Overall, the results indicated that a combination of more beta-lactoglobulin and less casein at the oil-water interface gave the most stable emulsions with respect to lipid oxidation.     

Treatment of the early life stages of scallop (Pecten maximus) with antimicrobial agents; searching for an alternative to chloramphenicol

High mortality rates are often observed in rearing the early stages of the great scallop, Pecten maximus. The addition of antibacterial agents has been necessary to improve larval survival. However, as one antibacterial agent, chloramphenicol, is banned in Norway and Europe the aim of this study is to investigate alternative antibacterial agents. The therapeutic agents investigated in this study were florfenicol, oxytetracycline, oxolinic acid, neomycin and Pyceze. The mean minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were determined for oxytetracycline, oxolinic acid and Pyceze against bacteria isolated from scallop larvae. Two types of treatment regime were investigated on an intermediate scale (20 L). One regime involved continuous exposure of scallop larvae to the therapeutic agent while the other involved a short exposure lasting two hours. All intermediate scale treatments were performed in parallel to large-scale production (800 L) treatment with chloramphenicol. Of the therapeutants investigated, oxolinic acid was the most effective, although only at high concentrations. The short exposure of two hours was ineffective for all therapeutics.