Effect of hot-fat trimming on factors associated with the subprimal yield of beef carcasses.

Thirty-two crossbred cattle (steers = 17; heifers = 15) exhibiting an ultrasound fat thickness at the 12 to 13th rib region of at least 10 mm were selected from a slaughter shift at a commercial packing plant. After splitting, alternating sides of each carcass were trimmed of 1) subcutaneous fat in excess of 6.4 mm; 2) all kidney, pelvic, and heart fat; and 3) all cod or udder fat and fat in the flank region. Both sides of each carcass were fabricated into subprimals (final trim level of 6.4 mm) according to normal industry procedures. Effect of hot-fat trimming, yield grade (3, 4, and 5), and gender on hot-fat trim, fabrication fat trim, major subprimal, and total subprimal yield of untrimmed and trimmed carcasses were determined. Higher numerical yield grade (YG) corresponded with higher (P less than .05) percentages of hot-fat trim. Hot-fat trimming increased (P less than .05) the difference in fabrication fat trim between steers and heifers and between YG 3 and YG 5. Steers and heifers differed (P less than .05) in percentage of major subprimals and total subprimals when processed conventionally, whereas hot-fat trimming eliminated this difference (P less than .05). Untrimmed YG 3 carcasses had 3.1 and 5.0% higher major subprimal yield (P less than .05) than untrimmed YG 4 and YG 5 carcasses, respectively, whereas hot-fat trimming reduced this difference to 2.5% for YG 4 and to 3.7% for YG 5.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Irrigation and dryland cultivation effects on the surface properties and erodibility of a Zimbabwe vertisol

Abstract. Changes in chemical and physical properties and erodibility of a vertisol were studied in relation to land use. The vertisol, which occurs extensively in the semi-arid south-east of Zimbabwe, is derived from basalt and has a self mulching surface layer. Irrigated crops show static yields despite introduction of improved varieties. Four uncultivated sites were selected as controls and compared with five irrigated and four dryland sites. Surface soils were analysed for a range of chemical and physical properties, and laboratory rainfall simulation was used to measure soil erodibility under high intensity rain. The irrigated soils had greater exchangeable sodium and available phosphorus than the uncultivated soils. In contrast, dryland soils showed no such changes apart from a decrease in the amount of small water-stable aggregates. The soils are very erodible under high intensity rain but no significant differences were found between sites. We conclude that, although soil chemical changes have taken place in the irrigated soils, significant soil degradation has not occurred at the sites examined. The static yields probably result from management problems. However, immediate measures should be taken to improve drainage and irrigation management in the irrigated soils to avoid further sodium increases.     

Effect of chitin on biological control activity of Bacillus spp. and Trichoderma harzianum against root rot disease in pepper (Capsicum annuum) plants

Two bacterial isolates and one strain of Trichoderma harzianum were tested alone and in combination with chitin for efficacy in control of root rot disease caused by Phytophthora capsici and Rhizoctonia solani in pepper plants under greenhouse conditions. These bacteria (Bacillus subtilis HS93 and B. licheniformis LS674) were isolated from repeatedly washed roots of pepper plants. In in vitro assays, HS93, LS674 and T. harzianum were antagonistic against P. capsici and R. solani and produced high levels of chitinase. Seed treatment and root drenching with bacterial suspensions of HS93 with 0.5% chitin was more effective against Phytophthora and Rhizoctonia root rot than addition of the organisms without chitin. LS674 and T. harzianum reduced Rhizoctonia but not Phytophthora root rot. In two greenhouse tests, seed treatment and root drenching with HS93 amended with chitin enhanced its biocontrol activity against P. capsici but not on R. solani. The effects of LS674 and T. harzianum against R. solani were significantly enhanced when they were used as suspensions with 0.5% chitin for root drenching, but this had no effect on P. capsici. In both greenhouse experiments, the use of 0.5% chitin alone for root drenching reduced Rhizoctonia root rot. Reduction of root rot disease was accompanied by increased yield. These results show that the antagonistic activity of HS93, LS674 and T. harzianum may be stimulated by chitin resulting in significant improvements in their effectiveness against pathogens.     

Auxins increase the occurrence of leaf-colour variants in Caladium regenerated from leaf explants

Leaf explants of Caladium ‘Pink Cloud’ were cultured in vitro on MS medium containing various auxins (NAA, IBA, IAA, 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D) in combination with cytokinin (BA). NAA gave the most vigorous in vitro propagation of this plant, and only 15% of the plants were leaf-colour variants on the medium containing 0.5 μmol NAA. Leaf colour variation was observed in all plants regenerated on the medium containing 2,4-D at 0.5–4.5 μmol. In hormone-free medium, only a few leaf-colour variants (6%) occurred, but the rate of plant regeneration was very low. Application of 0.5 μmol NAA together with 4.5 μmol BA seemed to be the most appropriate for in vitro propagation of Caladium ‘Pink Cloud’ with only a few leaf-colour variants.     

Predicting early pregnancy in Egyptian buffalo cows via measuring uterine and luteal blood flows,and serum and saliva progesterone

Various methods are being employed to detect early pregnancy in domestic animals. This study aimed to predict early pregnancy in buffaloes via measuring the corpus luteum (CL) diameter, the luteal blood flow (LBF) area, the uterine blood flow (UBF) vascularization area, and progesterones in saliva and serum for non-pregnant (NPBs, N = 12) and pregnant (PBs, N = 12) buffaloes. The results revealed that the CL diameter and the luteal color blood flow blue and red (P = 0.0001) areas of the pregnant animals kept increasing from day 1 to day 35 of the gestation period, but it decreased in NPBs on day 21 after reaching a peak from ovulation to day 18. Interestingly, the UBF of the pregnant buffaloes (PBs) kept increasing (P = 0.0001) from ovulation to day 42. The difference of the CL diameter (P = 0.03) and the LBF color blue vascularization area (P = 0.002) between PBs and NPBs became clear from day 14 after ovulation, though the difference of UBF between PBs and NPBs became markedly obvious from day 7 after breeding. Both saliva (P = 0.001) and serum (P = 0.0001) progesterones of PBs continued increasing (P = 0.0001) from day 14 to day 35, but those of NPBs started decreasing (P = 0.0001) from day 14 and reached low values on day 21. Therefore, measuring saliva progesterone in addition to the high LBF (day 14) and UBF (day 7) of the pregnant buffaloes using a Doppler ultrasound could be applicable as noninvasive methods to detect early pregnancy and to improve reproductive management of buffaloes.     

Influence of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Nigella sativa</Emphasis> seeds, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rosmarinus officinalis</Emphasis> leaves and their combination on growth performance,immune response and rumen metabolism in Dorper lambs

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of dietary supplementation of Nigella sativa L. seeds, Rosmarinus officinalis L. leaves and their combination on rumen metabolism, nutrient intake and digestibility, growth performance, immune response and blood metabolites in Dorper lambs. Twenty-four entire male Dorper lambs (18.68?±?0.6 kg, 4–5 months old) were randomly assigned to a concentrate mixture containing on a dry matter basis either, no supplement (control, T1), 1% R. officinalis leaves (T2), 1% N. sativa seeds (T3) or 1% R. officinalis leaves +1% N. sativa seeds (T4). The lambs had ad libitum access to urea-treated rice straw (UTRS) and were raised for 90 days. Supplemented lambs had greater (P?< 0.05) intake of DM and UTRS than the control lambs. The T4 lambs had lower (P?< 0.05) nutrient digestibility than those fed other treatments. Total and daily weight gain was greater (P?< 0.05) in T2 lambs than those fed other diets. The T3 and T4 lambs had greater (P?< 0.05) ruminal pH than the T1 and T2 lambs. Supplemented lambs had lower (P?<?0.05) ruminal total volatile fatty acids, acetate, propionate, NH₃-N and C18:0 than the control lambs. The T4 lambs had lower (P?< 0.05) population of Fibrobacter succinogenes, Ruminococcus albus, methanogens and total protozoa compared with those fed other diets. Supplemented lambs had lower (P?< 0.05) neutrophils, basophils and serum urea and greater (P?<?0.05) serum IgA and IgG compared with the control lambs. The current results emphasised the variation in the efficacy of medicinal plants in ruminant nutrition.     

Integration of pharmacokinetic–pharmacodynamic for dose optimization of doxycycline against Haemophilus parasuis in pigs

The aims of this study were to establish optimal doses of doxycycline (dox) against Haemophilus parasuis on the basis of pharmacokinetic–pharmacodynamic (PK‐PD) integration modeling. The infected model was established by intranasal inoculation of organism in pigs and confirmed by clinical signs, blood biochemistry, and microscopic examinations. The recommended dose (20 mg/kg b.w.) was administered in pigs through intramuscular routes for PK studies. The area under the concentration 0‐ to 24‐hr curve (AUC_0–24), elimination half‐life (T_½ke), and mean residence time (MRT) of dox in healthy and H. parasuis‐infected pigs were 55.51 ± 5.72 versus 57.10 ± 4.89 μg·hr/ml, 8.28 ± 0.91 versus 9.80 ± 2.38 hr, and 8.43 ± 0.27 versus 8.79 ± 0.18 hr, respectively. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of dox against 40 H. parasuis isolates was conducted through broth microdilution method, the corresponding MIC₅₀ and MIC₉₀ were 0.25 and 1 μg/ml, respectively. The Ex vivo growth inhibition data suggested that dox exhibited a concentration‐dependent killing mechanism. Based on the observed AUC_24 hr/MIC values by modeling PK‐PD data in H. parasuis‐infected pigs, the doses predicted to obtain bacteriostatic, bactericidal, and elimination effects for H. parasuis over 24 hr were 5.25, 8.55, and 10.37 mg/kg for the 50% target attainment rate (TAR), and 7.26, 13.82, and 18.17 mg/kg for 90% TAR, respectively. This study provided a more optimized alternative for clinical use and demonstrated that the dosage 20 mg/kg of dox by intramuscular administration could have an effective bactericidal activity against H. parasuis.     

Comparison of nuclear and capacitance‐based soil water measuring techniques in salt‐affected soils

A field calibration experiment was carried out on salt‐affected clayey soil in Syria, to compare the sensitivity to soil electrical conductivity (ECe), and bulk density (ρ_b) of two instruments for estimating soil moisture: the neutron probe (NP) and the Diviner 2000 capacitance probe (CP). The results showed that the values of the correlation coefficient of the calibration were decreased when the ECe and ρ_b values increased; this decrease was more pronounced for the Diviner 2000, indicating that it was more sensitive to ρ_b and ECe than the NP. When only scaled frequency was used in the fitted equation, the Diviner 2000 in wet soil underestimated soil water content significantly at all depths, but especially in the top layer, by up to 0.09 cm³/cm³ compared with gravimetric determinations. However, in dry soil, the Diviner 2000 overestimated the volumetric water content by up to 0.05 cm³/cm³ in the top 15 cm, and by 0.03 cm³/cm³ at 30‐45 cm depth. The performance of the neutron probe was better overall; using a factory calibration curve no significant differences were observed between NP estimates and the gravimetric values. Including both ρ_b and ECe in the calibration equations improved the fits, although the regression coefficient (R²) for the Diviner 2000 remained low.