脆肉尼罗罗非鱼与普通尼罗罗非鱼肌肉理化与营养特性的比较

脆肉罗非鱼是近年快速发展起来的特色淡水养殖产品,具有肉质爽脆、富有弹性、久煮不烂等优点,受到消费者的广泛欢迎。本研究主要是通过对脆肉尼罗罗非鱼与普通尼罗罗非鱼肌肉在质构特性、感官评价、基本化学成分、脂肪酸分布和游离氨基酸组成等进行比较研究,从而揭示脆肉尼罗罗非鱼与普通尼罗罗非鱼的肌肉理化与营养特性的差异。研究结果显示：脆肉尼罗罗非鱼肉的硬度、弹性和咀嚼性与普通尼罗罗非鱼差异显著（p<0.05）;脆肉尼罗罗非鱼肌肉中的粗蛋白和灰分与普通尼罗罗非鱼无明显差异,但水分含量显著降低,总脂含量显著升高（p<0.05）;脂肪酸组成分析显示脆肉罗非鱼肌肉中所含的多不饱和脂肪酸显著高于普通尼罗罗非鱼（p<0.05）,其中亚油酸、二十碳五烯酸和二十二碳六烯酸分别是对比组的2.12、3.36和3.71倍,脆肉尼罗罗非鱼肌肉的游离必需氨基酸总量,显著高于普通尼罗罗非鱼（p<0.05）,但鲜味氨基酸甘氨酸略低于普通尼罗罗非。研究结果表明,脆肉尼罗罗非鱼和普通尼罗罗非鱼肌肉在质构特性、含水量、脂肪酸含量和游离氨基酸分布上都存在有明显的差异。     

Mastication and prescribed fire impacts on fuels in a 25-year old ponderosa pine plantation, southern Sierra Nevada

Due to increases in tree density and hazardous fuel loading in Sierra Nevadan forests, land management is focusing on fuel reduction treatments to moderate the risk of catastrophic fires. Fuel treatments involving mechanical and prescribed fire methods can reduce surface as well as canopy fuel loads. Mastication is a mechanical method which shreds smaller trees and brush onto the surface fuel layer. Little data exist quantifying masticated fuel beds. Despite the paucity of data on masticated fuels, land managers desire fuel loading, potential fire behavior and fire effects such as tree mortality information for masticated areas. In this study we measured fuel characteristics before and after mastication and mastication plus prescribed burn treatments in a 25-year old ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa C. Lawson) plantation. In addition to surface fuel characteristics and tree data collection, bulk density samples were gathered for masticated material. Regressions were created predicting masticated fuel loading from masticated fuel bed depth. Total masticated fuel load prior to fire treatment ranged from 25.9 to 42.9 Mg ha⁻¹, and the bulk density of masticated fuel was 125 kg m⁻³. Mastication treatment alone showed increases in most surface fuel loadings and decreases in canopy fuel loads. Masticated treatment in conjunction with prescribed burning reduced both surface and canopy fuel loads. Detailed information on fuel structure in masticated areas will allow for better predictions of fire behavior and fire effects for fire in masticated fuel types. Understanding potential fire behavior and fire effects associated with masticated fuels will allow managers to make decisions on the possibility of mastication to create fuel breaks or enhance forest health.     

Structure and composition changes following restoration treatments of longleaf pine forests on the Gulf Coastal Plain of Alabama

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) forests of the Gulf Coastal Plain historically burned every 2–4 years with low intensity fires, which maintained open stands with herbaceous dominated understories. During the early and mid 20th century however, reduced fire frequency allowed fuel to accumulate and hardwoods to increase in the midstory and overstory layers, while woody shrubs gained understory dominance. In 2001, a research study was installed in southern Alabama to develop management options that could be used to reduce fuel loads and restore the ecosystem. As part of a nationwide fire and fire surrogates study, treatments included a control (no fire or other disturbance), prescribed burning only, thinning of selected trees, thinning plus prescribed burning, and herbicide plus prescribed burning. After two cycles of prescribed burning, applied biennially during the growing season, there were positive changes in ecosystem composition. Although thinning treatments produced revenue, while reducing midstory hardwoods and encouraging growth of a grassy understory, burning was needed to discourage regrowth of the hardwood midstory and woody understory. Herbicide application followed by burning gave the quickest changes in understory composition, but repeated applications of fire eventually produced the same results at the end of this 8-year study. Burning was found to be a critical component of any restoration treatment for longleaf communities of this region with positive changes in overstory, midstory and understory layers after just three or four burns applied every 2 or 3 years.     

Effects of Bit Chewing on Right Upper Quadrant Intestinal Sound Frequency in Adult Horses

Many therapies have been proposed to prevent and treat postoperative ileus (POI) in horses, but to date none is considered fully effective. Various methods have been considered in the prevention of POI in humans too, and among these, gum chewing is gaining a role, reducing time from surgery to first fecal passage and hospitalization time. The aim of the present study is to produce a method to consistently induce horses at chewing without ingesting food and to evaluate its effects on gut sounds in healthy horses. Animals used in this study were 10 adult horses of both genders. A digital phonendoscope was positioned on the right upper flank. A first registration was started and lasted for five consecutive minutes. Then a snaffle bit with toggles was applied to the horse, and a second registration was obtained in the following 15 minutes. Recording sessions were cut into 5-minute subsessions and blindly assessed by two operators that calculated the number of borborygmi per minute in each session. Application of a bit produced consistent mastication and swallowing in all horses for a period of 20 minutes or more. There was a significantly different increase in short (<3 seconds) gut sounds in the first 5 minutes after application of the bit. In conclusion, mastication of a bit consistently caused an increase in gut sounds on the right upper quadrant. Bit chewing can be easily obtained in horses at rest, and further evaluation as an adjunctive element in the management of POI is warranted.