农林科学最新文献

This study aimed to improve the gel quality of golden threadfin bream (Nemipterus virgatus) sausage by adding sugarcane nanocellulose (SNC) and using high pressure combined with a two-stage heat treatment. The gel strength, textural properties, protein secondary structure, water states, and microstructure were analyzed and compared. The results indicated that the heat treatment was beneficial to stabilizing the protein gel structure, increasing the gel strength and textural quality, and reducing the cooking loss. High-pressure treatment resulted in a decrease of α-helix and an increase of β-sheet in the protein, forming a dense gel structure, which enhanced the gel strength and the percentage of bound water. The superior hydrophilicity of nanocellulose and its cross-linking with protein increased the percentage of bound water in the gel, which improved the water-holding capacity and mechanical properties. Therefore, the best gel quality was obtained by adding nanocellulose and treating it with high pressure combined with two-stage heating.

Managing deoxynivalenol (DON) risks is crucial for the sustainability of small grain farms. One approach involves profitable utilization of contaminated grain resources, addressing potential losses from food safety concerns. This study explored distillation as a high-value alternative for utilizing DON-contaminated grain. Naturally DON-contaminated rye and wheat were used in two pilot-scale distillation runs involving milling, mashing, fermentation, and distillation. The ground grain, slurry, fermented mash, and post-distillation mash were sampled during process. For the distilled spirit, 29 fractionated samples, each containing 125 ml, were collected starting with the first drop of liquor. The fractionated samples were sequentially combined into 6 pooled samples of up to 5 individual fractions. If a pooled sample had a DON level above the lower limit of quantification, samples of the pool were tested individually. All distillate samples were tested by ELISA with a limit of quantification at 0.05 µg/ml and a limit of detection at 0.01 µg/ml. For both rye and wheat runs, DON levels in all distillate fractions were consistently below 1 µg/ml, reducing from barely quantifiable to below 0.01 µg/ml. The DON levels in ground rye and wheat were 3.62 and 2.69 µg/g, respectively. In the rye distilled spirit, the first pooled sample had a DON level of 0.1 µg/ml, and the first two fractions of that pool had DON levels of 0.1 and 0.06 µg/ml. In the wheat distilled spirit, the first pooled sample had a DON level of 0.05 µg/ml, and the first fraction of that pool had DON level of 0.12 µg/ml. All other distilled spirits had DON levels below 0.01 µg/ml. The results showed that distilled liquor from DON-contaminated rye and wheat contains very low DON levels at most. From a food safety perspective, considering DON-contaminated grain as an ingredient for distilled spirits appears viable.

Data regarding the outcome of canine rib chondrosarcoma is sparse and varied. While grade of tumour is associated with outcome for canine appendicular chondrosarcoma, the association of grade with outcome for canine rib chondrosarcoma is unclear. This study aimed to correlate the grade of canine rib chondrosarcoma with median survival time. Retrospectively, cases of primary rib chondrosarcoma were identified, and tumours were graded based on a 3-tier adapted human grading scheme. Twenty-two patients were included in the survival analysis. The median survival time was 1427 days (range: 27-3354 days). This was not significantly different for patients with grade I versus II versus III (p = 0.82), grade I-II versus III (p = 0.34), or grade I versus II-III (p = 0.49). No variables assessed including age, weight, tumour location (cranial vs. caudal thorax; left vs. right hemithorax), tumour location on rib (proximal, middle, and distal), radiographic appearance (lytic, proliferative, or mixed), elevated serum alkaline phosphatase activity, grade, grade specific histologic features (matrix production, architecture, pleomorphism, cellularity, necrosis, and total score), adjunct therapy post-surgical excision, development of metastatic disease post-surgery, or local recurrence post-surgery were found to impact the risk of death due to chondrosarcoma. In this limited group of patients, the grading scheme reported here, and the other variables assessed did not appear to offer additional prognostic information. However, this data must be interpreted considering the small sample size and thus low statistical power. Additional studies are needed to determine the true impact of grade on outcome for canine rib chondrosarcomas.

Body composition measurements (BCM), obtained via computed tomography (CT), have been used as predictors of survival, tumour recurrence, and post-surgical infections in human oncology. There are no reports on using BCM to predict outcomes of dogs with cancer. Elevated BCM is hypothesised to place extra stress on bones weakened by cancer. Pathologic fracture following stereotactic body radiation therapy for canine appendicular osteosarcoma (OSA) frequently results in limb amputation or euthanasia. Additional tools are needed to better predict the risk of fracture development. Our objectives were to determine if any relationships could be identified between BCM and the occurrence of a pathologic fracture and/or survival time in dogs with naturally occurring OSA. Forty-seven dogs with a confirmed OSA and whole-body CT pre-SBRT were included. Several BCM were evaluated, including abdominal volume, visceral adipose tissue volume, whole-body volume, whole-body adipose tissue volume, normalised cross-sectional area of the epaxial muscles at the mid-body of the 13th thoracic vertebra, and attenuations of adipose tissue and epaxial muscles. No BCMs were correlated with survival time. The volume of the entire body (cm³) was significantly positively associated with development of a fracture. No other BCM were correlated with the development of a fracture. The volume of the abdomen (cm³) among our patient subset was positively correlated with the volume of the entire body, and the volume of visceral adipose tissue (cm³) was positively correlated with the total body volume of adipose tissue (cm³). Additional research is needed to verify whether these findings are replicable in larger sample sizes and in prospective settings.

This multicenter retrospective study evaluated the effects of a time delay and steroids on the volume of peritumoral edema (VPTE) in dogs with extra-axial brain tumours. The hypothesis is that VPTE will decrease between the diagnostic (MRI-1) and RT planning (MRI-2) MRIs following the administration of steroids. Inclusion required paired MRI acquisitions within 3 months, with VPTE contouring for each MRI registered to the RT planning CT. No edema was defined as < 0.2 cm³, increased edema was > 30% VPTE increase and decreased edema was > 30% VPTE decrease. Forty-four dogs of which 34 (77%) received steroids between MRIs were included. The median time between the MRIs was 22 days (range: 8-74 days). Nine (20%) had no edema on both MRIs. The median MRI-1/VPTE: 0.83 cm³ (IQR: 0.15-2.06 cm³) and median MRI-2/VPTE: 0.40 cm³ (IQR: 0.06-1.12 cm³) were significantly different (p = 0.048). Compared to MRI-1/VPTE: 17 (39%) VPTE decreased, eight were stable and 10 increased. The median VPTE difference was -21%, range: -100 to +6287. With steroids, VPTE decreased in 15/34 (44%) and increasedin 6/34 (18%) (median VPTE diff: -60%) compared to no steroids (median VPTE diff: +25%). Steroids use was associated with change in VPTE (p = 0.009). Two dogs had clinical deterioration and were on steroids with documented VPTE increase (+86% and +1880%) without tumour progression. The change in VPTE is highly variable but reduction is associated with steroids. Notably, subjective improvement of clinical signs can be seen without significant decrease to the VPTE on imaging.

Periodontal disease in dogs is common. Client compliance with oral hygiene and oral care for pets is low. The gold standard is annual dental prophylaxis under general anesthesia with imaging followed by home care including daily brushing. Clients should be offered methods to reduce calculus, plaque, gingivitis, and resulting halitosis that are time efficient, cost-effective, and easy to administer between annual preventative dental prophylaxis with the goal to move into maintenance phase of managing periodontal disease. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a honeycomb-shaped dental chew in reducing hardened calculus, plaque, gingivitis, and malodor in client-owned dogs in their normal home environment including various breeds, skull types, ages, and weights. Calculus, plaque, and gingival scores with volatile sulfur compounds readings were performed under sedation and evaluated under general anesthesia after 60 consecutive days of receiving a daily honeycomb-shaped dental chew treat. There was an overall statistically significant percentage reduction of calculus (26.6%), plaque (14.2%), and malodor (46.71%). Gingival scores did not demonstrate statistically significant reduction (0.99%). Use of this honeycomb-shaped daily dental chew significantly reduced calculus, plaque, and associated malodor in dogs when fed consecutively for 60 days.

This study examined the feasibility of applying surface dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma (SDBDCP) to partially hydrogenate crude soybean oil. The oil sample was treated for 13 h using SDBDCP at 15 kV with 100% hydrogen gas under room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Fatty acid composition, iodine value, refractive index, carotenoid content, melting point, peroxide value, and free fatty acids content (FFA) were investigated during SDBDCP treatment. Analysis of fatty acid composition demonstrated an increase in the content of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids (from 41.32% to 55.3%) and a decrease in the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (from 58.62% to 40.98%), which resulted in a reduction of the iodine value to 98.49 over the treatment time. Also, the fatty acid profile indicated that the total detected level of trans-fatty acids was very low (0.79%). After a 13-h treatment, the samples showed a refractive index of 1.4637, melting point of 10 °C, peroxide value of 4.1 meq/kg, and FFA content of 0.8%. In addition, the results revealed a 71% decline in the carotenoid content of the oil sample due to the saturation of their double bonds. Therefore, these findings suggest that SDBDCP can be effectively used for hydrogenation along with bleaching oil.

Mast cell tumours (MCTs) are the most frequent cutaneous neoplasia of the dog, and they have very variable biological behaviour and survival times. Surgery is still the best treatment, and despite the several adjuvant therapies described, many cases are very aggressive and resistant to these treatments making it urgent to find new therapeutic targets. Nowadays, immunotherapy targeting immune checkpoints has been described as a complementary treatment for several human cancers, but it is still very scarcely studied in veterinary medicine. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the expression of the checkpoint proteins programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) to evaluate their potential as therapeutic targets for MCT. Through immunohistochemical study, it was analysed the expression of PD-L1 and CTLA-4 in 74 MCT cases from the archive of the Veterinary Pathology Laboratory of the University of Porto (LabPatVet). Tumour size, histological grade, ki-67 proliferation index, mitotic count and presence of metastatic disease were also assessed. Most of the cases expressed both immune checkpoints in neoplastic cells. There was a statistically significant inverse association between the expression of CTLA-4 and MCT grade (p < 0,001) and mitotic count (p < 0.001). PD-L1 was significantly and negatively related to HG (p = 0.004), and tumour size (р = 0.014). Tumour size, histological grade and mitotic count were positively associated with metastatic disease. Additionally, it was observed that the expression of PD-L1 and CTLA-4 was interrelated (p < 0.001). This study demonstrated that MCT cells express both PD-L1 and CTLA-4 and that their expression was associated with MCT prognostic factors.

A large-scale study was conducted to explore AFB1 contamination in feed samples using Thin Layer Chromatography, following an AOAC protocol. Samples were identified which were not compliant with the maximum limits for AFB1 as regulated in the United States and Pakistan. Of a total of 923 samples, 51 samples (5.5%) were not compliant according to Pakistan and 267 (28.9%) were not compliant with US-FDA standards. The overall prevalence of non-compliant samples of compound feed was 26.2% (n = 117) according to US-FDA standards, while none of the samples were non-compliant according to Pakistan standards. Among feed ingredients, the overall prevalence of non-compliant samples was 10.7% (n = 51) and 31.4% (n = 150) according to Pakistan and USFDA standards, respectively. Non-compliant feed with respect to AFB1 contamination was highly prevalent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, posing a serious threat to production performance and animals health.

Metal contamination of foodstuffs is a major public health challenge of increasing concern. The present study aimed to determine lead, cadmium and mercury in honey, cow's milk and poultry eggs collected from the North-Eastern region of Algeria and to evaluate the health risks associated with their regular consumption. To this aim 30 samples of each foodstuff were analysed using ICP-MS. Among the quantified heavy metals, Pb was found at the highest level in both honey (0.752 ± 0.16 µg g^-1) and poultry egg (0.988 ± 0.19 µg g^-1) in the region of Skikda. The highest values of Cd (0.798 ± 0.12 µg g^-1) and Hg (0.097 ± 0.02 µg g^-1) were found in poultry eggs collected from the same region. For infants the Hazard Index was well above 1 in honey samples from all three locations, in cow's milk collected from Mila and Skikda and in poultry eggs collected from Skikda.