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This paper describes the partial results of an echocardiographic study in sixty outbreed Wistar rats. Animals of parity sex ratio were chosen for the experiment. The animals were grown up during the observation period (the minimum weight was 220 g; the maximum weight was 909 g) and were then sequentially anaesthetised (2-2.5% of isoflurane, 3 l/min O₂). The second, fourth and fifth examinations were performed under anaesthesia maintained by intramuscular injections with diazepam (2 mg/kg), xylazine (5 mg/kg) and ketamine (35 mg/kg). Transthoracal examination was done using the SonoSite Titan echo system (SonoSite Ltd.) with a microconvex transducer C11 (8-5 MHz). M-mode (according to the leading-edge method of American Society of Echocardiography) echocardiography data were acquired at the papillary muscle: systolic and diastolic interventricular septum (IVSs, d) and left vetricular posterior wall (LVPWs, d) thickness, systolic and diastolic left ventricular dimension (LVDs, d), aorta (Ao) and left atrium (LA) dimensions. According to standard formulas, the following parameters were obtained: ejection fraction (EF), cardiac output (CO), stroke volume (SV), left ventricle end systolic volume (LVESV), left ventricle end diastolic volume (LVEDV), interventricular septum fractional thickening (IVSFT), left ventricular dimension fraction shortening (LVDFS), and left ventricle posterior wall fraction thickening (LVPWFS). In our study we performed 300 examinations both in male and female Wistar rats of various body weights and calculated regression equations to predict expected normal echocardiographic parameters for rats with arbitrary weights. The rats were examined by an echo scan. The first and third examinations were performed during mono-anaesthesia induced by inhalation of isoflurane. Correlations, with one exception (LVDs), were very close, which means that the results of the calculations based on regression equations are very reliable.

Hypo- and anorexia are the most commonly presented complaints for many diseases in veterinary medicine, leading to malnutrition, immunosuppression, compromised wound healing and altered drug metabolism. Stimulating appetite and palatability are therefore important factors in managing anorectic pets. The palatability of a liquid nutritional supplement for cats (LNScat) and dogs (LNSdog), which can be added to the diet as appetite stimulant, was evaluated in healthy pets. In total, 60 cats and 60 dogs of different ages and breeds were included in the study. Acceptance tests were performed using LNS with a concentration of 100% (LNS100) and preferences of water and three different concentrations of LNS (LNS50, LNS70, LNS100) were tested using a traditional two-pan preference test. Acceptance tests with LNS100 showed that cats and dogs generally accepted LNS very well. In dogs, a weak positive correlation existed between acceptance and age, whereas in cats no correlation with age was observed. Furthermore, preference tests showed a clear preference for LNS, regardless of dilution (LNS50, LNS70 and LNS100), when compared to water. In cats, LNS100 was generally better accepted than LNS50 and LNS70. Dogs preferred LNS70 and LNS100 to LNS50. The present study demonstrated that LNS is highly palatable for healthy dogs and cats. If future research confirms that LNS is also highly palatable for ill and hospitalised patients and stimulates appetite in a hospital setting, a practical tool to improve moisture and nutrient intake in patients with hypo- or anorexia will become available.

A road network in forest lands provides easy access to forest resources for extraction, regeneration, protection and recreation activities. Erosion from forest roads and skid trails is a major concern in forest management due to the capability to cause adverse environmental effects. The objective of this paper is to introduce two methods for reducing erosion on forest roads and skid trails: water diversion and vegetation cover. Factors affecting erosion on forest roads and skid trails are climate, quality of forest road surfacing material, traffic, slope and vegetation cover. There are several management practices to mitigate the impact of logging and forest road and skid trail construction on stream water quality. Sediments delivered to streams from roads and skid trails lead to a number of dramatic effects on water quality and aquatic life. These management practices were found to be effective in controlling and reducing the runoff volume and soil erosion. Therefore, management and maintenance of forest roads and skid trails are essential elements to mitigate erosion.

The effects of storage on the lipid composition of three redgram (TTB-7, BRG-1, and ICP-8863) and three greengram (PUSA BISAKI, KDM-1, and CHINA MOONG) varieties were studied. Environment variables such as temperature and relative humidity were recorded during storage period. Moisture content was found to increase along with the percent incidence of storage insects. The incidence of storage moulds and insects was recorded in all the samples; results showed that storage moulds belonged to Aspergillus species and the insect Callosobruchus chinensis infested the stored samples. The total fat, triglycerides, phospholipids, free fatty acids and peroxide value were evaluated in the control and in samples stored for three and six months. Results showed that storage depleted total fat (1.94-1.75 g), triglycerides (1.46-1.07 g), whereas phospholipids (0.06-0.21g), free fatty acids (0.002-0.01 g) and peroxide values (2.14-4.46 meq) increased. The fatty acid content of palmitic (26.03-23.56%), stearic (7.4-5.46%), linoleic (56.2-45.2%) and linolenic acids (6.9-4.7%) decreased, but oleic acid content increased (8.3-21.6%) in all the varieties during storage.

32 experimental plots were sown at Borovce (district Trnava) in Slovakia during 2008 with 8 maize hybrids, including coleopteran-protected MON 88017, the lepidopteran-protected MON 89034, the stacked product, MON 89034 × MON 88017, that same hybrids isoline that did not have the Bt trait or traits, and 4 commercial hybrids. Part of the fourth repetition was unexpectedly infested and damaged with the Western corn rootworm (WCR). High numbers of the WCR adults were found in the damaged plots on July 8. Adult WCR abundance remained concentrated in this area until August 12-19. The beetles apparently began to disperse during August 19-September 2, and after September 2. The trap captures increased in the uninfested areas up to September 16, no significant difference having been found in the adult WCR captures between the infested and uninfested plots, including the plots with MON 88017. Bt-maize hybrids containing MON 88017 strongly influenced the level of the WCR damage as assessed by lodging of the maize plants, and they also influenced the numbers of the WCR adults before maize flowering. We found that intensive movement of the WCR adults from the place of their origin started later in the vegetation season.

Chlorpropham is employed worldwide as an anti-sprout chemical to the harvested potato tubers during storage. A simple and precise analytical technique is developed for routine estimation of the sprout suppressant from a large number of potato samples supplied from commercial stores demanding quick analysis. Chlorpropham is extracted completely from potato tubers by intelligent reflux extraction followed by quantification using GC-FID (Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detector) equipment. In this article, the performance of the technique is compared with the lengthy extraction/cleanup process, and the results are validated as per one-way analysis of variance. The recommended technique is found to offer rapid, accurate, and reliable analytical results with ease in handling a large number of samples constituting a wide range of residual chlorpropham levels often found in a complex structural commercial potato stores.

An incubation study was carried out to investigate the influence of nitrogen rates to determine optimum C/N ratio under various moisture levels for straw decomposition and sequester carbon (C) in the soil. The aim was to observe straw carbon mineralization through measuring the amount of CO₂ evolution. A clay loam topsoil mixed with maize straw was supplied with four nitrogen rates (0.04, 0.08, 0.16, 0.32 g N/kg) using (NH₄)₂SO₄ to adjust C/N ratios at 82, 42, 20, and 10. Soil moisture was maintained at 55%, 70%, 85%, and 100% of field capacity incubated at 25°C for 53 days. The experiment was set up with 16 treatments arranged in complete randomized design. Results showed that mixing of straw with soil increased 50% cumulative CO₂-C compared to controls. Averagely, about 44% of added maize straw C was mineralized to CO₂-C. Straw addition along with nitrogen and moisture had significant relationships (P < 0.05) to cumulative CO₂-C, soil organic C and microbial biomass C. There was a highly significant relationship (R² = 0.99) between CO₂-C emission and incubation time.

This study aims to explore the optimum nitrogen (N) application method by analyzing effects of variable N application stages and ratios on the N absorption and translocation of high-yield summer maize (DH661). The study included field experiments and ¹⁵N isotopic dilutions for pot experiments. Results showed that the yield was not increased in a one-off N application at the jointing stage. The uptake of fertilizer-derived N in the grain increased with the increasing of N applied times. Compared to a single or double application, total N uptake (N_up) and biomass increased significantly by supplying N at the six-leaf stage (V6), ten-leaf stage (V10) and 10 days after anthesis in ratios of 3:5:2 and 2:4:4. The fertilizer-derived recovery rates were 67.5% and 78.1%, respectively. The uptake and utilization of fertilizer-derived N was enhanced by increasing the recovery rate of N supplied after anthesis, and reducing the absorption of soil-derived N. Therefore, the 2:4:4 application ratios was the optimal N application method.

This study was aimed at determining the vascular architecture of the aortic arch in the Eurasian bittern. For this purpose, the heart arteries of two bitterns were evaluated. The latex injection method was used to observe the branching of the aortic arch. Two brachiocephalic trunks were arising separately from the aortic arch and these arteries were giving to the common carotid and subclavian arteries. One of the thin branches arising from the subclavian artery was the sternoclavicular artery, which was in turn dividing into a sternal and a clavicular artery supplying the thoracic inlet and pectoral muscles. After the branching of the sternoclavicular artery, the axillary arteries were originating from the subclavian arteries. The thickest branch of the subclavian artery was the thoracic artery, which was dividing into internal and external thoracic arteries. Moreover, the brachiocephalic trunks were giving rise to the common carotid arteries and these were running cranially, giving rise to tracheosyringeal branches supplying the trachea and syrinx, thyroid artery, esophageal branches, artery of the comes nervi vagi and vertebral trunk. It is hoped that this study will enhance morphological data on exotic birds since the reports on species-specific vascular morphology in wild birds are insufficient and lacking in detail.

Studies were undertaken to investigate the composition, structure and diversity of four different types of North Mongolian montane forest near the southern border of the taiga. These forest types, classified as willow-poplar, larch-birch, spruce-fir and Siberian-pine forests, were found to be significantly different with respect to the elevational gradient. In the study area, two fire regimes could be distinguished at lower and drier elevations, frequent surface fires resulted in less diverse forests comprising coniferous species, which in their adult form were found to be fire-resistant, burn-colonizing and light-demanding deciduous tree species. In contrast, the forests colonizing the moist, higher elevations and shaded slopes had a higher diversity of tree species with greater basal area, higher proportion of deadwood, and more regenerating trees; here the coniferous shade trees experienced infrequent but destructive treetop fires. Overall, our results showed that the four forest types differed in composition according to the tree species, diameter and height classes.

Agricultural land market is usually defined as the purchase of agricultural land. In the most of the European countries, the land rental transactions have received the dominant position in the land market. Therefore, the land rental transactions are included into the agricultural land market analysis. The decision processes of market subjects are often influenced by the law. On the one hand, there is the law regulating the value of agricultural land from the various points of view. On the other hand, there are some statutes stipulating the rental legal rules. The objective of this paper is to analyse the influence of the law on the behaviour of market subjects in the agricultural land market.

The morphology and biology of immature stages and the distinguishing characters of generations in summer are briefly reviewed. The time of migration of the overwintered generation and the use of the median flight time are given. The longevity of overwintered adults, and the start and course of oviposition by overwintered females were observed mainly during June and July. The interval between adult emergence and flights from carrots appears to be very short, 2-3 days. Departure from developmental summer host plants culminates at the beginning of September. The sex ratio of the overwintered generation is not persistent, since it is usually female-biased. In emerged adults in summer the ratio is 50:50, with weak protandry. The systemic action of sucking for the curling of leaves was found by Láska already in 1964. Inliterature records, both subspecies of Daucus carota dominate as developmental hosts, more recently Coriandrum sativum was shown to be more suitable than Petroselinum hortense. Norway spruce, and to a lesser extent other conifers, are predominantly mentioned as overwintering shelter plants. It is not clear how overwintering occurs in regions without coniferous forests, and only undefined shrubs or trees are given in the literature. The first damage was reported inDenmark about in 1896, spreading from about 1918 over just a few years to the other Fennoscandian countries, and later in some other European countries. The spring migration is discussed, which occurs in central and northern Europe on the same date, perhaps explicable by the orientation of this pest or its particular populations to long days, despite the climate and phenology of each region. It is hypothesised that a particularly aggressive race evolved inSjaelland (Denmark) at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth century, which later spread to other regions of northern and centralEurope.

Sheath rot of rice and leaf blight of wheat caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae are the important bacterial pathogens of rice and wheat in Iran. The randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) method was used to investigate the genetic diversity of 60 strains of P. s. pv. syringae obtained from rice and wheat in different growth stages. Cluster analysis by UPGMA method showed that strains were grouped into two clusters. The AMOVA analysis indicated that about 18% of the total genetic variation existed between two populations of rice and wheat, which showed the lack of host specialization in P. s. pv. syringae strains among rice and wheat. We confirmed that high genetic heterogeneity existed in the P. s. pv. syringae strains which are detectable by RAPD analysis, and that molecular and statistical analysis of RAPD fragments can be used both to distinguish between strains and to determine relatedness between them.

Soil quality and fertility are associated with its productivity, and this in turn is connected to the soil biological activity. To study these effects, well designed long-term field experiments that provide comprehensive data sets are the most applicable. Four treatments (tillage methods) were set up: (1) conventional tillage (CT); (2) no tillage (NT); (3) minimum tillage + straw (MTS), and (4) no tillage + mulch (NTM). Our objective was to assess the relationships between soil microbial characteristics and winter wheat yields under these different techniques of conservation tillage within a field experiment, originally established in 1995. The differences in average grain yields over time period 2002-2009 between the variants were not statistically significant. Organic carbon in the topsoil was higher in plots with conservation tillage (NT, MTS, and NTM), than in the conventional tillage plots. There was a statistically significant correlation (P ≤ 0.01) between the grain yields and organic C content in topsoil.

The aim of this study was to determine the nutrient and energy levels of red clover and lucerne forage. Investigation of forage at different maturity stages of three growths was carried out by chemical analysis, in vitro and in vivo digestibility methods. Generally, maturation caused a significant increase in fibre fractions. With the increasing maturity of forage samples the in vivo, in vitro, and calculated in vivo (in vivo_calcul) digestibilities of organic matter (OM) linearly decreased. The in vitro and in vivo_calcul digestibilities of OM averaged 0.754 and 0.708 for red clover and 0.717 and 0.667 for lucerne, respectively. The in vivo OM digestibility averaged 0.710 for red clover and 0.666 for lucerne. Gross energy (GE), digestible energy (DE), metabolizable energy (ME), net energy for lactation (NEL), and net energy for growth (NEG) averaged 18.12, 12.41, 9.60, 5.67, 5.50 and 18.09, 11.56, 9.01, 5.26, 4.99 MJ/kg of dry matter for red clover and lucerne, respectively. The effect of a vegetative stage on energy values of both forages was diverged for various growth times. When data were pooled across the estimated season, seven cutting-specific equations for descriptions of GE, DE, ME, NEL, NEG, in vitro, and in vivo OM digestibilities were obtained for red clover and lucerne, separately. The red clover model expression gave similar prediction equations for lucerne. It was possible to predict cutting-specific equations with coefficients of determination R² > 0.719 for red clover and R² > 0.400 for lucerne of the variation in GE, DE, ME, NEL, and NEG. The in vitro and in vivo OM digestibility equations were predicted with R² being 0.840 (in vitro) and 0.707 (in vivo) for red clover, and 0.979 (in vitro) and 0.937 (in vivo) for lucerne. The parameters of these specific equations were statistically preferable than the general model expression which included both forages together.

Compression loading test was performed to determine the dependency between force and deformation of jatropha, sunflower and rape seeds with respect to different pressing seed volume. Parameters such as max. deformation and energy were measured. The results which were statistically significant at (P < 0.05) show that rape seed with lower deformation values utilized greater energy than the seeds of jatropha and sunflower which obtained higher deformation values in that order of magnitude. The energy (J) was determined by the area under the force-deformation curve while deformation (mm) was obtained directly from the compression test. Based on the statistical analysis, the energy and deformation with respect to the different pressing seed volume of jatropha, sunflower and rape approximately showed linear relationship.

In recent years more attention has been paid to the issue of pain in animals, particularly in association with increasing awareness of animal welfare. It is therefore necessary for veterinarians to be able recognise unambiguously whether an animal suffers from pain. Adult humans suffering from pain can more or less characterise their painful experiences, including the site and intensity of the pain. However, pain in animals is in some aspects more complex and it can be rather difficult to evaluate the seriousness and impact of painful events. Therefore, in animals we have to recognise the signs of pain according to indirect markers which involve behavioural, physiological and finally clinical responses. Moreover, in particular the behavioural changes associated with pain can be along with the general signs also species-specific, and hardly recognisable (and for an inexperienced observer seemingly unimportant) which makes pain assessment even more complicated. Therefore, the current review formulates definitions of pain, its classification and is focused on methods that may facilitate pain recognition in animals, which is crucial for an effective pain assessment and consequent effective pain management. The review combines recent knowledge with well proven facts concerning pain and furthermore also highlights the author's own research on pain assessment.

The parasite load of brown hares (Lepus europaeus) is of great interest to hunting ground managers and veterinarians. We compared the prevalence and intensity of parasitic infections in 362 hares from Austria and the Czech Republic with respect to age and body weight. Samples of the entire gastrointestinal tract, liver and lungs were collected during autumn hunting events in 2007. The parasite spectrum of hares included Protostrongylus pulmonalis, Graphidium strigosum, Trichostrongylus retortaeformis, Trichuris leporis, Eimeria spp. and tapeworms. The most prevalent gastrointestinal nematode was Trichostrongylus retortaeformis, while only individual specimens of tapeworms such as Andrya rhopalocephala, Mosgovoyia pectinata, Cittotaenia denticulata and Ctenotaenia ctenoides were found in subadult hares. A single hare was infected with Cysticercus pisiformis in Austria. Lungworms Protostrongylus pulmonalis and findings of pneumonia were significantly less prevalent in subadult than adult hares (P < 0.01) from both countries and were much less prevalent overall in the Czech Republic (P < 0.01). Graphidium strigosum, Trichostrongylus retortaeformis, Eimeria spp. and enteritis were more prevalent in subadult hares. The nematode Trichuris leporis, on the other hand, prevailed in adults. The body weight of adult hares was negatively correlated with the intensity of infection by Protostrongylus pulmonalis (r = -0.67) and Trichostrongylus retortaeformis (r = -0.73) and the parasite loads served as significant weight predictors in multiple regression equations. This study revealed that parasitic infections of the lungs and intestines influences the health and decreases the body weight of hares in Austrian and Czech hunting grounds.

A mathematical sector model has been formulated to optimize the cropping pattern in Saudi Arabia aiming at maximizing the net annual return of the agricultural sector in Saudi Arabia and ensuring the efficient allocation of the scarce water resources and arable land among the competing crops. The results showed the potential for Saudi Arabia to optimize its cropping pattern and to generate an estimated net return equivalent to about 2.42 billion US$ per year. The optimized cropping pattern in Saudi Arabia has been coupled with about 53% saving in the water use and about 48% reduction in the arable land use compared to the base-year cropping pattern. Comparable weights was given to different crop groups by allocating about 48.4%, 35.4%, 13.1%, and 3.2% to grow cereals, fruits, forages, and vegetables, respectively. These findings were in line with the national strategy to rationalize the cultivation of water-intensive crops in favour of highly water-efficient crops.

The influence of different storage temperatures (5°C and 15°C) on the quality of vacuum-packed dry fermented sausage Poličan was determined. The salami mixture, finished salamis (the maturing period of 30 days), and salamis stored for 30, 60, 90, and 120 days were analysed. The analyses performed (physical/chemical, sensory, microbiological) found no differences in sensory properties or basic physical/chemical and microbiological parameters in the products after storage under different temperature conditions for 120 days. When stored at 15°C, the total content of biogenic amines in samples was higher than that for samples stored at 5°C with statistical differences P ≤ 0.05. If the principles of good manufacturing practice are observed at all phases of the technological process, the storage temperature of 15°C does not represent a risk as the consequent concentration of biogenic amines and polyamines remains extremely low.

The resistance Heils Hanna (HH) was postulated in several tens of 471 previously tested winter barley cultivars. In this paper, new tests on 29 of these cultivars are reported. Thirty-two reference isolates of Blumeria graminis f.sp. hordei held in the pathogen genebank at the Agricultural Research Institute in Kromeriz, Ltd. including a Japanese isolate and five Israeli isolates were used for response tests. However, the resistance HH conferred by the gene Mla8 and herein characterised by reaction type 0 to an old Japanese isolate known as Race I was now postulated only in four cultivars. In the other 25 cultivars another resistance, characterised by reaction type 0 to Race I and also to two Israeli isolates, was detected. In addition to the two mentioned resistances, eight known (Bw, Dr2, Ha, IM9, Ln, Lv, Ra and Sp) resistances were found in the set examined. Lomerit was the only registered cultivar tested here in which the newly detected resistance was present alone, therefore, it is recommended that this resistance be designated Lo.

An ideal strain for crude oil degradation in saline soils would be one with high salt-tolerance. A novel bacterial strain, Serratia sp. BF40, was isolated from crude oil contaminated saline soils. Its salt-tolerance, surface activity and ability to degrade crude oil in saline soils were evaluated. It can grow in liquid culture with NaCl concentration less than 6.0%. Its surface activity characterized as an efficient surface tension reduction, was significantly affected by salinity above 2.0%. BF40 inoculation could decrease surface tension of soil solutions and facilitate crude oil removal in soils with 0.22-1.20% salinity, but the efficiency was both significantly lower than its biosurfactant addition. The BF40 strain has a high potential for biodegradation of crude oil contaminated saline soils in view of its high surface activity and salt-tolerance, which is the first report of biosurfactant producing by the genus Serratia for petroleum degrading. We suggest that biosurfactant addition is an efficient strategy. Simultaneously, the growing status of the strain and how to boost its surface activity in saline soils should deserve further studies in order to achieve a continuous biosurfactant supply.

Coenurosis caused by Coenurus cerebralis, the larval stage of Taenia multiceps, particularly affects sheep and goats. In this case report, two coenurus cysts were detected under the lumbar spinal cord (outside the CNS) in a goat. We first described cysts in the macro- and micro-morphological examination. The cysts were identified as C. cerebralis on the basis of the arrangement of scolices and the number and size of hooks in the scolices. The morphology of the larval cyst was similar to that of T. multiceps: the scolices had four suckers and a rostellum with a double crown of hooks. The hooks and hooklets were 178 and 132 µm in length, respectively. T. gaigeri may be synonymous with T. multiceps. This may reflect a different host response to the parasite in goats. The difficulty of making a species identification in C. cerebralis or C. gaigeri based on their morphology is discussed.

Low molecular weight proteins were extracted and isolated from rapeseed and analysed using the HPLC-DAD method. The separation of proteins and phenolic compounds was done on the reversed phase C₁₈ column with a gradient of acetonitrile in water. The chromatogram was characterised by two peaks of low molecular weight proteins with the retention times of 19.92 and 23.24 min. Additional three main peaks of phenolic constituents were recorded on the chromatogram. One of them with maximum of UV spectrum at 328 nm was identified as sinapic acid derivatives.

The susceptibility to five new insecticide mixtures: chlorosan, feroban, cygron, engeo, and kingbo was studied in the 2^nd and 4^th instar larvae of the cotton leafworm Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.). The efficiency and residual effects of these compounds against S. littoralis under field conditions were also investigated. Obtained results revealed that feroban was the most effective compared with the other toxicants, while engeo was the least toxic insecticide in both instars after 2 and 5 days from treatment. Data also indicated that feroban had the longest half-life (Lt₅₀) while engeo recorded the shortest one. Biochemical analysis showed that the tested compounds caused pronounced changes in acetyl cholinesterase and phenol oxidase.

We monitored the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in environmental sources and to evaluate the phenotypic and molecular characteristics of the isolates recovered. L. monocytogenes was isolated in 12 (11.2%) of the 107 samples from the wild, farm environment, and vegetation. Most isolates (83.3%) were of serotype 1/2a and the remainder (2) were of serotype 4b. All 12 isolates were susceptible to the whole range of antimicrobials tested. These12 strains were carriers of the virulence genes prfA, hlyA, actA, plcA, plcB, inlA, inlB, inlC, and inlJ. The detection of the inlA gene in 4 (33.3%) of 12 strains using the PCR-RFLP suggests the potential of some of these strains to penetrate into epithelial cells of the intestinal barrier. Macrorestriction analysis also confirmed clonal identity of some environmental isolates with food and human isolates. These results indicate that the external environment is a source of potentially pathogenic strains of L. monocytogenes.

The breeding value (EBV) of Holstein cattle milk performance from the first lactation was evaluated using a regular Animal Model or by Single-Step Prediction of the genomic breeding value (GEBV). A total of 838 bulls were genotyped using the Illumina BovineSNP50 Beadchip V2. Two overlapping sets of milk performances were evaluated: calving years 1991-2004, with 729 341 lactations and 1 394 487 animals in the pedigree and calving years 1996-2009, with 808 436 lactations and 1 487 608 animals in the pedigree. The older data set included 526 genotyped bulls, in which the daughters' milk performance was known for 210 individuals. All of the genotyped animals were included in the newer data set. Of the young genotyped bulls from the older set, 279 had more than 50 daughters with performance records in the newer set. Genomic relationship matrices (G) were constructed from the allele frequencies of the current genotyped population or by assuming a constant value of 0.5 for all loci. Using current allele frequencies, the correlation of G with the pedigree relationship (A) was 0.74, while it was 0.77 when the constant value was used. G was blended with A with weights of 80 or 99%. The average EBV of the genotyped bulls exceeded the mean EBV of the entire population by 3 SD. Although the number of reference bulls was small, genotyping resulted in an increase of approximately 0.05 in the correlation of the GEBV of young bulls with their results after progeny testing. Only small differences in correlations were found in dependency on the methods used for the determination of G and in dependency on the weight used in blending G with A. Both EBV and GEBV in the older set showed higher correlations with the GEBV of the newer set than the EBV of the newer set.

Allometric growth of body macrominerals was examined in slow-growing laying-type cockerels (SG) and in fast-growing male broiler hybrids (FG) during the growing period from hatch to day 22. Allometric coefficients for dry matter, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, and potassium in relation to body weight were 1.091, 1.427, 1.383, 1.284, 0.843, and 1.097 for SG chickens and 1.075, 1.276, 1.233, 1.216, 0.943, and 1.144 for FG chickens, respectively. Allometric coefficients describing the relationships of Ca, P, Mg, Na, and K with dry matter weight were 1.302, 1.260, 1.172, 0.772, and 0.998 for SG chickens and 1.185, 1.143, 1.127, 0.878, and 1.059 for FG chickens, respectively. High allometric coefficients for Ca, P, and Mg in both genotypes likely indicate a rapid growth of skeletal tissues which requires an adequate mineral nutrition during this period of growth. The deposition of Ca and P relative to dry matter was higher (P < 0.05) and that of Na lower (P < 0.01) in SG chickens thus suggesting that the relative growth of these minerals may be affected by genotype.

This study was aimed at determining the arterial supply and gross vascular architecture of the urinary bladder in the male cat. For this purpose, the urinary bladders of 10 cats were evaluated. Organ vascularization was investigated using the latex injection technique. The feline urinary bladder was found to be supplied by the prostatic artery, which stemmed from the internal pudendal artery and the umbilical artery that originated from the internal iliac artery. The umbilical artery extended caudally to form the cranial vesical artery, which was later distributed into the corpus and apex of the urinary bladder. The feline prostatic artery divided into the artery of the deferent duct and a slim branch, which supplied the prostate gland. The artery of the deferent duct gave off a caudal vesical artery which gave off slim branches to the preprostatic urethra. On the surfaces of the urinary bladders examined, the cranial and caudal vesical arteries followed varying courses, which reflected individual variations. In all samples, the blood vessels generally divided into two or three branches on the surface of the urinary bladder, whilst in only one sample, the caudal vesical artery was observed to be of the ladder type. Moreover, the cranial and caudal vesical arteries anastomosed with each other on the surface of the urinary bladder. This study constitutes a model for comparison with other species and provides morphological contributions to anatomy training and surgical interventions since there is a lack of literature on species-specific vascular morphology in the field of veterinary urology in contrast to the abundance of studies on humans and rodents.

The developmental toxicity of two anaesthetics, 2-phenoxyethanol and clove oil, used in aquaculture was evaluated using the Frog Embryo Teratogenesis Assay: Xenopus (FETAX) and the results were compared to outcomes in fish. Xenopus laevis embryos were exposed to 50, 100, 300, 500, 700 and 1000 mg/l of 2-phenoxyethanol or 1, 5, 10, 20, 30 and 40 mg/l of clove oil. Values of 96 h LC50, 96 h EC50 (malformation) and teratogenic index (ratio of 96 h LC50 and 96 h EC50) were determined and the types and severities of the induced malformations and minimal concentration inhibiting the growth of embryos were estimated. Teratogenic index values for 2-phenoxy-ethanol and clove oil were estimated at 1.69 and 0.61 respectively. The most frequently observed malformations produced by 2-phenoxyethanol were axial flexure and oedema and for clove oil, axial flexure, gut malformation, microphthalmia and oedema. 2-phenoxyethanol was found to induce growth inhibition of frog embryos at concentrations above 300 mg/l and clove oil at concentrations above 20 mg/l. In summary, both 2-phenoxyethanol and clove oil affected the growth of Xenopus embryos, while only 2-phenoxyethanol represented a teratogenic risk.