Fulltext search in archive

There is little knowledge available regarding Australian forestry work safety and accident rates. Machine operators and forestry workers are vital parts of the forestry sector and their health and well-being can greatly impact on their work quality and efficiency. To increase our knowledge of forest workers' safety this project aimed to analyse the frequency, type and root causes of work accidents which occurred within different forestry activities of five industry partners of Australian Forest Operations Research Alliance over the period from 2004 to 2014. A questionnaire was designed and distributed to the partners to collect the safety incident reports. Total number of work accidents was 470 for a period of 11 years (a rate of 43 accidents per year). Considering the estimated yearly production rates of the industry partners that participated in this project, the accident severity rate was 14.40 accidents per million m³ of harvested wood. The majority of accidents occurred in harvesting operations (37%) and forest management (30.2%). Based on the results 8.1% of the accidents occurred during firefighting and 24.3% of work accidents occurred in other forestry activities. Main root causes of accidents for different types of activities were personal errors such as lack of personal protective equipment, operator error, poor body position and poor techniques applied. Work safety training could be delivered to forestry personnel to minimise accidents caused by personal errors. Back and shoulder (as upper parts of the body) received most injuries. To avoid/reduce muscular damage (such as strain and sprain) the workers should be provided with proper ergonomic training.

The acaricidal activity of aqueous extracts obtained from 28 plant species was tested against Tetranychus urticae. The extract efficacy on the incidence of individual development stages of T. urticae on the treated plants was determined, compared to untreated plants. Of the 28 extracts, 24 showed an efficacy higher than 50%; of these, 16 extracts caused a reduction in the count of adults on the plants by more than 90% compared to the control. The counts of nymphs and eggs showed significant differences depending on the extract used. Only 13 extracts showed an efficacy higher than 50%, and only 2 extracts (obtained from Ammi visnaga and Saponaria officinalis) had more than 90% efficacy. Twenty extracts resulted in eggs reduction of more than 50% compared to the control; of these, 6 extracts (from A. visnaga, G. glabra, J. palmata, L. carthamoides, O. majorana, S. officinalis) exhibited an efficacy higher than 90%. Extracts with the highest efficacy were tested for their acute toxicity for T. urticae adults, and LD₅₀₍₉₀₎ values were estimated. By comparing the confidence intervals (CI₉₅) for individual LD₅₀ values, extracts obtained from Saponaria officinalis roots and Ammi visnaga seeds were found to provide the significantly highest efficacies, and lethal doses (LD₅₀) of 10.3 and 12.5 g/l, respectively, were estimated for them. However, wanting to compare LD₉₀ values as well, we chose 5 extracts (A. visnaga, C. annum, M. × piperita, O. majorana, and S. officinalis) whose CI₉₅ intervals overlapped (P ≤ 0.05). Based on our tests, aqueous extracts from S. officinalis roots can be recommended for the development of products which reduce the incidence of T. urticae on plants.

Bovine mastitis is a major disease affecting dairy cattle worldwide. The milk collected from cows with different type of inflammation, including mastitis, is characterized by an increased number of somatic cells (SCC), especially polymorphonuclear cells (PMN). It was proved that the antibacterial activity of PMN generates reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide-derived metabolites. The accumulation of the reactive species correlating with a decrease in the antioxidant activity specific for milk can lead to oxidative and nitrosative stress. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant/oxidant status in normal cow's milk and in subclinical mastitis milk using three parameters: total antioxidant status (TAS); levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) - a degradation product of lipid peroxidation; and levels of proteins oxidation expressed as carbonylated proteins analyzed in the reaction with dinitrophenilhydrazine (DNPH). Subclinical mastitis was diagnosed using an electrical conductivity method and by determining the number of SCC in milk. Comparative analysis of TAS in normal and mastitis milk revealed extremely significant differences (P = 0.0005), the average of this parameter was lower for mastitis milk samples. The results describing the antioxidant status were correlated with those on lipid and protein oxidative degradation. The average level of MDA in mastitis milk was higher compared with normal milk, the mean difference was 40.69 nmol/ml. A similar variation was observed for DNPH, the mean difference was 191.24 µmol/ml. The levels of SCC, MDA, and DNPH were significantly higher in subclinical mastitis milk compared to milk from healthy cows due to the occurrence of oxidative stress state in subclinically inflamed mammary gland.

valuation of 22 dwarfing and semi-dwarfing apple rootstocks for several scion cultivars was conducted on fertile soil in the years 1995-2010. It was found that most of the new rootstocks performed similarly to M.9 EMLA with respect to vigour, yield, cropping efficiency and fruit mass. These rootstocks would not be, therefore, a good replacement for M.9 in Polish climatic conditions. The most promising rootstock was B 9 and some of its derivatives, e.g., B 146, B 396, P 59 and P 60. However, their suitability may be limited to particular cultivars grown under similar soil conditions.

The epidemiological situation regarding the infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) population in Europe as well as the presence of predominant IBV strains is well described. The aim of this epidemiological study was to describe the real field situation in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, as no data are available for the last ten years. The study was also focused on differentiation between field IBV strains and vaccine/vaccine origin IBV strains in different poultry segments including backyard flocks. Between July 2013 and July 2016, cloacal, tracheal and/or visceral swab samples were collected from 145 Czech and Slovak chicken broiler, breeder and layer flocks. The majority of flocks was kept for production purposes, but to enable a more complete picture of the situation in the field backyard flocks with more than 50 birds were also included. As in other cases which were reported worldwide and based on collaboration with x-Ovo laboratories, samples were analysed using the real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) to detect the presence of the RNA of IBV. When positive, approximately 400 base pairs encoding the hypervariable region of the IBV S1 protein were sequenced. Sequencing results, cycle threshold values and vaccination history were used as criteria to try and distinguish vaccine strains from field strains. A significant percentage of all flocks presented clinical signs suggestive of IBV infection. From the total number of samples examined, 16.5% were negative. In 12.4% of the samples that did contain RNA from IBV, the genotype could not be determined. In most cases, this was due to the recovery of RNA quantities below the lower limit of detection of the sequencing PCR. The remaining positive samples predominantly contained RNA from IBV strains that belonged to the 4/91 - 793B - CR88 (44.7%), Massachusetts (30%), D274 - D207 (11.6%) and D388 - QX (8.7%) genotypes. Estimations indicated that approximately 23.9%, 48.4%, 58.3% and 0% of these detections, respectively, were vaccine strains. Infections with types UKR/27/2011, CK/CH/Guandong/Xindadi/0903 and K33/09 were observed sporadically. The results confirm that IBV infections are highly prevalent in Czech and Slovak chickens and that at least seven different IBV types were circulating during the monitored period. This underlines the necessity of providing flocks with a strong and broad protective immunity against IBV.

The present case report describes a case of chronic renal failure characterised by renal medullary fibrosis and renal papillary necrosis in a male Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica). A 12-year-old male Siberian tiger presented with depression, anorexia and weight loss. Blood urea nitrogen (> 50.4 mmol/l) and ammonia (71.7 µmol/l) were increased, suggesting chronic renal failure and uraemia. The tiger died secondary to gastric haemorrhage. At necropsy, the kidneys had yellow lesions in the medulla and renal papillae and petechiae in the cortex. The stomach had multiple mucosal ulcers and haemorrhage. Microscopically, marked renal medullary fibrosis and renal papillary necrosis were observed with tubular atrophy, degeneration, coagulative necrosis, calcification and chronic inflammatory cell infiltration. The renal cortex showed moderate interstitial inflammation. The urinary bladder exhibited epithelial desquamation and submucosal fibrosis. The tiger was diagnosed with chronic renal failure secondary to renal papillary necrosis and medullary fibrosis.

For at least 25 years, processes involving structural changes have been growing more and more intense in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, with these processes including a decline in the number of small farms. The main aim of this paper is to present the mechanisms involved in, as well as barriers to and costs preventing the exit of farms from agriculture, including those that make it difficult to transfer production resources which are being released to other companies. This research takes the form of an overview and is based on the output of new institutional economics, and on transaction cost and rent-seeking theories in particular. The most frequent difficulties encountered in the process of exit from farming include low profitability of production and the shortage of capital among potential buyers, while the lack of sellers' financial resources and the necessity of incurring expenses related to preparing and finalising the sale of resources held by them (the actual transaction costs related to closing down farms) are frequently overlooked. The most important barriers preventing the complete liquidation of farms are the inherent transaction costs categorised as expenses, as well as the emotional costs and costs of alternatives, which are difficult to evaluate and estimate. The following notions are particularly helpful in explaining barriers to exit from farming: the concept of transaction costs and rent-seeking theory, which are both a part of the stream of thought of new institutional economics.

The studies determined the effect of bacteria Bacillus spp. and Pseudomonas spp. isolated from the soil after carrot cultivation on pathogenic fungi Altenaria dauci, A. radicina, Fusarium oxysporum, F. solani, Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. A field experiment on carrot cultivation considered different intercrop plants (rye, buckwheat, white mustard, sunflower). Rye and buckwheat were the most conducive to the growth of Bacillus spp. and Pseudomonas spp. Those bacteria were the most effective in inhibiting the growth of F. solani, F. oxysporum and R. solani. The antagonistic effect of soil-borne Bacillus spp. and Pseudomonas spp. towards the tested fungi was the largest after the application of rye and white mustard as intercrop plants in the cultivation of carrot. Buckwheat and sunflower showed a slightly smaller influence on the antagonistic activity of the studied bacteria. Bacillus ssp. had a significantly lesser antagonistic effect than Pseudomonas ssp.

Recycling of phosphorus (P) from municipal waste for the use as a fertiliser can be an alternative to the non-renewable resources of this element as well as a method in the management of civilisation by-products that are a burden to the environment. An innovative phosphorus suspension fertiliser, produced on the basis of ash from incineration of sewage sludge and phosphorus solubilising bacteria Bacillus megaterium was compared in field trials with spring wheat conducted in 2014 and 2015 with superphosphate and phosphorite. The new fertiliser was not inferior to the commercial fertilisers in terms of the effect on wheat yield volumes, the uptake of P by wheat and the sanitary condition of the wheat field, especially when grown protected from weeds, pathogens and pests. It is expected that such a fertiliser can be an alternative to fertilisers produced from non-renewable resources, provided it does not deteriorate the quality of agricultural production and will be safe for the environment.

Growth curves of the Morada Nova sheep males and females were described using nonlinear models and the relationships between body weight and thoracic circumference were evaluated. Altogether 1516 repeated measures of body weight and thoracic circumference of the Morada Nova sheep (668 males and 848 females) taken since birth till 730 days of age were used. The Brody, Richards, von Bertalanffy, Gompertz, and Logistic models have been tested. The Fisher's test (F) was used to verify the differences (P < 0.05) in growth curves between males and females. The Gompertz model presented a significant difference (P < 0.001) for growth curve parameters between males (asymptotic weight (A) = 40.5 kg and maturing rate (k) = 0.0043 kg/day) and females (A = 36.44 kg and k = 0.0028 kg/day). The relationships between body weight and thoracic circumference presented R² above 0.7 and a high significance (P < 0.0001) for all categories, showing that the thoracic circumference may be a good indicator of body weight. In addition, a significant effect (P < 0.05) of the relationship between thoracic circumference and prediction of animal's body weight was verified using the models of linear, quadratic, and cubic regression. Among the models studied, the Gompertz model presented the best fit and biological interpretation. Furthermore, the Gompertz model indicated the need to separate animals by sex in order to properly meet nutritional requirements and determine adequate slaughter age. Thoracic circumference can be used to predict animal body weight with a high accuracy.

Organic farming has become a topic that receives an increasing academic as well as popular attention. This study examines the financial differences between the organic and conventional farmers, as well as their income volatility. Based on the Student's t-test, the regression analysis and the matched-pair investigation on a sample of Czech 291 organic and 4045 conventional farmers over the period 2009-2013, the study indicates that the organic agricultural companies outperform the conventional companies in the terms of profitability. However, their asset turnover is considerably lower. No evidence of different income volatility has been found.

The trap catch of Agriotes species and dynamics of the occurrence of adult click beetles using pheromone traps were determined, and the relationship between the dynamics of the caught wireworms and the placement of traps in selected agricultural crops was investigated. The study was conducted in 2011-2014 in the fields of different crops at five localities in two regions in Poland. The effectiveness of trapping the Elateridae beetles using pheromone traps varied in different localities. The results of the analysis of variance indicate statistically significant differences in the number of A. lineatus beetles only in individual years of research. On average, most individuals of this species were observed in the first year of observation (72.62), and the least - in 2012 (18.5). Statistically significant differences in the occurrence of beetles in each month were observed for all species except A. obscurus. No statistically significant differences between populations of the tested Agriotes species were observed in different localities. Their effectiveness was influenced largely by weather conditions. Pheromone traps work well and can be a part of an assessment system for the integrated pest management of Agriotes species.

Soil organic matter (SOM) is a major index of soil quality assessment because it is one of the key soil properties controlling nutrient budgets in agricultural production systems. The aim of the in situ near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for SOM prediction in paddy area is evaluation of the potential of SOM and prediction of other soil properties. There are keys for soil fertility and soil quality assessments. A spectral reflectance of 130 soil samples was collected by field spectroradiometer in a region of near-infrared. Spectral reflectance collections were processed by the first derivative transformation with the Savitsky-Golay algorithms. Partial least square regression method was used to develop a calibration model between soil properties and spectral reflectance, which was used for prediction and validation processes. Finally, the results of this study demonstrate that NIRS is an effective method that can be used to predict SOM (R² = 0.73, RPD (ratio of performance to deviation) = 1.82) and total nitrogen (R² = 0.72, RPD = 1.78). Therefore, NIRS is a potential tool for soil properties predictions. The use of these techniques will facilitate the implementation of soil management with a decreasing cost and time of soil study in a large scale. However, further works are necessary to develop more accurate soil properties prediction and to apply this method to other areas.

Soils of forest ecosystems can release or consume methane (CH₄) depending on their specific hydrological regime. Our study reported the consumption of CH₄ by soil in a lowland broadleaf mixed temperate forest in the Czech Republic (Central Europe). The motivation of our study was to determine the importance of CH₄ fluxes in context of carbon dioxide (CO₂) fluxes of a broadleaf mixed forest. CH₄ and CO₂ emissions from the soil were measured during the 2016 vegetation season on a long transect applying the chamber technique. The average daily consumption of atmospheric CH₄ by the forest soil ranged from 0.83 to 1.15 mg CH₄-C/m²/day. This consumption of CH₄ during summer and autumn periods was not significantly affected by soil temperature and soil moisture. However, during spring period the consumption of CH₄ was positively significantly affected by soil temperature and moisture. Estimated amount of carbon (CH₄-C) consumed by the forest soil makes up a very small part of carbon (CO₂-C) participated in the ecosystem carbon cycle.

A simulation model was developed for secondary tillage and sowing operations in autumn, using discrete event simulation technique in Arena^® simulation software (Version 14). Eight machinery sets were evaluated on a 50-hectare farm. Total costs including fixed-costs, variable costs and timeliness costs were calculated for each machinery set. Timeliness costs were estimated for 21-years period on daily basis (Daily Work method) and compared with another method (Average Work method) based on the equation proposed by ASAE Standards, EP 496.3FEB2006. The Inputs of the model were machinery sets, field size, machines performances and daily soil workability state. The optimization criteria were the lowest costs and lowest standard deviation in daily work method plus the lowest costs based on average work method. The validity of the model was evaluated by comparing the output of the model with field observed data collected from various farms. Results revealed that there was no significant difference (P > 0.01) between the observed and predicted finish day.

In this case report, we describe the clinical and radiological features of a calf mandibular symphyseal fracture and evaluate the treatment results. A 1.5-month-old male Holstein weighing 65 kg was presented to the Surgery Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Adnan Menderes University with a history of salivation and anorexia for three days. After clinical and radiographic assessments, a mandibular symphyseal fracture was determined. Stabilisation of the fracture region was achieved using cerclage wire with a continuous wire-loop technique under general anaesthesia. The cerclage wire was removed five weeks post-surgery. The calf was clinically healthy.

Apples are a source of sugars, acids, and various biologically active compounds, such as phenolic compounds, which are responsible for most of the antioxidant activities of the fruit. The aim of this study was to evaluate how the cold storage of apple fruits affects the nutritional composition of selected organic acid and sugar content in juice in comparison to juice from fresh fruits. Statistical differences were confirmed between the content of citric acid, malic acid, total acid, pH, sucrose, fructose and glucose in juice from fresh fruits and from juice stored for 140 days. No statistical differences were observed between juice from fresh fruit and juice from fruits stored for 140 days in the content of acetic acid, tartaric acid, total sugar and sweetness index.

According to the Soil Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan released in May 2016, the soil quality of 666 666.7 ha of agricultural soil requires remediation before 2020. Despite the survey on the environmental quality of soil in China released in 2014, detailed data on current pollutant concentrations remain unavailable. To date, reports on soil environmental quality on the national scale are few. The current research aimed to gain a detailed understanding of soil pollution in China through literature study and data analysis. Data for eight potentially toxic elements (i.e., arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), and lead (Pb)) and two organic pollutants (i.e., hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs)) were collected from 367 areas involving 163 prefecture-level cities. Principal component analysis and clustering analysis were conducted to understand the relationships among pollutants. Results indicated that organic pollution was less severe than inorganic pollution. In terms of land-use types, garden soil showed the heaviest pollution, followed by arable land and woodland. Regarding geographic distribution, the south central and southwest areas displayed heavy pollution. Principal component and clustering analyses revealed that As, Hg, HCH, and DDTs were mainly contributed by anthropogenic sources; Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn were primarily caused by natural background; and Cd and Pb were contributed by both sources. The soil pollution status varied among land-use types and geographic areas. The implementation of proper remediation strategies requires detailed investigations on soil environmental quality.

Fruit production, as an elementary chemical characteristic of the fruit, was evaluated in 16 Opuntia ficus-indica Portuguese ecotypes cultivated in a marginal soil without tillage, in the second and third years after plantation. The O. ficus-indica ecotypes were compared with the Italian cultivars 'Bianca' and 'Gialla'. Significant differences were found among the O. ficus-indica ecotypes in biomass-related parameters and fruit yield, and different groups were established. Two spineless ecotypes (OFI-12 and OFI-13) had highest biomass production, with 9.9 Mg/ha dry matter on average. This was not significantly different from the 'Gialla' cultivar, which averaged 11.9 Mg/ha, for a density of 2,667 plants/ha,in the third year after plantation. Among Portuguese ecotypes, the fruit yields ranged from 2.4 to 10.1 Mg/ha fresh weight. The cultivars 'Gialla' and 'Bianca' had the highest fruit yield (13.8 and 13.6 Mg/ha fresh weight, respectively). The 'Gialla' cultivar and the group of ecotypes with orange pulp produced fruits of larger size and weight compared to the 'Bianca' cultivar and the group of ecotypes with white pulp.

The paper investigates the innovation process in the Hungarian agri-food sector using the concept of open innovation. The empirical analysis is based on the data from a 2011 survey of more than 200 small and medium size agricultural producers, food processors and retailers. There is determined the impact of open innovation and a company's absorptive capacity on the innovation performance employing two stage approaches. First, a cluster analysis is applied to categorise companies based on their open innovation absorptive capacity, firm and managerial characteristics. Second, using semi-non parametric probit models, there is found that open innovation positively influences the innovation performance for the product and market innovation. Estimations indicate that the absorptive capacity has positive impacts on the technological- and organisational innovation and on innovation propensity. The results suggest that there exists a considerable heterogeneity both within and between the supply chain segments regarding to the innovation performance.

Understanding the determinants of price volatility is a key step to prevent the potential negative consequences of the uncertainty faced by farmers. The presented critical review provides a novel categorization of grain price volatility drivers. The authors distinguish the endogenous and exogenous causes and conclude on the potential effects that each of the identified factors may generate on the price dynamics. In particular, there is deepened the contribution of endogenous factors, such as the spatial and temporal arbitrage, as well as the drivers of shocks of demand and supply.

Botrytis cinerea, the causal agent of grey mould, is a predominant agent causing extensive postharvest and quality losses of apples in Tunisia and worldwide. Efforts to manage this disease have met with limited success. For this reason, the use of microorganism preparations to control fungal diseases as an alternative to fungicides became an urgent need. From a total of 60 epiphytic yeasts, 10 were assessed in vitro against B. cinerea and selected isolates showing antagonism were evaluated for their ability to suppress the grey mould in vivo. On Petri plates, the most promising strains (three strains of Aureobasidium pullulans, one Cryptococcus flavescens, and one Citeromyces matritensis) showed a zone of inhibition against the pathogen fungus not exceeding 10 mm. In vivo, these isolates showed a remarkable antifungal activity since they significantly reduced disease severity on apples from 63% to 95% compared to the control. In conclusion, the work has demonstrated that the three strains, L7 of Aureobasidium pullulans, L2 of Citeromyces matritensis, and L10 of Cryptococcus flavescens, were highly effective and can be used as potential biocontrol agents in controlling the post-harvest decay of apples caused by B. cinerea.

A prototype of electronic nose (e-nose) with the gas sensor system for evaluation of fresh chicken meat freshness was developed. In this paper a rapid, simple and not expensive system for fresh chicken meat spoilage detection was investigated that provides objective and reliable results. Quality changes in fresh chicken meat during storage were monitored by the metal oxide sensor (MOS) system and compared with the results of traditional chemical measurements. Gas sensor selection was tested for evaluation of volatile fatty acids (VFA) mainly representing meat spoilage.The study demonstrated that a correlation coefficient (R² = 0.89) between e-nose signals and traditional chemical method was high. These results prove that the developed e-nose prototype has a potential for assessing fresh chicken meat freshness and allows discriminating meat into fresh, unsafe and spoiled.

Four clones of short rotation coppice (SRCs) were investigated for phytoextraction of soil contaminated by risk elements (REs), especially Cd, Pb and Zn. As a main experimental factor, the influence of rotation length on the removal of REs was assessed. The field experiment with two Salix clones (S1 - (Salix schwerinii × Salix viminalis) ×S. viminalis; S2 - S. × smithiana) and two Populus clones (P1 - Populus maximowiczii × Populus nigra; P2 - P. nigra) was established in April 2008 on moderately contaminated soil. For the first time, all clones were harvested in February 2012 (2012_4y) after 4 years. Subsequently each plot was equally split into halves. The first half of the SRC clones was harvested in February 2014 after 2 years (2014_2y) and again it was harvested in February 2016 after further 2 years (2016_2y). The second half was harvested in February 2016 after 4 years (2016_4y). The results showed that the biomass production for the second 4-year harvest period was significantly higher for all clones but the metal concentration was lower in the mentioned period. 4-year rotation seems to be more advantageous for the phytoextraction than two 2-year rotations. The highest metal removal presented by remediation factors (RFs) per 4 years for Cd (6.39%) and for Zn (2.55%) were found for S2 in the harvest 2016_4y treatment. Removal of Pb was the highest by P1 clone with very low RF per 4 years (0.04%). Longer rotation is also economically superior.

Soil bacteria are critical to maintain soil fertility. In this study, soil chemical properties, enzyme activities and soil bacterial community from a long-term fertilizer experiment (37 years) were analysed to elaborate the effects of long-term mineral fertilizer application on soil enzyme activities and bacterial community composition. Compared with control treatment, bacterial community richness was reduced in low nitrogen (N) fertilizer and high N fertilizer treatments and increased in high N fertilizer and phosphorus (P), high N fertilizer and potassium (K) (N2K), and high N fertilizer, P and K (N2PK) treatments. The distribution of each phylum and genera was obviously changed and the range of the dominant phyla was not affected in all fertilization treatments. Principal component analysis showed that soil bacterial community in the N2K treatment was clearly different than in the N2PK treatment. The N2PK treatment had much higher available P, total organic carbon, invertase, urease and phosphatase activities than the N2K treatment, which might change soil bacterial community composition. In conclusion, fertilization with combined application of P, K and N in appropriate proportions is an optimum approach for improving soil quality and soil bacterial community abundance in non-calcareous fluro-aquic soils in the North China Plain.

The placenta is the central foetal organ that ensures a sufficient exchange of nutrients and metabolites for adequate foetal growth. Specific data profiles for placental characteristics from modern pig lines with high fertility and today's genetics are not currently available. This study focuses on describing the placental weight and size of German Landrace pigs and any subsequent relationship to litter number and important fertility parameters for these sows. As a basis for data collection, 55 litters from primi- and multiparous German Landrace sows with a total of 832 piglets were used. From these births, 766 placentas were recovered and weighed, with their lengths measured and the placental efficiency per litter also calculated. Mean placental weights ranged from 179 ± 60 to 422 ± 96 g between litters, and the mean length was between 61 ± 12 and 145 ± 19 cm. The placental efficiency was at a level of 5.1 ± 0.7. The investigated parameters were only slightly affected by the litter number (r = 0.3), and the means did not significantly differ between different litter numbers. With increasing litter size, the piglet weights and placental lengths were significantly decreased (r = -0.4 and r = -0.3), possibly due to limited uterine space. However, litter size had a strong positive correlation with the total litter placental weight (r = 0.7); therefore, in this study, the placental efficiency was not affected by a higher number of piglets per sow. Higher means for placental weights (r = 0.7) and lengths (r = 0.7) in a particular litter significantly improved the piglet birth weights. The reported variability in placental characteristics between litters suggests that there is an opportunity to selectively breed for improved piglet weight and homogeneity and thus improved piglet health and survival.

This paper describes the process of digitizing Montenegro's legacy soil data, and an initial attempt to use it for digital soil mapping (DSM) purposes. The handwritten legacy numerical records of physical and chemical properties for more than 10 000 soil profiles and semi-profiles covering whole Montenegro have been digitized, and, out of those, more than 3000 have been georeferenced. Problems and challenges of digitization addressed in the paper are: processing of non-uniform handwritten numerical records, parsing a complex textual representation of those records, georeferencing the records using digitized (scanned) legacy soil maps, creating a single computer database containing all digitized records, transforming, cleaning and validating the data. For an initial assessment of the suitability of these data for mapping purposes, inverse distance weighting (IDW), ordinary kriging (OK), multiple linear regression (LR), and regression-kriging (RK) interpolation models were applied to create thematic maps of soil phosphorus. The area chosen for mapping is a 400 km² area near the city of Cetinje, containing 125 data points. LR and RK models were developed using publicly available digital elevation model (DEM) data and satellite global land survey (GLS) data as predictor variables. The digitized phosphorus quantities were normalized and scaled. The predictor variables were scaled, and principal component analysis was performed. For the best performing RK model an R² value of 0.23 was obtained.

Cortisol, which is produced in the adrenal glands, is an endogenous glucocorticoid hormone that delivers its hormonal message to cells by acting on glucocorticoid receptors. It is one of the main stress hormones responsible for stress responses in animals and humans, and its overproduction is characteristic of certain diseases. While acute stress disorder can be evaluated by means of measuring the cortisol concentration in blood and urine, chronic stress disorder can be detected by monitoring the cortisol concentration in fur or hair. Hair collection is simple, inexpensive and non-invasive, and can be performed easily and rapidly; thus, it appears to be a suitable method for determining the level of stress in dogs from shelters, abused dogs or dogs involved in different types of animal interactions. Since it is a relatively new method, monitoring cortisol in hair or fur requires further research in order to definitively prove its efficacy, and possibly to determine reference range values for different breeds of dogs.

Twenty European shorthair cats with neurological disorders, aged 1-3 years and with body weights of 2.6-4.05 kg, were studied in low-field and high-field magnetic resonance imaging systems. Aims of the study were to evaluate the dilation of lateral ventricles in the examined population of cats with the use of quantitative analysis methods and to identify any differences in the results of low- and high-field magnetic resonance imaging. The average brain height was determined to 27.3 mm, and the average volume of the brain was 10 699.7 mm³. Moderately enlarged ventricles were observed in 16 symptomatic cats. Moderate unilateral enlargement was observed in one cat. Mild ventricular asymmetry was described in four animals. The average difference in ventricular height between measurements obtained in low- and high-field magnetic resonance imaging was 0.37 ± 0.16% and for ventricular volume it was 0.62 ± 0.29%. The magnetic resonance imaging scan did not reveal statistically significant differences in brain height or volume between healthy and cats with ventriculomegaly. The differences in the results of low- and high-field magnetic resonance imaging were not statistically significant. Described findings could facilitate the interpretation of magnetic resonance images in cats with ventriculomegaly or hydrocephalus.

Mexican agricultural production has been characterised by a lack of dynamism in recent years and is losing ground in terms of GDP. This may reflect the lack of funding from commercial and development banks. This research aims at studying the dynamics of the agriculture sector through econometric analysis using Vector Autoregressive (VAR) and Vector Error Correction (VEC) models in order to examine the short- and long-run relationships among agricultural production, terms of trade (ratio of agricultural prices and general price level), agricultural exports and lending from commercial and development banks. The main empirical findings, contrary to what was expected, is that even though there was a precarious level of funding from the banking sector, credit from commercial banking was higher than that from development banking in the last decades. Further, relative prices were found to have a negative relationship with agricultural exports, showing the importance of the external sector in agriculture.