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The aim of this study was to examine the effects of ozonation on the water quality, and growth, blood biochemistry, antioxidant capacity and survival of pikeperch (Sander lucioperca) reared in a recirculation aquaculture system for 30 weeks. A group without ozone treatment was used as a control. The ozone application led to a significant reduction of the water chemical oxygen demand, biological oxygen demand and unsuspended solids concentration. The results revealed that an ozone treatment as a water treatment method has a positive influence on the intensive culture of pikeperch ensuring a higher survival rate (77%) compared to the non-treated control group (67.2%). Moreover, the ozonation prevented fin damage to a large extent and reduced the prevalence of an Ichthyophthirius multifiliis infection. Furthermore, the ozone application led to a reduction in the thiobarbituric acid reactive substance level and enhanced the superoxide dismutase activity in the fish gills. However, the effect of ozonation was null on the plasma biochemical parameters. Overall, these findings suggest that an ozone treatment, using adequate technological equipment to destroy the residual ozone, improves the water quality and protects pikeperch against any possible infection and fin damage in a recirculation aquaculture system.

Adequate assessment of ecosystem services is important for the development of policies and management plans related to forestry activities and the environment. Carefully identified ecosystem values can determine which options policy makers should prioritize to provide the greatest benefit. There are numerous methods used by researchers to evaluate ecosystem services. The most widely applied methods are monetary valuation methods, they are often deemed to be the most pragmatic language when it comes to communication with political and business institutions. The main goal of this review is to analyse available literature using the methodology particular to the scoping review approach in order to identify and describe valuation methods that can be applied for monetary assessment of ecosystem services. As a result of the scoping review, over 20 monetary valuation techniques (including several less common methods such as willingness to sell and Delphi method) were derived from 16 literature sources. In the process of compiling the range of different methods, a few flaws and gaps in the communication of methods were observed such as lack of consistency in the names of different methods and mixing up concepts. In addition, a few areas for future research are suggested.

The honey bee is one of the insects that is significantly endangered by the application of pesticides in the cultivation of crops. Not only is acute toxicity dangerous, but the importance of chronic poisoning by low doses of pesticides in hives is growing. The behavior of bees can be affected not only by insecticide residues but also by herbicide and fungicide residues. In 2016-2018, samples of bee bread were analysed for pesticide content at 25 different localities from intensive agricultural production areas of the Czech Republic. Substances were extracted by QuEChERS and determined by liquid chromatography, together with mass spectrometric detection. We detected up to 18 pesticides in one sample. In total, during 2016-2018, we identified 53 active substances. Fifteen substances (31%) were herbicidal, 23 substances (47%) of fungicidal nature and 6 substances (12%) of insecticidal nature. The coefficient of variation showed large differences in the frequency of revealed pesticides between years. For substances sprayed outside period attractive for pollinators (mainly herbicides and some fungicides), the usual methodology cannot reliably determine the degree of contamination, and thus the actual contamination with these substances may be even higher than demonstrated in this study.

The study determined the effects of the speed of loading and the loading orientation on some selected mechanical properties of the TME 419 cassava tuber variety at different ages of the tuber which are essential in the design and construction of the processing and handling equipment of a cassava peeler. The properties considered include the bioyield and rupture points, compressive and rupture strengths, toughness and firmness, and moduli of stiffness and toughness, which were carried out in the transverse and longitudinal loading direction using an Instron Universal Testing Machine (UTM). As the loading rate increased from 5.00 to10.00 mm.min^-1 and the age of the tuber varies from 1.00 to 2.00 years, the bioyield and rupture points, compressive and rupture strengths, toughness, firmness, moduli of stiffness and toughness in the transverse and longitudinal direction varies from 1 619.61 to 3 636.19 N and 136.08 to 384.52 N, 0.48066 to 1.07913 N.mm^-2 and 0.26604 to 0.75173 N.mm^-2, 766 to 1055 N.mm^-1 and 1 262 to 2 965 N.mm^-1, 303.98 to 553.68 mm.min^-1 and 28.08 to 53.71 mm.min^-1 2.30 to 4.19 N.mm^-2 and 5.376 to 8.94N.mm^-2 respectively. Generally, the values of the properties examined are higher in the longitudinal loading orientation than in the transverse and for a year and half old tuber which will be useful in designing an efficient cassava peeling system.

Electrokinetic remediation (EKR) is a powerful technique aimed at pollutant removal in soil, sludge, mine tailings, and so on. In the current work, we performed a bibliometric analysis of the research on EKR for the period of 1900-2018 on the basis of the core database of the Science Citation Index Expanded. In addition to a basic analysis of the research characteristics, keywords were analysed for four major participants: USA, China, Spain, and South Korea. The periods of 1990-2001, 2002-2008, and 2009-2018 were studied using the keyword analysis method to gain insights into the development of EKR and predict its future trends. The results revealed that the related research field in the USA was broad during the study periods. Meanwhile, China was interested in fluorine pollution and contamination in red soil. Spain paid close attention to pollution due to agricultural contamination. South Korea focused on radioactive element pollution. The number of papers published over a period of 28 years increased steadily and continued to rise after 2008. The combined techniques of EKR + phytoremediation and EKR + bioremediation were successively utilised by scholars over time, and the latter is expected to demonstrate vitality in the future.

The aim of this study was to report the outcome of the use of an external fixator to treat a pelvic canal stenosis in a 5-month-old female cat. The cat was referred with a history of 3 weeks of intermittent signs of constipation refractory to the medical management, occurring after surgical treatment for a bilateral sacroiliac luxation and sacral fracture. The clinical examination revealed instability of the pelvis and a radiograph showed a pelvic canal stenosis and megacolon. External fixator was the method of choice to be used in this case. The manually applied tension on an external fixator resulted in a widening of the pelvic canal. At 45 days after surgery, there were no signs of constipation, and the radiological examination showed progressive bone healing. At 18 months post-op, the cat had no abnormalities both on the clinical examination and on the radiography. In conclusion, the use of an external fixator led to the widening of the pelvic canal using a minimally invasive procedure. To the authors' knowledge, this case report represents the first surgical description and clinical outcome of the widening of the pelvic canal in cats using an external skeletal fixator.

Xylotrechus arvicola is an emerging grape pest that generates serious sanitary problems in vineyards and is currently expanding its range throughout Spain. The increasing prevalence of this pest in Spanish vineyards has been detected since 1990. In this study, the relationship between the climate and the actual distribution of the beetle was analysed, as well as how this distribution might change in the future according to several climate change models. The methodology was based on predictive models (SDM; species distribution modelling) using climate variables as explanatory factors, although the relationships were not necessarily causal. Maxent was used as the SDM method. The current climatic niche was calculated, and the actual potential distribution area was estimated. The relationships between the climate variables and the species probability of the presence were projected to various future climate change scenarios. The main conclusions reached were that climate change will favour the expansion of X. arvicola and that the potential infestation zones will be extended significantly. Although the results, because they were based on hypothetical climate frameworks that are under constant revision, were not conclusive, they should be taken into consideration when defining future strategies in the wine industry.

Biofortification is a strategy to reduce micronutrient deficiency in humans by fortifying food through natural processes, agronomic practices and genetic modification. In this study, we seek to shed light on what consumers understand by the term 'biofortified products' and thus to understand their level of knowledge about these products, as well as the reasons that dictate their purchasing choices and the relationship between consumption choices and lifestyles. The analysis focuses on vegetables and, in particular, on tomatoes with a high lycopene content. Research shows that consumers of biofortified food products are generally confused and uninformed, even though they show a high willingness to pay. This confusion seems to result, moreover, from the lack of a clear definition of a biofortified product, as well as from the lack of clear information on the specifics of biofortified products and the benefits they can bring. The future of biofortified products can, therefore, be improved by the creation of clear standards and reference definitions and better information and transparency that would benefit the consumer.

In recent years, the cork oak forests that characterise the Mediterranean region have been exposed to various factors that result in their degradation. These cork oak trees, due to increasingly accentuated anthropogenic activity, undergo withering at different scales.The objective of the study is to assess the impact of various factors that degrade cork oak forests in the Mediterranean region located in northeastern Algeria, and this was achieved by prospecting 22 sampling locations. This allowed the creation of a database containing 745 trees that were observed and 27 measured variables. Different readings were then taken into consideration based on measurements and sometimes on ratings. The impact of several biotic and abiotic factors, which affect and damage the health of cork oak, was identified. These factors include in particular the infestations by xylomycetophagous insects such as Platypus cylindrus and Xyleborus sp., which can potentially infest the cork oak trees that we observed one year after bark harvesting. On the other hand, the stationary descriptors such as altitude, slope, exposure, etc., are important for the dendrometric and exploitation characteristics, but their unfavourable values do not necessarily lead to tree mortality; for example, medium to low slopes, associated with average altitudes of 600 m a.s.l., may ensure the healthiest trees like in our case study. Finally, we were able to find that certain decline factors may affect a particular category of trees, either because they are older, taller or have a large girth, or because they are subject to inadequate debarking.

Among the various disposal strategies for sewage sludge (SS), soil application is the most suitable. This study was conducted to evaluate soil amendment with SS (0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 g/kg) and its impact on soil fertility and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) growth. The SS significantly improved the agromorphological attributes, the number of produced fruits, and the fruit biomass of tomato plants. The 30 g/kg application of SS led to the highest growth rate and fruit yield. Considering the fruits, the best safe enrichment of metal nutrients was recorded at 30 g/kg, with a significant increase in the micronutrient metals Mn, Zn, Ni, Cu, and Fe with 624, 193, 125, 70, and 32%, respectively, compared to the control. The SS amendment enhanced soil fertility, and heavy metals were within the permissible ranges for agricultural soils. Bioaccumulation factors (BFs) indicated that SS application induced the accumulation of most of the studied metals in the roots, and the BF values of Zn, Cu, Ni, and Pb were > 1. The current study concluded that recirculating SS nutrient components to agricultural soils could offer a valid solution for the sustainable management of this organic waste and enhance plant-crop productivity.

Dog barking, which reaches around 100 dB, often becomes a noise issue in urban environments. One potential solution, a simple soundproof cage, has recently been marketed. To our knowledge, no study has been conducted to investigate what sort of stress burden is imposed on dogs kept in cages, and it may raise animal welfare concerns. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to reveal whether staying in a soundproof cage caused stress for the dogs or not. Ten healthy domestic dogs (5 males, 5 females) of small body size were evaluated. The heart rate variability (HRV), behaviour, and internal and external temperature during confinement in a soundproof cage for each dog were analysed. The HRV analyses revealed no significant differences for any variables between confinement and non-confinement (HR, P > 0.999 9; rMSSD, P = 0.359 4; SDNN, P = 0.359 4; LF, P = 0.652 3; HF, P = 0.128 9; LF/HF, P = 0.222 7). Overall, in our behavioural analysis, there were no significant differences between confinement and non-confinement (P = 0.105 5). In conclusion, the HRV and behavioural analyses did not indicate an increased stress burden on the dogs during confinement in the soundproof cage compared with non-confinement. The inner temperature of the cage was not elevated either. Nevertheless, the stress imposed on dogs caused by a soundproof cage should always be considered on an individual basis, and the time spent in such a cage should always be kept to a minimum.

The experiment was established in the Pomological Orchard of The National Institute of Horticultural Research in Skierniewice in a system of randomized blocks. The aim of the experiment was to investigate the impact of innovative organic fertilizers: BioIlsa, BioFeed Ecomix, biostimulator Ausma and mycorrhizal inoculum Mykoflor on the fine roots growth characteristics of 'Vanda' sweet cherry trees in comparison with NPK mineral fertilization. The experiment involved five combinations, in three repetitions of three trees each, treated with tested preparations. The study assessed the influence of fertilization on the lifespan of the roots, the depth of their formation, their diameter and survivorship using minirhizotron camera. The highest numbers of roots were found in the treatment where the plants were fertilized with NPK and the lowest following the use of the biofertilizer BioFeed Ecomix. The longest lifespan was shown by the roots of the trees treated with BioFeed Ecomix - 347 days, and the shortest - by those fertilized with the Ausma - 225 days. The lifespan of the roots increased with their diameter. The roots that lived the longest had a diameter in the range from 0.9 to 1.0 mm - 568 days, and the shortest-living were the roots with a diameter smaller than 0.3 mm - 238 days. The roots that formed in late autumn and winter had the shortest median lifespan of 159 days, while the roots formed in the spring where characterized by the longest lifespan of 300 days. The lifespan of the roots formed close to the soil surface was the shortest - 225 days, while that of the roots formed at a depth of 10 to 20 cm was the longest - 326 days. Biological origin, organic nitrogen rich fertilizers positively influence on fine roots lifespan and longevity. Mineral fertilization increases number of new formed roots.

The European Green Deal to tackle climate change sets emission reduction targets for 2050. Particular attention has been paid to the agricultural sector, where there is a strong need to reduce carbon emissions and re-establish the natural carbon cycles. The concept of carbon neutrality is emerging in a scenario where it is necessary to reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from cultivation to near zero. The quantification of carbon emissions was carried out by the carbon footprint (CF) of conventional, organic and zero residue potato cultivation in Sicily. In order to provide farmers and consumers with answers regarding the most sustainable cultivation regime, the results showed that the organic and zero residue methods have the best results in terms of emissions; the latter instead revealed the positive results in economic terms. It becomes a new model to follow in the pursuit of sustainability as it is based on the reduction of synthesis inputs and is free from the constraints imposed by organic production standards.

The paper presents the maps of ecosystems and 11 dominant woody species of Ambrolauri municipality, Georgia (Europe). Forest cover comprises approximately 68% of the study area, most of which are natural forests. Almost all formations of natural forests, depicted on the Georgian section of the Map of the Natural Vegetation of Europe, are still preserved in the research area. Nearly 40% of the forested land is broadleaf forest. Woody species are better preserved in the upper reaches of rivers, while an anthropogenic transformation is most visible in the Lower Racha Floodplain. A majority of the species discussed in the paper are included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The paper also deals with the issues of forest land degradation and threats imposed by invasive species to biodiversity.

Mitochondrial transcription factor A plays, due to its role in replication and transcription of the mitochondrial DNA, an important role in mitochondrial biogenesis and regulation of its activity. In different mammalian species, mitochondrial transcription factor A is present in two different splicing forms. The aim of the study was to verify the presence of both splicing forms and to estimate their ratio in different tissues. The expression levels of both splicing forms in two skeletal muscles (m. semispinalis capitis and m. semimembranosus), heart muscle, brain, spleen, and liver in commercial hybrids and in the autochthonous Krsko polje pig breed are reported. In all analyzed tissues the expression of the long form of the mitochondrial transcription factor A was about one order of magnitude higher compared to the short form, lacking almost the entire exon 4 region. Taking into account the expression ratio of both splicing forms and biological function of the mitochondrial transcription factor A, the possible explanation for the persistence of both forms in different mammalian species is provided.

Food security is a critically important issue in China and can be enhanced by implementing subsidy policies. This paper employs a partial equilibrium model which takes into account the impact mechanism of subsidy policies to simulate the impact of current subsidy policies on grain supply and demand and on enhancing grain self-sufficiency in China. The simulation results suggest that subsidies can generally promote grain production, reduce consumption, increase imports, reduce exports and increase ending stocks. Subsidies may also result in increases in grain self-sufficiency rate and stock-to-use ratio, but the increases are relatively small, indicating that the subsidies lack efficiency. Given that subsidies constitutes only a very small share of farmers' total income, and that significant scope remains for increasing subsidy levels in China, employing subsidy policies can help to enhance or at least maintain China's grain self-sufficiency at a high level. Various measures should be implemented to improve the inefficiency of the current subsidy system, such as (1) combining different types of subsidies; (2) providing discriminatory subsidies to poor/rich farmers or developing/developed areas; and (3) increasing subsidy rates for wheat and corn.

Agriculture is the sector that consumes by far most water globally. Much research efforts aim at minimizing losses through the use of drip irrigation. Rural agricultural areas often do not have access to a main electrical grid to power the pumps needed for drip irrigation; it reduces the options in paying for a grid extension, getting a diesel generator or investing in an off-grid renewable energy system. In this paper, these alternatives are assessed technically and economically under real world conditions through the Jordan Valley case study. The results show that the autonomous photovoltaic (PV)-battery system is preferable to the use of a diesel generator, as well as it is preferable to the main grid extension in many cases depending on the cost of grid electricity and distance from the grid. For current subsidized grid electricity retail price to farmers, the PV-battery system becomes more attractive above a 300 m distance from the grid, while if the actual cost of electricity production in Jordan is taken into account, then it breaks even to 128 m.

The relationships between chosen mitochondrial genes polymorphisms and performance traits in raccoon dogs were determined. The study involved 354 farmed raccoon dogs. Blood collected from the animals was the analysed biological material. Mitochondrial DNA genes, i.e. MT-CO1 (mitochondrially encoded cytochrome c oxidase I), MT-CO2 (mitochondrially encoded cytochrome c oxidase II), and MT-CYB (mitochondrially encoded cytochrome b) were amplified using the polymerase chain reaction method. The amplicons obtained were sequenced and subjected to bioinformatics analysis. Based on the nucleotide sequences, three haplotypes for the MT-CO1 gene fragment and two haplotypes for the MT-CO2 gene fragment were identified. The sequence of the MT-CYB gene was monomorphic. Based on the haplotypes, five previously undescribed mitochondrial haplogroups were determined. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences between the values of three of the five investigated performance traits of raccoon dogs and the identified haplotypes and mitochondrial haplogroups, taking into account predictors of direct additive effects, additive maternal effects, and fixed specific maternal environmental effects. The new mitochondrial haplogroups identified in the farmed raccoon dog population may imply constant emergence of adaptive mutations that are conserved in subsequent generations. The results of the association study indicate a statistically significant association between haplotypes and mitochondrial haplogroups of farmed raccoon dogs and their body weight, body size, and colour type, which allows considering MT-CO1 and MT-CO2 genes as candidate genes encoding these traits in raccoon dogs. The results of the molecular analyses can be applied to improve the performance traits in farmed raccoon dogs.

The article deals with verification of a diesel fuel and two fuel mixtures blends with different amounts of the bio-component using the model single-cylinder engine without the additional equipment for treatment of exhaust gases. This combustion diesel engine served for measuring the performance characteristics of the model single-cylinder engine and the individual emission components in order to assess the use of these blends of liquid paraffinic diesel fuel in practice and to meet current and forthcoming European legislation and to fulfil the commitments by 2020. A detailed chemical analysis was performed in case of all the tested paraffinic diesel fuels.

Research and development (R&D) represents a significant expenditure and investment into the future competitiveness of a given firm. The behavioural theory of the firm assumes that these expenditures are subject to changes caused by performance feedback. This paper builds upon these assumptions and extends them by considering the possible effect of national cultures on the nature of these responses to the performance feedback. The research follows 119 firms from nine countries over the period 2001-2015 and analyses their behaviour using generalized linear mixed models. The findings mostly support an effect of national cultures, measured by Hofstede's cultural dimensions, on changes in R&D expenditure and indicate that national culture is one of the factors which needs to be taken into account when utilizing the behavioural theory of the firm.

Agricultural R&D has been identified as an important determinant of economic output in the agricultural sector. Surprisingly, in previous studies, spatial spillover associated with R&D spending in the agricultural sector has not been taken into account. This paper investigates the effects of spatial spillover of agricultural R&D on regional economic growth across EU-28 NUTS-II regions in the period 1995-2014. In particular, we extend previous studies by considering spillover in all sectors of agricultural R&D performance including business enterprise, government and higher education. The spatial Durbin panel data model is employed to estimate brooders effect including direct and indirect effects. Empirical results show a positive effect of agricultural R&D and its spatial spillover on regional growth in all performance sectors. Moreover, the impact of spatial spillover of agricultural R&D on regional growth depends on the performance of the R&D sectors; positive spillovers are stronger in the business enterprise sector. Finally, the interaction effect between the economic output of the agricultural sector of each region with that of its neighbours is significantly positive.

Nutritional values of different foodstuffs have been examined in various studies on a number of occasions. However, so far, little attention has been paid to the legal aspects of introducing edible insects in the European Union. Yet, the rearing of this mini-livestock for food and feed has a potential of developing into a new agricultural sector, which is sustainable, unlike the breeding of the traditional livestock. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of the legal background of authorizing edible insects in the European Union, taking into account the environmental impacts thereof. At present, the Member States are free to regulate this field, however, only until the transitional period established by the European Union (EU) rules has expired, since the EU wide regulation for authorizing edible insects is to be introduced as of 1st January 2018.

We aimed to evaluate different orders of fixed and random effects in random regression models (RRM) based on Legendre orthogonal polynomials as well as to verify the feasibility of these models to describe growth curves in Nellore cattle. The proposed RRM were also compared to multi-trait models (MTM). Variance components and genetic parameters estimates were performed via REML for all models. Twelve RRM were compared through Akaike (AIC) and Bayesian (BIC) information criteria. The model of order three for the fixed curve and four for all random effects (direct genetic, maternal genetic, permanent environment, and maternal permanent environment) fits best. Estimates of direct genetic, maternal genetic, maternal permanent environment, permanent environment, phenotypic and residual variances were similar between MTM and RRM. Heritability estimates were higher via RRM. We presented perspectives for the use of RRM for genetic evaluation of growth traits in Brazilian Nellore cattle. In general, moderate heritability estimates were obtained for the majority of studied traits when using RRM. Additionally, the precision of these estimates was higher when using RRM instead of MTM. However, concerns about the variance components estimates in advanced ages via Legendre polynomial must be taken into account in future studies.

Bois noir (BN), caused by 'Candidatus Phytoplasma solani', is a serious disease of grapevines in Europe. During the 2010-2012 survey in Perná vineyard (South Moravia, Czech Republic) a total of 4854 insect individuals were collected and among these, 95 insect species belonging to Auchenorrhyncha (77 species), Heteroptera (12), and Psylloidea (62) were indentified. The nested polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses confirmed Hyalesthes obsoletus as the main BN vector with 43.8% of phytoplasma positive individuals on average. A significant role of Anaceratagallia ribauti (22.6% of phytoplasma positive specimens) should be taken into account based on its occurrence and incidence of infected individuals. Eleven insect species were identified as new carriers of 'Ca. P. solani' or suggested as potential BN vectors in this work.

In the scientific literature, there is not reliable information about the vitamin E content of commercially prepared fried foods. Therefore, tocochromanols were determined in 44 samples of french fries and 33 samples of potato chips and similar fried snacks. The total tocochromanol content of the french fries varied in the range of 1.7-96.9 mg/kg, α-tocopherol 0.3-76.1 mg/kg, and vitamin E (expressed in α-tocopherol equivalents) 0.6-76.4 mg/kg. The total content of tocochromanols in the fried snack products varied in the range of 39.9-204.6 mg/kg, α-tocopherol 20.4-133.7 mg kg, and vitamin E 29.8-134.6 mg α-tocopherol equivalent/kg. After a comparison of fat content, and taking into account the reference intake of fat and vitamin E, the french fries were generally a worse source of vitamin E than fat. The fried snack products were usually a better source of vitamin E than fat. In the both types of fried foods, the total content of tocochromanols was most influenced by the total content of fat. The content of α-tocopherol and the vitamin E content were mainly affected by the kind of fat (oil) used for frying.

This paper deals with verification of the effect of fermented manure (with and without Z'fix activators) and soil activators (PRP Sol) on a soil properties change. Their application should lead to a change in physical, physical-chemical and biological properties of soil, along with ecological material fixation, improved water retention and infiltration, reduction of soil susceptibility to water erosion and decreased soil tillage energy requirements. Field trial was established in Sloveč in Central Bohemia in the year 2014. The experiment was divided into several variants and was designed as multiannual. Z>fix activator was used as a biological transformation activator of manure. PRP Sol was used as a soil activator. In order to verify the effect, soil infiltration, cone index, bulk density and draft of tillage implement were measured. Measurements have shown a beneficial effect of the activators with regard to the decomposition of organic matter. Consequently, changes in soil properties and a reduction of draft at tillage operations developed. Finally, the effect should evolve gradually with a prolonged activator treatment.

Tritrichomonas blagburni (previously called T. foetus) has been implicated as an aetiological agent of long-term large-bowel diarrhoea in cats in many countries worldwide. The aim of this study was to determine the presence of, and risk factors for T. blagburni among a cohort of cats living in different conditions in the Czech Republic. Samples were collected from 170 cats living in different environments. The InPouch™ TF-Feline medium method was used for diagnosis of feline trichomonosis. A single case (0.6%) with motile trichomonads identified as Pentatrichomonas hominis was found in a cat from a multi-cat household. Our study suggests that trichomonads and in particular, T. blagburni, infection may be much less common in the Czech Republic than in neighbouring countries, despite the inclusion of cats that were likely to be from higher-risk groups. A review of studies of the association of trichomonads and feline diarrhoea carried out in different countries revealed variation in the frequency of trichomonads detected. Different combinations of PCR or culture methods for screening or confirmation have been utilised, with or without species differentiation; however, this could not solely account for the variation in the occurrence between countries. From those studies where differentiation was performed, we calculated from the combined studies that T. blagburni occurred in six cats without diarrhoea (1.1%) and 47 cases with diarrhoea (5%). This finding supports an association with diarrhoea as well as the occurrence of asymptomatic cases. We note that in many studies, including our own, the occurrence of T. blagburni may well be underestimated and suggest that future studies use a combination of PCR screening of both faeces and faecal cultures, with differentiation of trichomonad species.

Bísaro pig, a local endangered swine breed, has gained popularity in the recent years. A complete pedigree was used to evaluate the population structure and investigate the current breed's genetic variability in two reference populations (AlivePop and AliveBpop). Since the breed's foundation, the number of registered animals, producers, and farrowing records has increased. The mean progeny size for sires was 116.17 ± 210.81, and 3.24% of the breeding boars originated 26.54% of all registered births showing a marked unbalanced use of certain sires. The mean calculated equivalent generations was 4.54, and 98.1% of all the animals had known parents, indicating a good degree of pedigree completion and depth. Approximately half of the individuals were inbred, with average inbreeding values of 10.41, 9.02, and 8.58% for the whole and reference populations, respectively. Considering both reference populations, a low effective founder/ancestor ratio was obtained (1.12), showing a well-balanced founder/ancestor contribution, and subsequent genetic transfer. However, the effective founder/founder ratio was particularly low (0.06 and 0.12) compared with other native breeds. The founder genome/effective founder ratios were 0.37 and 0.41 for AlivePop and AliveBpop. Contrarily to the whole population, the random genetic drift weighted significantly more than the drift due to unequal founder contribution in the reference populations. The effective population size based on the increase in coancestry ranged from 62.39 and 54.66, and 16.74 and 24.84 based on the increase of individual inbreeding, for the whole and reference populations. The genetic conservation index steadily grew over the years with a mean value of 6.53 for the whole pedigree. Genetic variability losses and diffuse structuring might have occurred in the Bísaro population. Notwithstanding, the recent genetic variability indicators seem positive, yet supported by an open herdbook policy. These characteristics must be taken into account to define future mating policies and selection programs.

This paper quantifies the correlation between U.S. season average prices for hops with U.S. hop stocks and U.S. hop hectarage. The Hop Equilibrium Ratio, a measure of the supply/demand relationship for U.S. hops, was introduced. Through the Bayesian inference method, the authors used these data to calculate the effect an incremental change to one metric had on the probability of directional changes of future U.S. season average prices (SAP). Between 2010 and 2020, the dominance of proprietary varieties created unprecedented cartel-like powers offering opportunities for supply- and price-management. Research results will enable more accurate forecasting and greater price stability in the hop industry.

Agricultural holdings select goals in various areas when setting their strategic objectives. Economic objectives tend to be viewed as strategic because of the requirement to maximise economic profit for the owners. Since there is significant interaction between agricultural holdings and the environment, it is also important to monitor the environmental aspects of farming. The article seeks to draw on unique multicriteria assessment to compare the compatibility of economic and environmental objectives at 1 189 agricultural holdings in the Czech Republic, broken down by farming specialisation and economic size on the basis of figures from the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN). A trade-off between environmental sustainability and economic performance occurs primarily among farming specialisation categories, where we found two extremes - intensive field cropping with high economic performance and low environmental sustainability, and, at the other end of the scale, extensive cattle farming with lower economic performance and high environmental sustainability. Within the farming specialisation categories, however, there was no significant correlation, with the exception of milk production, where the use of soil organic matter, a higher proportion of soil improving crops (for fodder) and greening made a positive contribution to the higher economic performance of farms.