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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.

Hens of the laying hybrid ISA Brown were used in the study with the objective to evaluate eggshell quality, microbial contamination of eggshells, and penetration of microorganisms into the egg content in different housing systems (enriched cage: 60 hens, 10 hens per cage, 750 cm² per hen vs free range: 60 hens, 9 hens per m²) and at different hen ages (26 vs 51 weeks) during storage time (0, 2, 7, 14, and 21 days). A significant interaction between the housing system and age was observed in egg weight and most of eggshell quality measurements. However, microbial contamination and penetration were affected mostly by the housing system and storage time. The numbers of Escherichia coli (P < 0.001, 4.51 vs 2.75 log cfu/eggshell) and Enterococcus (P < 0.001, 2.56 vs 1.11 log cfu/eggshell), and the total number of microorganisms (P < 0.001, 5.04 vs. 3.65 log cfu/eggshell) were higher in free range eggs compared to enriched cage eggs, respectively. The counts of Escherichia coli (P < 0.001, 4.23 vs 2.91 log cfu/eggshell) and Enterococcus (P < 0.001, 2.31 vs 1.27 log cfu/eggshell) decreased with storage time. A positive correlation between the total number of pores and penetration of Escherichia coli in both housing systems was observed in the albumen. It can be concluded that the housing system and age of laying hens significantly affected eggshell quality. Microbial contamination presumably affects the penetration of microorganisms. The correlation between the number of pores and penetration is assumed to be affected by the microbial species.

Glucocorticoids (GCs) cause excess fat accumulation, which leads to fertility dysfunction in broilers. The study investigated alterations in the morphology and morphometry of the testes of broilers in response to GC and dexamethasone (DEX). Male day-old chicks were randomly divided into a control group and three experimental groups (E1, E2, and E3). The control group was fed a commercial broiler ration. The experimental groups were fed a commercial broiler ration containing GC (i.e. DEX 3, 5, and 7 mg/kg, respectively). The testes were collected and stained with haematoxylin and eosin to count the number of testicular seminiferous tubules. An increase in the seminiferous tubule count was initially seen, which declined as both the age of the broilers and the dose of DEX increased. Morphometric measurements, i.e., the testicular capsule thickness, seminiferous tubule diameter, and seminiferous epithelium height, were performed. The initial thickening of the testicular capsule was evident. There was a depletion of the interstitial (Leydig) cell population in the experimental groups with the age and increased with the dose advancement. The diameter of the seminiferous tubules and testicular capsule thickness remained upregulated in the treatment groups with the increased dose of DEX. The initial height of the seminiferous epithelium increased in the experimental groups of broilers. The study suggests that DEX greatly alters the morphological architecture of broiler testes; as a result, it could be said that DEX has the effect on the infertility of the broiler by affecting the morphology as well as the functionality of the testes.

The basic Helix-Loop-Helix (bHLH) superfamily is the most widespread family of transcription factors in eukaryotic organisms, which can activate the expression of genes by interacting with specific promoters in the genes. The bHLH transcription factors direct the development and metabolic process of plants, including flowering initiation and secondary metabolite production, by attaching to specific sites on their promoters. These transcription factors are essential for encouraging plant tolerance or the adjustment to harsh environmental conditions. The involvement of bHLH genes in anthocyanin formation in fleshy fruit-bearing plants, as well as the role of these genes in response to stimuli including drought, salt, and cold stress, are discussed in this article. New concepts and goals for the production of stress-tolerant fruit species are suggested. Furthermore, solid evidence for the critical role of bHLH genes in the growth and development, as well as anthocyanin biosynthesis in fleshy fruit plants, are also presented in this article. This review identifies several future research directions that can shed light on the roles of bHLH genes in fruit-bearing plants and will assist the use of these genes in efforts to breed fruit crop varieties that are more resistant to stress. Generally, there has been little research carried out on the role of bHLHs transcription factor family genes in fleshy fruit-bearing plant species and more in-depth studies are required to fully understand the diverse role of bHLH genes in these species.

In order to establish a clear limit between protective and harmful effects of alcohol consumption, it is necessary to define patterns of consumption. However, there is no universally recognized quantitative classification for patterns of consumption by alcohol doses. This is because the pattern of alcohol consumption does not only describe how much alcohol was consumed, but also takes into account a number of boundary conditions. This review deals with variabilities in the definitions of standard alcohol doses and patterns of alcohol consumption. These terms are being discussed with respect to the benefits and harms associated with alcohol consumption as well as the risks intrinsic to studies of such a complex phenomenon as the effect of alcoholic beverages on human health.

Limnocharis flava (L.) Buchenau is among the most problematic rice weeds in Malaysia and is also reported to have developed multiple resistance to AHAS inhibitor bensulfuron-methyl and synthetic auxin 2,4-D. In this study, resistance across different AHAS inhibitors was characterised in a L. flava population infesting rice fields in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. Dose-response experiments were conducted to determine the level of resistance to sulfonylureas, imidazolinone, triazolopyrimidine, and pyrimidinyl-thiobenzoate. Cross-resistance across different AHAS inhibitors was observed in the resistant L. flava population, exhibiting a high level of resistance to bensulfuron-methyl, while exhibiting a moderate level of resistance to metsulfuron-methyl and a low level of resistance to pyrazosulfuron-ethyl and pyribenzoxim. However, all resistant L. flava individuals were still sensitive to imazethapyr, penoxsulam, and bispyribac-sodium. Based on the results, it is likely that resistance to AHAS inhibitors in L. flava is conferred by target-site resistance mechanisms.

The article's objective, which is to identify the causes of the very poor level of management of the administration of these state assets, to present the possibilities of a long-tested experimental model at the Land Fund of the Czech Republic, and to draw attention to this model's potential in its possible implementation in administration of the entire management complex of these state assets in the Czech Republic. The authors first dealt with the theoretical aspects of the given issue, and then prepared an analysis of the original debt collection management "system". This is logically followed by an analysis of the experimental model's efficiency, rounded off with its conclusions. The final chapter contains the results of the research aimed at the current level of knowledge of the examined issue in compressed form, further the outcomes of the research concerned with original unsystematic debt collection management, also results of the implementation of the experimental model, and the assessment of the significance belonging to the results of implementing the experimental model for the entire national economy of the Czech Republic.

Knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of response to environmental stress is fundamental for the development of genetically stress-tolerant crops. This study aims to find vegetable soybean accessions tolerant to cultivation in stressful tropical environments. Fourteen accessions of the vegetable soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) were grown in mineral and beach ridges interspersed with swale (BRIS) soils. The genetic diversity, estimated using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers, revealed 42.50% polymorphism and was regarded as moderate. The unweighted pair-group method arithmetic average (UPGMA) analysis allocated the tested accessions into five major clusters at a similarity coefficient level of 0.43. The lowest values of the genetic distance were between IIUMSOY11 and IIUMSOY13 & IIUMSOY13 and IIUMSOY14, indicating that these accessions were more genetically distant from the other accessions. Ten differentially expressed proteins were identified in the three selected accessions IIUMSOY1, IIUMSOY11 and IIUMSOY14 using mass spectrometry, revealing a unique expression of the proteins involved in the storage, flavonoid metabolism, protein modification, oxidative stress defence, carbohydrate metabolism and respiratory chain. The findings may be valuable for the selection of genetically diverse accessions, to enhance the breeding of vegetable soybean genotypes suitable for stressful tropical environments.

Foliar nutrients containing macronutrients, micronutrients and a combination of both were applied to Physalis peruviana, P. alkekengi and P. ixocarpa to determine their effect on fruit quality. A randomised complete block design study was conducted in a greenhouse on Madura Island, Indonesia. This study showed significant interactions between Physalis species and foliar nutrition to the physicochemical character of the fruit. Each species responded differently to the given nutrients. The combination of 1 g/L macronutrient (P and K) and 0.0625 g/L micronutrients (Zn, Fe, Cu, B, Mo and Mn) resulted in the highest fruit antioxidant activity, vitamin C, total soluble solids and redness of the three Physalis species. Generally, macronutrients and micronutrients in combination can be recommended to increase the quality of Physalis fruit.

This is a pilot study dealing with the reduced femoral bone structure in Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats following a 10 weeks treatment with bee bread and Cornelian cherries. The adult ZDF rats were divided into 4 groups: the E1 group received bee bread (500 mg/kg b.w. daily), the E2 group received Cornelian cherries (500 mg/kg b.w. per day), the E3 group was simultaneously supplemented by bee bread and Cornelian cherries (500 + 500 mg/kg b.w. daily), and the C group served as an untreated diabetic control. A non-significant decrease in the blood glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride concentrations, ALP activity and a non-significant increase in the insulin, total body weight of the ZDF rats, femoral length and weight were observed in the E1, E2, and E3 groups. The treatments had no impact on the relative volume of the cortical bone, bone mineral density, bone surface and cortical bone thickness. On the contrary, the relative volume of the trabecular bone, trabecular thickness and trabecular bone surface were significantly increased in the E1 group. The relative volume of the trabecular bone and trabecular thickness were significantly elevated in the E2 group. In the E3 group, the trabecular thickness was found to have significantly increased. Single administrations of either bee bread or Cornelian cherries had more positive effects on the trabecular bone microarchitecture in the ZDF rats than the simultaneous supplementation.

In this study, the relationships of temperature humidity index (THI) with milk yield and some physiological responses in dairy cattle were investigated. Our goal in the meta-analysis was to find the parameter(s) primarily affected under heat stress. A total of 16 studies with the temperature humidity index value higher than 72, which is an important factor in determining the effect of heat stress, were included in the meta-analysis. The variables of interest in the meta-analysis included: milk yield (kg/day), respiratory rate (breaths/min), rectal temperature (°C). In addition to the meta-analysis, principal component analysis (PCA) was also performed. In the meta-analysis, high variation or heterogeneity (I² > 99%) was determined between the results of the studies. This may depend on many factors (climate, region, number of samples and management etc.). Heterogeneity is desirable in the meta-analysis, because it provides accurate and reliable interpretations of the variances of parameters. Due to high heterogeneity, the results of the studies were combined according to the mixed model. According to the mixed model and PCA results, a linear relationship was determined between the temperature humidity index and these physiological parameters. According to the meta-analysis, at THI > 72, the mean effect size of milk yield was 50%, and the effect sizes of respiratory rate and rectal temperature were approximately 65% and 38%. All three parameters have a significant effect under heat stress (P < 0.000 1). As a result, there is a linear relationship between temperature humidity index, milk yield and physiological parameters. According to the other characteristics, the respiratory rate was determined as the primary response parameter in parallel with the increase in temperature humidity index.

An 11-year-old spayed female Toy Poodle presented with acute tetraparesis. A small subcutaneous mass was found in the right trunk region, and the magnetic resonance revealed a compressive spinal cord lesion due to an irregular bone proliferation at the third cervical vertebra. After surgical resection of the vertebral lesion, the neurological symptoms improved, and the patient could walk on her own. The excised vertebral and subcutaneous masses were diagnosed as a mammary adenocarcinoma on the histopathological examination, with Ki-67 and HER-2 immunohistochemistry staining. This case report highlights the importance of defining the primary tumours of metastatic vertebral tumours and the necessity of palliative surgery to improve the patient's quality of life.

In the paper, the price volatility was examined. The authors used 650 weekly observations from 2003 to 2015. Such a long period of analysis helped to reveal periods with high volatility. The objective of the paper was to recognize price volatility of agricultural commodities in Poland. The authors chose beef, pork and wheat markets to show the differentiation of price volatility. It revealed periods of large and small volatility. The global market situation impacted Polish agricultural markets with the opening markets and a greater access to the new markets. The periods having the strongest impact on Polish agricultural markets were the integration with the EU, the global crisis in 2008, and problems in the EU zone. The prices of analysed agricultural commodities differed in various EU countries. The prices of wheat increased most in France, Hungary and Lithuania. The prices of store cattle increased most in the years 2004-2015 in Estonia, Sweden and Luxemburg. The prices of pigs increased most in Malta, Sweden and Cyprus.

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.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the applicability of B-mode, Doppler, acoustic radiation force impulse elastography and contrast-enhanced ultrasound exams in the differentiation of neoplastic and non-neoplastic benign mammary lesions in bitches. This research was conducted as a prospective secondary observational cohort (2014-2016) study, which included 36 mammary lesions, evaluated physically and by ultrasound (B-mode, Doppler, contrast-enhanced ultrasound and acoustic radiation force impulse) exams prior to mastectomy and histopathological classification as neoplastic or non-neoplastic lesions. All ultrasonographic parameters studied were compared between histopathological classifications using Fisher's or Student's tests and differences were considered significant when P < 0.05. Out of 36 benign mammary lesions evaluated, 25 were classified as neoplastic and 11 as non-neoplastic. The qualitative and quantitative parameters evaluated using the different ultrasound methods were not effective (P > 0.05) in differentiating between neoplastic and non-neoplastic mammary masses in bitches. Nevertheless, some B-mode variables, such as longitudinal length (P = 0.0292), width/length ratio (P = 0.0001) and width/height ratio (P = 0.0001) showed limited efficacy in the differentiation of mammary lesions types. In conclusion, ultrasonographic evaluation of benign canine mammary lesions did not allow differentiation between neoplastic and non-neoplastic tissues and only a few B-mode variables may aid in the prediction of specific tumour types.

Winter oilseed rape is the second most frequently grown crop in the Czech Republic. Clubroot, caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae (Wor.), was previously a problem in production of vegetable. The disease has been spreading on winter rape (Brassica napus L.) over the past four years. Infected stands were reported throughout the country in autumn 2011. The pathogen is probably widely spread in the whole country, its incidence depends on suitable weather conditions. Every field with clubroot is considered as contaminated for many years. The amounts of inoculum and its distribution are not sufficient yet, but this is just the initial stage of colonisation. There is a similar situation resembling experiences from other countries (Canada, Germany) where clubroot has gradually expanded in the last 15 years.

The external fruit colour is an important parameter of the fig fruit quality. Fig anthocyanin content is critical for the peel colour. The peel of mature fruits of the fig cultivar Orphan and its red peel bud mutant Hongyan were separated for a transcriptomic and proteomic analysis. A total of 162 different abundance proteins (DAPs) and 5 015 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. The correlation analysis revealed that only two and 15 genes were downregulated and upregulated, respectively, at both the transcriptome and proteome levels. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis indicated that the enrichment pathways including Tropane, piperidine and pyridine alkaloid biosynthesis, phenylalanine metabolism and isoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis for DEGs, and protein processing in the endoplasmic reticulum and flavonoid biosynthesis may contribute to the mutant color phenotype. Our results provide transcriptomic and proteomic information for two fig cultivars and may help to clarify the potential mechanisms of fig colouration.

Land, water, sun, infrastructure, capital and know-how are needed for any agricultural development. Sub-Saharan Africa has immense natural resources, though often not immediately available altogether in the same place, but is generally short of the other inputs. That is why a public-private partnership can be an effective approach to deal the projects with modern agricultural development: public partner provides land, most of the infrastructure and finance; private partners provide the intensive farming practice, processing know-how and part of the equity. Financial analysis of lower and higher capital demanding scenarios and testing of the impact of changes in the critical drivers of costs and revenues shown that a combination of staple crops and cash crops can be found to balance national food security policy targets and financial appeal for private partners in a mutually satisfactory venture capital. The effect of environmental and infrastructural constraints was also considered, showing how likely-to-happen threats on the side of the implementation of the project may turn into challenging opportunity to climb the agribusiness value chain upward.

The amelioration of aflatoxicosis in broiler chickens was examined by feeding two concentrations of yeast component (esterified glucomannan; EG). EG, incorporated into the diet at 0.5 and 1 g/kg, was evaluated for its ability to reduce the detrimental effects of 2 mg total aflatoxin (AF; 82.72% AFB₁, 5.50% AFB₂, 10.20% AFG₁ and 1.58% AFG₂) in diet on growing broiler chicks from 1 to 21 d of age. A total of 240 male broiler chicks (Ross-308) were divided into 6 treatment groups [control, AF, EG (0.5 g/kg), AF plus EG (0.5 g/kg), EG (1 g/kg), and AF plus EG (1 g/kg)]. Compared to the control, AF treatment significantly decreased body weight gain from week 2 onwards. AF treatment also caused significant decreases in serum total protein, albumin, total cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose, inorganic phosphorus, creatinine levels and alanine-aminotransferase (ALAT) activity but increased the aspartate-aminotransferase (ASAT) activity. Red blood cell, haematocrit, haemoglobin, thrombocyte, and lymphocyte counts and tibial crude ash levels were significantly reduced by AF treatment, while significant increases were seen in heterophil counts. The addition of EG (1 g/kg) to an AF-containing diet significantly improved the adverse effects of AF on haematological parameters, total protein, albumin values and ASAT activity. EG (1 g/kg) also partially improved body weight gains (59%) and the other biochemical parameters influenced by AF treatment. The addition of EG (both 0.5 and 1 g/kg) to the AF-free diet did not cause any considerable changes in the investigated values. These results clearly indicated that EG (1 g/kg) addition effectively diminished the adverse effects of AF on the investigated values. Also, the higher dietary concentration of EG (1 g/kg) was found more effective than the lower concentration (0.5 g/kg) against the adverse effects of AF on the variables investigated in this study.

Zearalenone (ZEA), a micotoxin produced by Fusarium sp. is regarded as a phytoestrogen. Although cytotoxic and genotoxic activity of ZEA was detected, the majority of its toxic influence is related to the ability of binding to estrogen receptors and disrupting the endocrine regulation of the reproductory functions in females. It was previously found that ZEA inhibits proliferation of cells in porcine ovaries, as detected with immunostaining for proliferating cells nuclear antigen (PCNA). The number of PCNA-positive cells was inversely proportional to the dose of ZEA. We decided to answer the question of whether ZEA induces apoptosis in porcine ovaries. Experimental gilts (before first estrus) were fed ZEA in a dosage of 20 (group II) or 40 (group III) µg/kg of body weight/day for 63 days. Control animals (group I) were fed a placebo. After that period animals were sacrificed, ovaries were extirpated, fixed in paraformaldehyde solution, cut into sections with a cryostat and studied for apoptosis with TUNEL kit, and for the presence of apoptosis-promoting protein Bax with immunohistochemistry. It was found that apoptosis was detected with TUNEL only in medium-sized antral ovarian follicles in animals of groups I and II. No apoptosis signal was found in the ovaries of animals in group III. No differences in the distribution and intensity of staining for Bax were found between animals of all investigated groups. The results indicate that ZEA do not induce apoptosis in porcine ovaries, and the inhibition of proliferation must be associated with other mechanisms.

Alleles A1 and A2 of the Bos taurus CSN2 gene are the most frequent in a number of dairy cattle breeds. In this study, a new allelic discrimination assay using TaqMan fluorogenic probes was developed to detect single nucleotide substitution characterizing the A1/A2 alleles of the CSN2 gene. The method was validated using DNA samples of known genotypes with different concentrations and the results were compared with those for the commonly used problematic ACRS-PCR. We found the TaqMan method to be more effective, 100% reliable and hundred times more sensitive for testing the CSN2 genetic marker in cattle than the ACRS-PCR. As it enabled a rapid analysis of a large number of DNA samples in uniform format without previous DNA quality assessment and without the requirement for post-amplification manipulations, it presents an effective tool for the analysis of large-scale sample sets. The method was applied for testing on a sample of 120 Czech Holstein dairy cows. The observed relative genotype and allele frequencies were as follows: A1A1-0.20, A1A2-0.51, A2A2-0.29; A1-0.45, A2-0.55.

A total of 60 random samples of fresh chicken burger, fillet, and luncheon (20 of each) were collected from markets at Tanta city. The average total yeast counts (cfu/g) in burger, fillet, and luncheon samples were 2.7 × 10⁶ ± 1.1 × 10⁶, 2.1 × 10⁵ ± 0.9 × 10⁵, and 1.4 × 10⁷ ± 0.7 × 10⁷, respectively. A total of 158 yeast isolates of 23 species were isolated and identified. Candida, Cryptococcus, Debaromyces, Issatchenkia, Pichia, Rhodotorula, Saccharomyces, Trichosporon and Yarrowia species were recovered from the examined samples of fresh chicken meat products in varying percentages ranging from 5% to 50%. The tested plant extracts of cinnamon, clove and thyme revealed a potent anti-yeast activity against C. albicans, D. hansenii and S. cerevisiae at 20% concentration, and a moderate inhibitory activity against these yeast strains at 10% concentration, while garlic extract had a lesser inhibitory effect on the yeast strains tested at the same concentration. Moreover, thyme, cinnamon and clove extracts had a complete inhibitory effect on chicken fillet inoculated with Candida albicans when incubated at 5°C and 25°C.

Soil organic matter (SOM) takes part in many environmental functions and, depending on the conditions, it can be a source or a sink of the greenhouse gases. Presently, the changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) stock can arise because of the climatic changes or changes in the land use and land management. A promising method in the estimation of SOC changes is modelling, one of the most used models for the prediction of changes in soil organic carbon stock on agricultural land being the RothC model. Because of its simplicity and availability of the input data, RothC was used for testing the efficiency to predict the development of SOC stock during 35-year period on agricultural land of Slovakia. The received data show an increase of SOC stock during the first (20 years) phase and no significant changes in the course of the second part of modelling. The increase of SOC stock in the first phase can be explained by a high carbon input of plant residues and manure and a lower temperature in comparison with the second modelling part.

Bovine tuberculosis was last detected in cattle and pigs in the CzechRepublicin 1995. Since March, 31, 2004(Commission Decision No. 2004/320/EC) the Czech Republichas been included amongst states free from bovine tuberculosis within the European Union. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate results of intravital and post-mortem diagnosis of mycobacterial infections in slaughtered cattle and pigs from 2000 to 2004. When bovine tuberculosis in cattle was investigated, a tuberculin skin test with bovine tuberculin was performed every year and a skin test with avian tuberculin was simultaneously conducted in the animals with a positive response. A total of 2 419 889 animals were examined with a positive response being found in 123 (0.005%) of them. After slaughter, bovine tuberculosis was not detected in any of these animals by gross and/or laboratory examinations. With avian tuberculin, 40 349 animals were tested and positive responses were detected in 43 (0.1%) of them; the incidence was similar in all the years monitored. Tuberculous lesions were detected in 209 (0.01%) of 1 967 211 slaughtered cattle. Mycobacteria were present in 40 (21.3%) of 188 animals examined by laboratory methods: 26 isolates of Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium (18 isolates of serotype 2 and 8 isolates not typeable), 11 isolates of M. a. hominissuis (1 isolate of serotype 8 and 10 isolates not typeable), and 3 isolates of atypical mycobacteria. Tuberculous lesions were detected in 49 312 (0.22%) of 22 312 580 slaughtered pigs by veterinary-meat inspection. During the 5-year-period monitored, the incidence of tuberculous lesions decreased from 0.37% in 2000 to 0.10% in 2004. The following mycobacteria were isolated from 757 (33.5%) of 2 261 animals whose organs were examined by culture: 203 isolates of M. a. avium (180 isolates of serotype 2, 3 isolates of serotype 2/8, and 20 isolates not typeable), 442 isolates of M. a. hominissuis (1 isolate of serotype 1, 262 isolates of serotype 8, 35 isolates of serotype 9, 1 isolates of mixed serotypes 8/9, and 143 isolates not typeable), and atypical mycobacteria (n = 112). In both animal species, M. avium complex members prevailed: M. a. avium was the most prevalent subspecies in cattle, M. a. hominissuis in pigs. The main sources of M. a. avium and M. a. hominissuis are free living birds and contaminated external and stable environments (i.e. drinking water, feeds, and feed supplements), respectively. During the entire period monitored, miliary or generalized tuberculosis was not detected in any of the animals. The decreased incidence of tuberculous lesions in pigs was particularly a result of preventive measures adopted to control the occurrence of atypical mycobacteria.

Differences in follicular development and repeatability of follicular growth pattern among Czech Fleckvieh (n = 20) and Holstein (n = 23) heifers were investigated. Follicular dynamics was evaluated by daily sonographic scanning during three interovulatory intervals. The mean duration of the interovulatory interval was 20.66 ± 0.32 days, no differences between breeds were observed. The proportion of the non-alterna-ting pattern was nearly the same as that of the alternating pattern (54% and 46%, respectively). The majority of IOIs ≤ 21 days were of the 2-wave pattern (71%) whereas only 29% of them were of the 3-wave pattern. Conversely, the majority of IOIs ≥ 22 days were of the 3-wave pattern (84%), whereas only 16% were of the 2-wave pattern. Differences could be observed in the Czech Fleckvieh heifers. Comparing 2- and 3-wave interovulatory intervals, 44.2% of the heifers exhibited 3 waves and 55.8% of the heifers exhibited 2 waves of follicular growth. The ratio of 3- to 2-wave heifers was about the same in the Holstein breed; in Czech Fleckvieh 2-wave cycles slightly dominated (11/12, 8/12; respectively). In Holstein heifers, the first follicular wave occurred 0.92 ± 0.15 days after ovulation in 2-wave interovulatory intervals, and the emergence of the first wave in 2-wave Czech Fleckvieh heifers appeared later (P < 0.05), 1.83 ± 0.3 days after ovulation. The maximal size reached by the dominant follicles in all animals and in the Czech Fleckvieh differed in the first and in the second wave of 2-wave cycles (P < 0.05). In 3-wave interovulatory intervals the dominant follicles in the second wave differed (P < 0.05) from the mean diameters of the first and the third wave in the Czech Fleckvieh. The ovulatory follicles were significantly (P < 0.05) smaller in 2-wave than in 3-wave interovulatory intervals among all animals and between the Holstein and Czech Fleckvieh heifers. In conclusion, we found a similar pattern of ovarian follicular dynamics in Czech Fleckvieh and Holstein heifers kept under identical nutritional and environmental conditions. Whether the significant difference in the emergence of the 1st fol-licular wave in 2-wave IOIs between C and H heifers is of real biological significance is ambiguous.

In this study, the effects of slope and traffic intensity on soil compaction, rutting and forest floor removal was evaluated on a skid trail in the natural forest of north of Iran. Combination of two levels of slope < 20% (SC1) and > 20% (SC2) and three levels of traffic (one, five and nine traffics) were studied. Treatment plots, with three replications, were established on the skid trail prior to skidding. The results of this study showed that all bulk densities were considerably higher in SC2 than in SC1 and average soil bulk densities were measured from 1.07 (g∙cm^-3) to 1.23 (g∙cm^-3) on skid trail and 0.91 (g∙cm^-3) in undisturbed areas. With the increment of traffic, soil compaction increased but there was no significant difference among the three levels of traffic frequency in SC1 whereas it was significant between one and five cycles in SC2. Greatest rut depth was measured as 12 cm at nine traffics in SC2, although increase of traffic density caused deeper rut depth at all slope treatments, but it was higher at the SC2 in comparison to SC1. Litter mass decreased considerably on the skid trail with the increasing in slope and traffic. No important difference has been detected between SC1 and SC2 in terms of Litter mass removal. These results provide clear evidence that soil disturbance on steep trail is intensified.

Seventeen winter wheat cultivars registered in the Czech Republic were tested for reaction to common bunt in 2-3 year field trials. Bunt infection of resistant checks Globus and Bill varied between 4.1% and 10.6%; the highest infection in cv. Pitbull reached 85.9%. Of the recently registered cultivars Nikol has a relatively low bunt incidence (26.9%). In addition to bread wheat seventeen triticale, seven durum wheat cultivars, two spelt wheat cultivars and one emmer wheat cultivar were tested in the field and some of them also in the greenhouse. Bunt infection of durum wheats was lower than that of bread wheat cultivars. All seventeen tested triticale cultivars were resistant. The reaction of emmer wheat cultivar and spelt wheat cultivars to common bunt was lower than that of susceptible bread wheat checks.

Measurements were done of some lysosomal proteolytic enzyme activities involved in skeletal muscle proteolysis of the masculus longissimus lumborum et thoracis muscle (MLLT) of bulls. Samples from the same region between the 11th and 13th vertebra were taken after slaughter from Limousin (n = 10), Hereford (n = 10), Charolais (n = 10), Angus (n = 11) and Simmental (n = 11) bulls about 15 months old fed complete diet ad libitum. The activity of cathepsin D was determined as pepstatin (cathepsin D inhibitor) sensitive activity (PSCatD) towards 1% haemoglobin. Pepstatin-insensitive acid (PIA) and leupeptin-insensitive (thiol proteinases inhibitor) acid (LIA) autolytic activities were measured in the presence of 1mM Mg⁺⁺. MLLT was also analysed for RNA, DNA and protein variables. The data were processed by analysis of variance. The highest activities in PSCatD (P ≤ 0.05), AAA (P ≤ 0.01) and LIA (P ≤ 0.05) as well as percentage of inhibition by pepstatin in cathepsin D (P ≤ 0.01) were estimated in Angus bulls, and the lowest in Limousin ones. These breeds differed in the above-mentioned activities by 20.3, 21.1, 31.1 and 13.1%, respectively. RNA/g of tissue was highest in Hereford and lowest in Limousin bulls (by about 15.3%, P ≤ 0.01). Similar differences (14.3%) were between Charolais and Limousin (P ≤ 0.01). CPS (10³ RNA/protein) was higher by 18.3% (P ≤ 0.01) in Charolais compared to the value in Simmental bulls; similar differences were between Hereford and Simmental (16.4%, P ≤ 0.01). The DNA concentration was highest in Hereford (by about 30%) compared to Charolais bulls. Protein/10³DNA ratio (mg/mg) - FCS - was higher by 33.4% in Charolais compared toHereford; RNA/DNA ratio was higher by 40.2% in Charolais compared toLimousin bulls. These results indicate the fast turnover of proteins in the groups of examined bulls and it can be concluded that in hypertrophic MLLT of bulls an anabolic decrease in degradation occurred.