Prevalence of Anisakis Larvae in Different Fish Species in Southern Albania: Five-Year Monitoring (2016-2020)

Anisakidae are nematodes that commonly parasitize in the coelomic cavity and viscera of several fish species. They can be found in flesh, which is why they have an important economic and public health impact. The aim of the current work was to assess the presence and prevalence of Anisakis larvae in fish species caught in the coastal area of the Karaburun Peninsula in Vlora Bay (Albania). A total of 856 of wild teleosts and 219 specimens of farmed fish were collected over a 5-year period (from 2016 to 2020). The results showed that out of a total of 1075 analyzed samples, 361 (33.58%) were parasitized with L3 larvae. In particular, only Solea vulgaris returned negative results, while Sparus aurata, Dicentrarchus labrax, and Sardinella aurita showed the lowest prevalence (4.55%, 9.17%, and 10.53%, respectively) and mean abundance (0.84, 1.19, and 0.92, respectively). Conversely, Scomber japonicus and Scomber scombrus showed the highest prevalence (74.07% and 68.00%, respectively) and mean abundance (188.24 and 249.82, respectively). The data suggest that the coastal area of the Karaburun Peninsula (southern Albania) may be a high-risk area for zoonotic diseases, and the consumption of raw or undercooked fish caught in the Vlora district could result in the acquisition of human anisakiasis. For these reasons, it is necessary to improve the surveillance plan

Spirulina as a nutrient source in diets for growing sturgeon (Acipenser baeri)

The e⁄ciency of diets with the inclusion of Spirulina for Siberian sturgeon weaning has been tested. Three isoproteic and isoenergetic diets were formulated with an increasing level of Indian strain Spirulina (SP 40%, SP 50% and SP 60%); the diets were tested against a control diet without microalgae. The results show that Spirulina inclusion improves growth and that an inclusion level of 50% gave the greatest growth rate, a better favourable feed conversion rate and the highest protein e⁄ciency. The fatty acid composition of ¢llets showed diierences between the experimental and control diets: an increase in the Spirulina level induces increases in palmitic and linoleic acids and a decrease in the myristic acid. The control diet was characterized by high levels of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids. At the end of the experiment, statistical diierences appeared in the fatty acid pro¢le of the sturgeon ¢llet, mainly concerning high content of monounsaturated fatty acid and polyunsaturated fatty acid in the sturgeon ¢llets. If the problems related to the high production costs are solved, Spirulina could prove a good partial substitute ¢sh meal

Dietary supplementation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids: Effects on reproductive and productive performance and meat quality in rabbit breeding

Rabbit breeding has many critical aspects related to reproduction, production, and animal welfare, which reduce its profitability as well as consumer attractiveness. Dietary supplementation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) seems to be a good nutritional strategy to improve several aspects of rabbit breeding, enhance animal welfare and produce a new functional food considered healthy for human consumption. For this reason, the main available scientific research regarding the physiological effects of n-3 PUFA rich products supplemented to the rabbit diet will be reviewed. In particular, consequences on the reproductive performances of both doe and buck, the productive parameters, and the meat quality will be analysed

Ante-mortem and Post-mortem Inspection and Relationship between Findings in a North Albanian Pig Slaughterhouse

Simple Summary In European Union abattoirs, the safety of meat is dependent on the favorable opinion from an official veterinarian, in accordance with the current legislation. From this perspective, the feedback generated from the ante-mortem visit and the post-mortem inspection can be investigated to control the health and welfare conditions of the animals in the pre-slaughter phases. From this perspective, we evaluated the ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection outcomes of slaughtered pigs in northern Albania and correlated the results in order to gain insight into the conditions and injuries of pigs slaughtered outside the European context and to extend knowledge on the possible relationship between ante-mortem and post-mortem relief. Dyspnea and tail, skin, and ear lesions were the most frequently observed conditions before slaughter, while pleuritis, pneumonia, liver alterations, white spots on the liver, and pericarditis were the most frequent lesions after slaughter. A significant increase in the total number of post-mortem findings was also observed as the number of ante-mortem findings increased. Overall, the prevalence of the findings observed in this study falls within the broad range of the data in the literature, but additional information should be collected during meat inspection so as to better understand the relationship between ante- and post-mortem outcomes. In June 2014, Albania was granted EU candidate status, thus starting a process of compliance with the membership criteria. In this context, a modern meat inspection approach in line with the European legislation was applied to a pig slaughterhouse in northern Albania in order to investigate the ante-mortem (AM) and post-mortem (PM) conditions and the relationship between these findings. For this purpose, 3930 pigs divided into 35 batches were evaluated over a 3-month period. The most frequent AM conditions recorded were tail lesions and dyspnea (9.1%), followed by skin (8.9%) and ear lesions (8.5%), while in the PM inspections, pleuritis was the most frequently observed condition (10.2%), followed by pneumonia (8.5%), liver alterations (5.7%), milk spot liver (3.8%), and pericarditis (3.3%). With the exception of liver alterations, the other PM lesions mentioned were positively associated with lesions on the ears (OR = 1.036; p < 0.001) and skin (OR = 1.026; p = 0.011) and dyspnea (OR = 1.021; p = 0.005), confirming the link between these variables and the health and welfare conditions of pigs on farms. Overall, the evidence that emerged from this Albanian slaughterhouse can be considered in line with other European contexts, especially in light of the considerable variability in the data present in the literature

Differential effects of dietary fatty acids on the accumulation of arachidonic acid and its metabolic conversion through the cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase in platelets and vascular tissue

Semisynthetic diets containing either corn oil (CO) or butter (B) (11 and 2.2 en % as linoleic acid, respectively) were fed to male rabbits for periods of 3 weeks and 3 months. The CO diet, in respect to the B diet, induced higher levels of linoleic acid (LA) and lower levels of arachidonic acid (AA) in platelet phospholipids, lower levels of AA in aortic phosphatidylinositol (PI) and accumulation of both LA and AA in liver lipids. The thresholds for aggregation with AA, but not with collagen, were higher in the CO group and the formation of thromboxane B2 (TXB2) from [14C] AA, but not from endogenous substrate after collagen stimulation, was lower in the same group. Formation of PGE2-like material by incubated aortas was higher in the B group. In the CO group, platelet cyclooxygenase appeared to be selectively depressed. The correlations among diet-induced fatty acid changes in platelet and aortic lipids, platelet aggregation and thromboxane and prostacyclin formation are discussed

Validation and optimization of anthropometric formulae for arm muscle circumference (AMC) calculation

Arm muscle circumference (AMC) was measured in 39 patients by two different methods. The first method, described by Jelliffe, involves measuring a single skinfold at the triceps. The second method, developed by P.R.M. Jones, measured both triceps and biceps skinfolds. The mathematical assumptions of each method are discussed. AMC was constantly and significantly (P<0.001) underestimated when calculated utilizing the triceps skinfold only. The implications of this error are discussed and an equation is formulated to correct for the understimation

Soybean-protein diet in the treatment of type-II hyperlipoproteinaemia

A soybean textured protein induced a 14% decrease of plasma-cholesterol levels after two weeks and 21% after three when substituted for animal proteins in a group of 20 patients with type-II hyperlipoprotein\ue6mia. Comparison of soybean diet with a standard low-lipid diet in the same patients, according to a cross-over protocol, indicated that this hypocholesterol\ue6mic effect was not due to differences in the lipid composition of the two diets. The hypothesis that a soy protein has a hypocholesterol\ue6mic action perse is supported by the results of a subsequent experiment in 8 type-II patients in whom the addition of cholesterol (500 mg/day) to soy protein did not modify the hypocholesterol\ue6mic response

An experimental model for type V hyperlipoproteinemia: combined tween and cholesterol treatment in rabbits

Combined treatment with oral cholesterol (1 g/day) and i.v. Tween 80 (three times per week) in rabbits, induces a marked parenchymal thesaurismosis with hyperchylomicronemia. Plasma cholesterol and triglyceride levels do not differ from those of rabbits treated with cholesterol only. Rabbits with the combined treatment show no signs of atherosclerosis, but termination of Tween administration elicits a very severe atheromatosis. Similarities of these experimental observations with the clinical findings of Fredrickson's type V disease, where hyperchylomicronemia is not accompanied by atherosclerosis, indicate that this is a useful experimental model for the rare clinical diseas

Diet, lipids and lipoproteins in patients with peripheral vascular disease

Two hundred and eight patients (age range: 26-69 yr) had an angiographic diagnosis of atherosclerotic disease (AD); they were age and sex matched with a control inpatient population. Evaluation of living and dietary habits, with the aid of appropriate computerized clinical charts, showed that AD patients had a significantly higher consumption of cigarettes, carbohydrates and alcohol than controls. In particular, 45.5 per cent of the patients vs 12.5 per cent of controls smoked more than 20 cigarettes daily; 28 per cent vs 16 per cent consumed more than 40 grams of sugar per day; and 54.5 per cent vs 21.5 per cent drank more than 500 ml of wine daily; these and other differences were statistically significant. Type IV hyperlipoproteinemia was almost three times as frequent among patients than among controls (46 per cent vs 18 per cent). Triglyceride levels were significantly more elevated in all age groups considered, while cholesterol levels were significantly higher only among patients of the 50-59 yr age group. Thirteen per cent of patients vs 5 per cent of controls had hyperuricemia. The findings of an increased carbohydrate and alcohol consumption, together with hypertriglyceridemia, may explain the higher incidence of PVD in Italy compared to the United States