THE USE OF ULTRASONOGRAPHY TO PREDICT CARCASS COMPOSITION IN KIDS

The objective of this work was to analyse the use of ultrasounds to predict carcass composition in kids. Twenty kids from Serrana Portuguese local breed with a mean live weight of 12.6 ± 2.99 kg were scanned by ultrasonography to determine longissimus muscle depth (LD), subcutaneous fat thickness (SF) between the 12th and 13th vertebrae (D12), 1st and 2nd (L1) and 3rd and 4th (L3) lumbar vertebra and breast bone tissue thickness at 1st (BT1), 2nd (BT2), 3rd (S3) and 4th (BT4) sternebrae. Lambs were slaughtered after 24-h fasting and carcasses were cooled at 4 ºC for 24 hours. Carcass left side was dissected into muscle, subcutaneous fat, intermuscular fat and bone and remainder (major blood vessels, ligaments, tendons, and thick connective tissue sheets) associated with some muscles. Tissues measurements plus hot carcass weight were fitted as independent variables to predict carcass composition by stepwise regression analysis. Models developed 96.7% of muscle, 64.6% of subcutaneous fat, 95.0% of intermuscular fat, and 85.0% of bone weight variation, respectively. Ultrasound measurements were admitted in the models, improving the determination coefficient (R2) and reducing the residual standard deviation. The HCW and tissues measurements taken by ultrasounds in live kids can be used to develop models to predict carcass composition at slaughter-house level

Dynamic modelling to describe the effect of plant extracts and customised starter culture on Staphylococcus aureus survival in goat's raw milk soft cheese

This study characterises the effect of a customised starter culture (CSC) and plant extracts (lemon balm, sage, and spearmint) on Staphylococcus aureus (SA) and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) kinetics in goat’s raw milk soft cheeses. Raw milk cheeses were produced with and without the CSC and plant extracts, and analysed for pH, SA, and LAB counts throughout ripening. The pH change over maturation was described by an empirical decay function. To assess the effect of each bio-preservative on SA, dynamic Bigelow-type models were adjusted, while their effect on LAB was evaluated by classical Huang models and dynamic Huang–Cardinal models. The models showed that the bio-preservatives decreased the time necessary for a one-log reduction but generally affected the cheese pH drop and SA decay rates (logDref=0.621–1.190 days; controls: 0.796–0.996 days). Spearmint and sage extracts affected the LAB specific growth rate (0.503 and 1.749 ln CFU/g day−1; corresponding controls: 1.421 and 0.806 ln CFU/g day−1), while lemon balm showed no impact (p > 0.05). The Huang–Cardinal models uncovered different optimum specific growth rates of indigenous LAB (1.560–1.705 ln CFU/g day−1) and LAB of cheeses with CSC (0.979–1.198 ln CFU/g day−1). The models produced validate the potential of the tested bio-preservatives to reduce SA, while identifying the impact of such strategies on the fermentation process.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020 and UIDP/00690/2020) and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2020). They are also grateful to the EU PRIMA program and FCT for funding the ArtiSaneFood project (PRIMA/0001/2018). This study was supported by FCT under the scope of the strategic funding of the UIDB/04469/2020 unit and the BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020—Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. B.N. Silva acknowledges the financial support provided by FCT through the Ph.D. grant SFRH/BD/137801/2018.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Arthropod biodiversity associated to Europen sheep production systems

The rural territories linked to European sheep systems still cover wide areas and provide multiple ecosystems services although the current situation of the associated biodiversity is not fully understood. In this study the foliage arthropods (including pollinators), the vegetation cover and height, the number of flowers and plant species richness were evaluated in 9 sheep grazed lands from 5 EU countries with different livestock management strategies and dominant vegetation. The total abundance of arthropods, the abundance of Diptera and Heteroptera, sward height and plant species richness were higher in more extensive than in more intensively managed farms. The total abundance and the abundance of most of the orders were highest in mountain areas (MP) and lowest in improved pastures (IMP) whereas the total arthropod richness showed no differences and the richness of pollinators was lower in IMP than in MP (p < 0.01) and semi-natural pastures (SN, p < 0.01). The grass cover was higher in IMP than in the rest of the areas whereas forb cover was higher in SN than in IMP (p < 0.01). The plant species richness peaked in MP whereas the number of flowers showed no significant differences. Sward height correlated positively with forb cover, plant species richness, the richness of the whole arthropod community, the abundance of several orders like Araneae, Diptera or Homoptera, as well as with the richness of the pollinator community. The community composition of the total arthropod fauna (p < 0.01) and the pollinators in particular (p < 0.05) differed between management strategies and more diverse groups were linked to the areas under more extensive management. Both communities (total and pollinators) also differed in composition between the types of vegetation (p < 0.01) and less diverse assemblages with low abundant taxa were associated to IMP and SN whereas more diverse groups were linked to MP and grassland-forest (WP) in both cases. A better understanding of the flora-fauna dynamics in sheep grazed pasturelands is essential for the proper conservation of the biodiversity and other ecosystem services, as well as for the maintenance of sustainable sheep systems relying on the natural resources

Resistome and virulome diversity of foodborne pathogens isolated from artisanal food production chain of animal origin in the Mediterranean region

The aim of the present study was to investigate the resistome and irulome diversity of 43 isolates of Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica and S. aureus collected from artisanal fermented meat and dairy products and their production environments in Portugal, Spain, Italy and Morocco. After DNA extraction, genomes were sequenced, and de novo assembled. Genetic relationships among genomes were investigated by SNP calling and in silico 7- loci MLST. Genomes of the same species belonged to different ST-types demonstrating the circulation of different clones in in the same artisanal production plant. One specific clone included genomes of S. Paratyphi B belonging to ST43 and repeatedly isolated for more than a year in an artisanal sausage production plant. No genomes but three (belonging to Salmonella enterica), were predicted as multiresistant to different antimicrobials classes. Regarding virulence, genomes of L. monocytogenes belonging to ST1, ST3 and ST489, as well as genomes of S.enterica enterica (ST43, ST33, ST314, ST3667, ST1818, ST198) and ST121 S. aureus were predicted as virulent and hypervirulent. The occurrence of virulent and hypervirulent L. monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica and S. aureus strains in artisanal fermented meat and dairy productions as well as in their finished products suggests the need for a specific focus on prevention and control measures able to reduce the risk of these biological hazards in artisanal food productions

Lamb meat quality assessment by support vector machines

The correct assessment of meat quality (i.e., to fulfill the consumer's needs) is crucial element within the meat industry. Although there are several factors that affect the perception of taste, tenderness is considered the most important characteristic. In this paper, a Feature Selection procedure, based on a Sensitivity Analysis, is combined with a Support Vector Machine, in order to predict lamb meat tenderness. This real-world problem is defined in terms of two difficult regression tasks, by modeling objective (e.g. Warner-Bratzler Shear force) and subjective (e.g. human taste panel) measurements. In both cases, the proposed solution is competitive when compared with other neural (e.g. Multilayer Perceptron) and Multiple Regression approaches

THE USE OF ULTRASONOGRAPHY TO PREDICT CARCASS COMPOSITION IN KIDS

The objective of this work was to analyse the use of ultrasounds to predict carcass composition in kids. Twenty kids from Serrana Portuguese local breed with a mean live weight of 12.6 ± 2.99 kg were scanned by ultrasonography to determine longissimus muscle depth (LD), subcutaneous fat thickness (SF) between the 12th and 13th vertebrae (D12), 1st and 2nd (L1) and 3rd and 4th (L3) lumbar vertebra and breast bone tissue thickness at 1st (BT1), 2nd (BT2), 3rd (S3) and 4th (BT4) sternebrae. Lambs were slaughtered after 24-h fasting and carcasses were cooled at 4 ºC for 24 hours. Carcass left side was dissected into muscle, subcutaneous fat, intermuscular fat and bone and remainder (major blood vessels, ligaments, tendons, and thick connective tissue sheets) associated with some muscles. Tissues measurements plus hot carcass weight were fitted as independent variables to predict carcass composition by stepwise regression analysis. Models developed 96.7% of muscle, 64.6% of subcutaneous fat, 95.0% of intermuscular fat, and 85.0% of bone weight variation, respectively. Ultrasound measurements were admitted in the models, improving the determination coefficient (R2) and reducing the residual standard deviation. The HCW and tissues measurements taken by ultrasounds in live kids can be used to develop models to predict carcass composition at slaughter-house level

Modeling The Effects Of Temperature And Ph On The Resistance Of Alicyclobacillus Acidoterrestris In Conventional Heat-treated Fruit Beverages Through A Meta-analysis Approach

In this work, all publicly-accessible published findings on Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris heat resistance in fruit beverages as affected by temperature and pH were compiled. Then, study characteristics (protocols, fruit and variety, °Brix, pH, temperature, heating medium, culture medium, inactivation method, strains, etc.) were extracted from the primary studies, and some of them incorporated to a meta-analysis mixed-effects linear model based on the basic Bigelow equation describing the heat resistance parameters of this bacterium. The model estimated mean D* values (time needed for one log reduction at a temperature of 95°C and a pH of 3.5) of Alicyclobacillus in beverages of different fruits, two different concentration types, with and without bacteriocins, and with and without clarification. The zT (temperature change needed to cause one log reduction in D-values) estimated by the meta-analysis model were compared to those ('observed' zT values) reported in the primary studies, and in all cases they were within the confidence intervals of the model. The model was capable of predicting the heat resistance parameters of Alicyclobacillus in fruit beverages beyond the types available in the meta-analytical data. It is expected that the compilation of the thermal resistance of Alicyclobacillus in fruit beverages, carried out in this study, will be of utility to food quality managers in the determination or validation of the lethality of their current heat treatment processes.46541552Alberice, J.V., Funes-Huacca, M.E., Guterres, S.B., Carrilho, E., Inactivation of Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris in orange juice by saponin extracts combined with heat-treatment (2012) Int. J. 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Microbiol., 53, pp. 1537-1544Gouws, P.A., Gie, L., Pretorius, A., Dhansay, N., Isolation and identification of Alicyclobacillys acidocaldarius by 16S rDNA from mango juice and concentrate (2005) Int. J. Food Sci. Technol., 40, pp. 789-792Groenewald, W.H., Gouws, P.A., Witthuhn, R.C., Isolation, identification and typification of Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris and Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarius strains from orchard soil and the fruit processing environment in South Africa (2009) Food Microbiol., 26, pp. 71-76Hox, J.J., De Leeuw, E., Multilevel models for meta-analysis (2003) Multilevel Modelling: Methodological Advances, Issues and Applications, pp. 90-111. , Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, New Jersey, S.P. Reise, N. Duan (Eds.)Houlihan, A.J., Mantovani, H.C., Russell, J.B., Effect of pH on the activity of bovicin HC5 bacteriocin from Streptococcus bovis HC5 (2004) FEMS Microbiol. 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Preliminary study of average milking speed for the first calving cows in Simmental and Holstein breed

Mastitis is a significant disease in cattle production In order to reduce mastitis, special attention in Cattle Breeding program in Croatia has given to average milking speed (AMS). It is necessarily to achieve maximum milking speed as soon as possible and to keep it during longer period. This gives opportunity to select the animals with no extreme values of milking speed, i.e. animals with average milking speed. The objective of this study was to determine the average milking speed for first calving cows of Simmental and Holstein cattle in Croatia, and to define the environmental effects affecting this trait as well. Data consisted of 7155 test-day records of 4341 cows. Similar values of AMS mean was found for Simmental (1.56 kg/min) and Holstein breed (1.57 kg/min). The following fixed effects were tested in the model for AMS: year of calving, month of test-day control and stage of lactation, and did not show statistically significant effect. Correlations between AMS and milk traits were low

Carcass conformation and joints composition of Churra Galega Bragançana and crossbred lambs bt Suffolk and Merino Precoce sire breeds

Se evaluaron canales de corderos Churra Galega Bragançana y se cruzaron con Suffolk y Merino Precoz criados en tres sistemas de producción en el nordeste de Portugal. Los corderos machos presentaron el músculo longissimus más ancho (P < 0.05) y con menor (P < 0.05) espesor de grasa subcutánea que las hembras. Los corderos cruzados tuvieron mayores (P < 0.05) índices de compacidad y de proporciones de pierna y espalda que los Bragançanos. Los corderos cruzados Suffolk tuvieron menor proporción de grasa perirrenal que los Bragançanos y cruzados Merino. Los corderos machos tuvieron mayores (P < 0.05) proporciones de músculo, en casi todos los cortes, que las hembras. Se concluye que se pueden utilizar sementales Suffolk sobre ovejas Bragançanas para producir corderos con canales más magras, más compactas y con mejor distribución de la grasa, permitiendo sacrificios a pesos más elevados, especialmente en los sistemas de producción más intensivos. Las hembras deben ser sacrificadas con pesos más bajos para producir canales con el mismo estado de engrasamiento que los macho

Mobbing: assédio moral em contexto de enfermagem - estudo preliminar

A temática abordada neste estudo refere-se a um fenómeno que não é recente, contudo pouco estudado em Portugal: o Mobbing. Após uma pesquisa bibliográfica, verificou-se uma prevalência significativa de mobbing em contexto de trabalho em todo o mundo, nomeadamente na profissão de enfermagem. Este estudo pretende validar uma escala sobre as estratégias de mobbing: o LIPT - 60 (Leymann Inventory of Psychological Terrorization) a uma população portuguesa de enfermeiros, assim como, avaliar a existência, intensidade e frequência das mesmas nos enfermeiros em estudo. Tem como finalidade dar visibilidade ao tema e melhor compreendê-lo, contribuindo a nível preventivo, na ajuda e apoio às vítimas. No sentido de dar resposta à finalidade proposta, procedeu-se a um estudo quantitativo, de carácter correlacional, de natureza transversal. A amostra é por conveniência, constituída por enfermeiros de um hospital público, sendo o questionário o instrumento de recolha de dados escolhido. A estatística descritiva e inferencial foi utilizada para o tratamento de dados, que foram tratados em SPSS (10.0). Dos resultados obtidos, verificou-se que a maioria dos enfermeiros em estudo experimentou pelo menos uma (1) conduta de mobbing em sessenta (60), no seu local de trabalho. Os métodos utilizados pelo agressor visam desconsiderar a vítima ao lado dos seus colegas assim como limitar a sua comunicação. Dos enfermeiros que têm consciência de que já foram ou são vítimas de mobbing no seu local de trabalho, constatou-se que a duração das condutas foi inferior a 5 anos e aconteceram uma ou várias vezes por semana. A maioria aponta entre outros, a má gestão dos conflitos e a solidariedade com os outros colegas. Os enfermeiros são assediados na sua maioria por um ou vários colegas (tipo horizontal). A maioria queixa-se de insónias, ansiedade, irritabilidade, dificuldade na concentração, entre outros, o que prova que, os enfermeiros que experienciam condutas assediantes no seu local de trabalho podem ter efeitos perniciosos para a sua saúde física, mental, psicológica e social