Skatole pattern during the growth period 50 to 100 kg liveweight in entire male pigs of the crossbreed combinations YDxLYD and HxLYD kept in groups of entire male pigs or in groups with dominant female pigs

1. Dominant females do not decrease the skatole and androstenone concentration in entire male pigs being dominated during the growth period from 50-100 kg liveweight (see fig. 1 and 3). 2. The amount of entire male pigs having higher skatole concentrations in blood – corresponding to skatole in backfat > 0.15 µg/g – are surprisingly high at 50 kg and 75 kg liveweight compared to 100 kg (10, 9 and 13 entire male pigs). 3. Furthermore it is not the same pigs having high skatole concentrations during the period from 50 over 75 to 100 kg liveweight. 4. The crossbreed HxLYD had significant higher skatole concentration in backfat at slaughter (100 kg liveweight) compared to the crossbreed YDxLYD (P<0.05)(see fig. 2). However, there was no significant difference in androstenone concentration in backfat at 100 kg liveweight between the 2 crossbreeds (see fig. 3)

Effect of feeding fermentable fibrerich feedstuffs on meat quality with emphasis on chemical and sensory boar taint in entire male and female pigs

Skatole, androstenone and other compounds such as indole cause boar taint in entire male pork. However, female pigs also produce skatole and indole. The purpose of this experiment was to minimise boar taint and increase overall impression of sensory quality by feeding entire male and female pigs with fibrerich feedstuffs. The pigs have been fed three organic diets for either 1 or 2 weeks prior to slaughter of which two diets contained different fermentable fibre-rich feedstuffs – 10–13.3% dried chicory roots or 25% blue lupines. These two treatments were compared with pigs fed with an organic control diet for either 1 or 2 weeks prior to slaughter. Lupines significantly reduced skatole in blood and backfat for both genders after 1 week. Moreover, lupines showed negative impact on growth rate and feed conversion whilst chicory showed no significant differences in this respect. However, the indole concentration was significantly lower in chicory than lupine fed pigs. From a sensory perspective, chicory and lupine feeding reduced boar taint since odour and flavour of manure related to skatole and urine associated to androstenone were minimised. The level of boar taint in the entire male pigs was most effectively reduced after 14 days by both fibre-rich feeds while lupine had the largest influence on ‘‘boar” taint reduction in female pigs

On the sizes of z>2 Damped Lyman-alpha Absorbing Galaxies

Recently, the number of detected galaxy counterparts of z > 2 Damped Lyman-alpha Absorbers in QSO spectra has increased substantially so that we today have a sample of 10 detections. M{\o}ller et al. in 2004 made the prediction, based on a hint of a luminosity-metallicity relation for DLAs, that HI size should increase with increasing metallicity. In this paper we investigate the distribution of impact parameter and metallicity that would result from the correlation between galaxy size and metallicity. We compare our observations with simulated data sets given the relation of size and metallicity. The observed sample presented here supports the metallicity-size prediction: The present sample of DLA galaxies is consistent with the model distribution. Our data also show a strong relation between impact parameter and column density of HI. We furthermore compare the observations with several numerical simulations and demonstrate that the observations support a scenario where the relation between size and metallicity is driven by feedback mechanisms controlling the star-formation efficiency and outflow of enriched gas.Comment: Accepted for publishing in MNRAS lette

Effekt av driftsmåte og engalder på kvalitet av kumelk

2007-2008 ble det gjennomført et feltstudie med målsetningen å finne sammenheng mellom engdriftsystem, produksjonssystem og melkekvalitet. Ni gårder med økologisk melkeproduksjon basert på kortvarig eng (KØ) ble paret med 9 gårder med konvensjonell melkeproduksjon basert på kortvarig eng (KK) og 7 gårder med økologisk melkeproduksjon basert på langvarig eng (LØ) ble paret med 7 gårder med konvensjonell melkeproduksjon basert på langvarig eng (LK). Fôrprøver og melkeprøver ble samlet inn annenhver måned. Botanisk sammensetning ble estimert før første slått i 2007. I tillegg ble data fra kukontrollen analysert. Melkeprøvene ble blant annet analysert for fettsyresammensetning, innhold av vitaminer, innhold av selen og innhold av fytoøstrogener. På de konvensjonelle gårdene var det grasarter som dominerte. På de økologiske gårdene var det i tillegg til grasarter en betydelig andel belgvekster (KØ) og urter (LØ). Kvalitetsegenskapene hos melk ble i større grad påvirket av produksjonssystem (økologisk eller konvensjonelt) enn av engdyrkingssystem (kortvarig eller langvarig eng). Det antas at hovedfaktorene var kraftfôrmengde, kraftfôrets innhold av lipider og botanisk sammensetning av grovfôre

Determining the fraction of reddened quasars in COSMOS with multiple selection techniques from X-ray to radio wavelengths

The sub-population of quasars reddened by intrinsic or intervening clouds of dust are known to be underrepresented in optical quasar surveys. By defining a complete parent sample of the brightest and spatially unresolved quasars in the COSMOS field, we quantify to which extent this sub-population is fundamental to our understanding of the true population of quasars. By using the available multiwavelength data of various surveys in the COSMOS field, we built a parent sample of 33 quasars brighter than $J=20$ mag, identified by reliable X-ray to radio wavelength selection techniques. Spectroscopic follow-up with the NOT/ALFOSC was carried out for four candidate quasars that had not been targeted previously to obtain a 100\% redshift completeness of the sample. The population of high $A_V$ quasars (HAQs), a specific sub-population of quasars selected from optical/near-infrared photometry, is found to contribute $21\%^{+9}_{-5}$ of the parent sample. The full population of bright spatially unresolved quasars represented by our parent sample consists of $39\%^{+9}_{-8}$ reddened quasars defined by having $A_V>0.1$, and $21\%^{+9}_{-5}$ of the sample having $E(B-V)>0.1$ assuming the extinction curve of the Small Magellanic Cloud. We show that the HAQ selection works well for selecting reddened quasars, but some are missed because their optical spectra are too blue to pass the $g-r$ color cut in the HAQ selection. This is either due to a low degree of dust reddening or anomalous spectra. We find that the fraction of quasars with contributing light from the host galaxy is most dominant at $z \lesssim 1$. At higher redshifts the population of spatially unresolved quasars selected by our parent sample is found to be representative of the full population at $J<20$ mag. This work quantifies the bias against reddened quasars in studies that are based solely on optical surveys.Comment: 22 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&A. The ArXiv abstract has been shortened for it to be printabl

Fatty acid characterization of Finnish organic milk - a farm survey

Bulk-tank milk samples were collected in January (2008) from 45 organic farms in Eastern Finland to examine their milk quality during winter feeding

A novel mass spectrometric strategy "bEMAP" reveals Extensive O-linked protein glycosylation in Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli

© The Author(s) 2016. The attachment of sugars to proteins via side-chain oxygen atoms (O-linked glycosylation) is seen in all three domains of life. However, a lack of widely-applicable analytical tools has restricted the study of this process, particularly in bacteria. In E. coli, only four O-linked glycoproteins have previously been characterized. Here we present a glycoproteomics technique, termed BEMAP, which is based on the beta-elimination of O-linked glycans followed by Michael-addition of a phosphonic acid derivative, and subsequent titanium dioxide enrichment. This strategy allows site-specific mass-spectrometric identification of proteins with O-linked glycan modifications in a complex biological sample. Using BEMAP we identified cell surface-associated and membrane vesicle glycoproteins from Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) and non-pathogenic E. coli K-12. We identified 618 glycosylated Serine and Threonine residues mapping to 140 proteins in ETEC, including several known virulence factors, and 34 in E. coli K-12. The two strains had 32 glycoproteins in common. Remarkably, the majority of the ETEC glycoproteins were conserved in both strains but nevertheless were only glycosylated in the pathogen. Therefore, bacterial O-linked glycosylation is much more extensive than previously thought, and is especially important to the pathogen