Rangelands in the Mediterranean Zone of Croatia

Rangelands dominate the landscape of the Mediterranean part of Croatia along the Adriatic coastline, occupying 83% of the agricultural land (1.7 million ha) and 40% of the entire country. The proportion of rangelands is considerably higher in the Mediterranean littoral than in other ecological regions of Croatia. Sheep and goats are widespread in the region, comprising 76% of total sheep and goat numbers in Croatia. However, in comparison to other regions of Croatia, livestock production in the Mediterranean zone is not well developed. Continuous grazing begun too early in the growing season has caused substantial rangeland degradation and a decline from potential productivity. The improvement strategy is to rely on controlled grazing systems, in which priority is given to restricting grazing pressure in the early spring, improving animal distribution and introducing rotational grazing practices. The more difficult task is to regulate animal numbers. Although the general climate of southern Croatia is Mediterranean, there is a gradient inland from the coast. Dry summer stress, combined with a long history of man\u27s influence on the natural vegetation, has resulted in the formation of several contrasting rangeland types. The main types are pasture vegetation, shrublands (maquis and garrigues) and forested ranges (Horvatic, 1975)

Some Slaughter and Carcass Traits of the Lambs of Dalmatian Pramenka Reared in Three Different Fattening Systems

In order to determine the impact of different fattening system (I - milk, pasture; II - indoors, milk, grains, III - milk, pasture, concentrate) on slaughter value and carcass quality of the lambs of Dalmatian Pramenka, 18 lambs (100 ± 5 days old), 6 in each group, were slaughtered. Lambs of one group were from the same flock and selected by birth weight (2.00 ± 0.20 kg). After slaughtering and cutting the carcasses into halves, in order to determine the share of legs and shoulders as well as certain tissues in the halves, the legs and shoulders were separated from the halves and total dissection was made. The significant differences (P<0.05) of slaughter weight (I - 21.17 kg, II - 23.25 kg, III - 26.25 kg) and hot carcass weight (I - 9.98 kg, II - 11.92 kg, III - 12.92 kg) among three groups were found. The legs II (1.65 kg) and III (1.71 kg) were significantly heavier (P<0.001) than legs I (1.32 kg), as well as shoulders (I - 0.52 kg, II - 0.65 kg, III - 0.69 kg; P<0.01). Total dissection of the halves established these tissues ratio: muscle 51.25 %, fat 10.18 %, connective 13.93%, bone 23.04% and other tissues 2.32%. The biggest quantity of muscle tissue was found in halves III (3.27 kg) what was more (P<0.05) than in halves II (2.83 kg) and I (2.50 kg). However, the biggest quantity of fat was found in halves II (0.85 kg) what was more (P<0.01) than in halves I (0.33 kg) and III (0.52 kg). Therefore, the addition of concentrate in pasture fattening system (III) increased the muscularity, without significantly increasing the amount of fat in the lamb carcass

Materials and Textile Architecture Analyses for Mechanical Counter-Pressure Space Suits using Active Materials

Mechanical counter-pressure (MCP) space suits have the potential to improve the mobility of astronauts as they conduct planetary exploration activities. MCP suits differ from traditional gas-pressurized space suits by applying surface pressure to the wearer using tight-fitting materials rather than pressurized gas, and represent a fundamental change in space suit design. However, the underlying technologies required to provide uniform compression in a MCP garment at sufficient pressures for space exploration have not yet been perfected, and donning and doffing a MCP suit remains a significant challenge. This research effort focuses on the novel use of active material technologies to produce a garment with controllable compression capabilities (up to 30 kPa) to address these problems. We provide a comparative study of active materials and textile architectures for MCP applications; concept active material compression textiles to be developed and tested based on these analyses; and preliminary biaxial braid compression garment modeling results.United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (OCT Space Technology Research Fellowship Grant NNX11AM62H)MIT-Portugal Progra

A Novel Biomimetic Tool for Assessing Vitamin K Status Based on Molecularly Imprinted Polymers

Vitamin K was originally discovered as a cofactor required to activate clotting factors and has recently been shown to play a key role in the regulation of soft tissue calcification. This property of vitamin K has led to an increased interest in novel methods for accurate vitamin K detection. Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPs) could offer a solution, as they have been used as synthetic receptors in a large variety of biomimetic sensors for the detection of similar molecules over the past few decades, because of their robust nature and remarkable selectivity. In this article, the authors introduce a novel imprinting approach to create a MIP that is able to selectively rebind vitamin K 1. As the native structure of the vitamin does not allow for imprinting, an alternative imprinting strategy was developed, using the synthetic compound menadione (vitamin K 3) as a template. Target rebinding was analyzed by means of UV-visible (UV-VIS) spectroscopy and two custom-made thermal readout techniques. This analysis reveals that the MIP-based sensor reacts to an increasing concentration of both menadione and vitamin K 1. The Limit of Detection (LoD) for both compounds was established at 700 nM for the Heat Transfer Method (HTM), while the optimized readout approach, Thermal Wave Transport Analysis (TWTA), displayed an increased sensitivity with a LoD of 200 nM. The sensor seems to react to a lesser extent to Vitamin E, the analogue under study. To further demonstrate its potential application in biochemical research, the sensor was used to measure the absorption of vitamin K in blood serum after taking vitamin K supplements. By employing a gradual enrichment strategy, the sensor was able to detect the difference between baseline and peak absorption samples and was able to quantify the vitamin K concentration in good agreement with a validation experiment using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). In this way, the authors provide a first proof of principle for a low-cost, straightforward, and label-free vitamin K sensor

Sheep and Goat Preference for and Nutritional Value of Mediterranean Maquis Shrubs

The objective of this study was to evaluate the nutritive value, intake and preferences of sheep and goats for the dominant six shrubs of the holly oak maquis-type shrublands in Croatia. The experimental sheep (n = 12, mean weight 28.5 kg) were a local Croatian mixed breed. The experimental goats (n = 12, mean weight 13.4 kg) were a mixture of domestic goats crossed with Saanen and Alpine breeds. Sheep and goats differed (P \u3c 0.01) in consumption of almost all of the shrubs. Goats had higher intakes (g/kg B.W., P \u3c 0.01) than sheep of each shrub except Quercus ilex. In Trial 1, shrub intake for goats ranged from 17.7 ± 0.72 g/kg B.W. for Pistacia lentiscus to 33.1 ± 1.40 g/kg B.W. for Erica multiflora. Goats ate more Arbutus unedo (P = 0.004; 19.9 g/kg versus 14.2 g/kg B.W., respectively); E. multiflora (33.1 g/kg versus 21.9 g/kg B.W., respectively) and Pistacia lenticus (17.2 g/kg versus 10.6 g/kg B.W., respectively) than did sheep. Goats ate twice as much Juniperus phoeniceae (P = 0.002) as did sheep (21.0 g/kg versus 10.9 g/kg B.W.), and also ate more Viburnum tinus (P = 0.02) than did sheep (22.6 g/kg versus 13.9 g/kg B.W.). There was a day × treatment interaction (P = 0.001), with goats eating more A. unedo, E. multiflora, J. phoeniceae, P. lenticus and V. tinus than sheep. In Trial 2, the rank order of preference (highest to least) for goats were Q. ilex, E. multiflora, V. tinus, A. unedo, J. phoeniceae and P. lentiscus. The rank order by sheep was similar: Q. ilex, E. multiflora, V. tinus, J. phoeniceae, P. lentiscus and A. unedo. Overall, goats ate 50.5 g/kg B.W. of shrubs per day, while sheep averaged 26.7 g/kg B.W. each day. Goats are better suited to graze Mediterranean maquis in terms of potential shrub use

The Effect of Polyethylene Glycol on Intake of Mediterranean Shrubs by Sheep and Goats

Poor nutritional quality and increased content of secondary compounds can reduce consumption of Mediterranean shrubs by herbivores. In 2 sequential trials, we examined the effect of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and number of shrub species offered on daily intake of Mediterranean shrubs by 12 sheep and 12 goats. The PEG (25 g) was fed to experimental animals with barley. In trial 1 (6 shrubs), goats ate more (P = 0.0008) daily total shrub biomass than did sheep (60.7 vs. 45.9 ± 2.6 g/kg of BW). There was a trend (P = 0.08) toward a positive PEG effect on total shrub intake, with PEG-supplemented animals consuming more total shrubs than controls (56.7 vs. 50.0 ± 2.6 g/kg of BW). Trial 2 (using 3 shrubs) was a continuation of trial 1, except that animals were given less barley and treatment animals were given more PEG (50 g). Both sheep and goats showed a numerical decrease in total shrub intake from trial 1 to trial 2. Sheep receiving PEG ate more (P = 0.002) total shrubs than did controls, but no PEG effect was found for goats. Thus, PEG had a greater influence on sheep than goats when only 3 shrubs were offered, a result that may be related to the fact that fewer shrubs with complementary secondary compounds were offered and that goats appear to have a greater ability to consume and detoxify secondary compounds from Mediterranean shrubs. Overall, as the number and diversity of shrubs offered increased, supplemental PEG had less effect on increasing intake for both goats and sheep

Supplemental Barley and CharcoaI Increase Intake of Sagebrush by Lambs

We evaluated the influence of supplemental barley and activated charcoal on the intake of sagebrush by lambs in individual pens. In 3 experiments, lambs were fed sagebrush (harvested and chopped to 2–3 cm) during the morning; they were fed a basal diet of alfalfa pellets in the afternoon. In the first experiment, lambs supplemented with activated charcoal + barley ate more A. tridentata ssp. vaseyana than lambs supplemented with barley (304 vs. 248 g; P = .071). A second set of experiments, which consisted of 3 trials, determined the effects of activated charcoal, barley, and subspecies of sagebrush on intake of sagebrush. Lambs supplemented with activated charcoal + barley ate more A. tridentata ssp. vaseyana (Trial 1; 292 vs. 225 g; P = .086), and more A. tridentata ssp. tridentata (Trial 2; 371 vs. 255 g; P = .031) than lambs supplemented with barley. In Trial 3, lambs supplemented with barley ate more sagebrush than lambs that were not supplemented (480 vs. 318 g; P = .0002). A third set of experiments compared activated charcoal + barley, barley, and no supplement in 2 trials. In Trial 1, lambs supplemented with activated charcoal + barley or barley generally ate more A. tridentata ssp. vaseyana than lambs not supplemented (P = .017). In Trial 2, lambs supplemented with activated charcoal + barley ate slightly more A. tridentata ssp. vaseyana than lambs supplemented with barley, and they ate substantially more than lambs not supplemented (P = .032). Collectively, the results suggest that energy from supplemental barley increased intake of sagebrush by lambs fed a basal ration of alfalfa pellets which are high in protein, and that activated charcoal played a minor role in further increasing intake of sagebrush

The influence of selective vitamin D receptor activator paricalcitol on cardiovascular system and cardiorenal protection

Darko Duplancic,1 Marijan Cesarik,2 Nikola Kolja Poljak,3 Maja Radman,4 Vedran Kovacic,5 Josipa Radic,5 Veljko Rogosic61Department of Cardiology, School of Medicine in Split, University Hospital Split, Split, Croatia; 2Department for Neurology, County General Hospital Pozega, Pozega, Croatia; 3Department of Otorhinolaryngology, 4Department of Endocrinology, 5Department of Nephrology, 6Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine in Split, University Hospital Split, Split, CroatiaAbstract: The ubiquitous distribution of vitamin D receptors in the human body is responsible for the pleiotropic effects of vitamin D-receptor activation. We discuss the possible beneficial effects of a selective activator of vitamin D receptor, paricalcitol, on the cardiovascular system in chronic heart failure patients and chronic kidney patients, in light of new trials. Paricalcitol should provide additional clinical benefits over the standard treatment for chronic kidney and heart failure, especially in cases of cardiorenal syndrome.Keywords: vitamin D deficiency, cardiovascular system, albuminuria, inflammatio