Radiological Investigation of Guinea Pig (Cavia porcellus) Lumbar Vertebral Morphology - A Biomechanical Aspect

Numerous studies are based on the use of animal models; however, in bipedal andtetrapedal organisms there are significant differences in the biomechanics of the spinalcolumn, which can significantly impair the quality and applicability of the resultsobtained. The aim of this study is to obtain basic data on the morphometric parametersof guinea pig lumbar vertebrae, the analysis of which will indicate the location of thebiggest mechanical load. The lumbar vertebra morphometry test was performed bymeans of X-ray imageing obtained from 12 guinea pigs, with equal numbers of malesand females. The results of investigations show that guinea pig lumbar vertebrae havean irregular trapezoid geometry and that the measured body lengths of L4 and L5 arethe largest. The height parameters determined in the medial level showed that L4 hadthe most concave body. Moreover, L4 had the greatest depth of the spinal canal at thesame measurement level. Consequently, in guinea pigs, the greatest load is in the L4region, unlike in humans, where, due to the axial load of the spinal column, the highestpressure is exerted on the last lumbar vertebrae

Spoilage potential of pasteurized milk microbiota

The aim of this study was to evaluate the spoilage patterns of pasteurized milk microbiota. Additionally, the microbiological quality of raw and pasteurized milk regarding total aerobic and psychrotrophic counts was assessed. Samples were collected from two dairies at the milk reception point and different sites along pasteurized milk production line. Total aerobic and psychrotrophic counts in raw milk samples from Dairy 1 and 2 were at similar levels (approximately 6-7 log CFU/ml). The pasteurization step significantly reduced the total mesophilic bacteria counts. Samples from both dairies did not contain a detectable level of culturable psychrotrophic bacteria before the filling. However, psychrotrophic count in milk packages from Dairy 1 increased from 0.66±0.26 log CFU/ml to 3.76±0.19 at the end of the shelf-life. Forty-eight isolates with the different colony morphology selected from plate-count agar plates were screened for spoilage potential under laboratory conditions. The most prominent enzymatic trait (64.58% isolates) was proteolytic activity. Out of 17 enzymatically active isolates, 10 isolates were successfully identified as following: Bacillus pumilus (n=3), Bacillus licheniformis (n=2), Leifsonia aquatica (n=2), Pseudomonas oryzihabitans (n=2) and Bacillus megaterium (n=1). More stringent hygiene is required at each step of the dairy production chain to achieve a high microbiological quality of raw and pasteurized milk and to control spoilage microbiota.Book of Proceeding