CHARACTERISTICS OF FEMUR AND HUMERUS IN TUROPOLJE PIG – AN AUTOCHTHONOUS CROATIAN BREED

Since 1996, Turopolje pig breed–autochthonous Croatian breed has been in the state of renewal and protection. The size of breeding population was 137 sows and 13 boars in 2006. The aim of this study was to present some bones characteristics of femur and humerus (weight, length, circumference, diameters of diaphysis and epiphysis proximalis and distalis) of the hogs of Turopolje pig breed (T) in comparison to selected pigs, Swedish Landrace breed (SL) and Hypor (Hy) pigs. The hogs T (n=19, live weight 100.3±4.9 kg) were produced by traditional Croatian technologies of low feed input in outdoor system. The selected hogs (SL and Hy, n=62 and 53, live weight 103.3±5.3 and 104±5.8 kg) were produced by conventional technologies of fattening in large farm. Characteristics of femur and humerus at hogs T were as follows: weights 271.4 and 256.6 g, length 202.0 and 194.9 mm, diameters of epiphysis proximalis 58.3 and 67.9 mm, and epiphysis distalis 49.0 and 42.0 mm, the minimum and maximum diameters of diaphysis 19.0 and 18.9 mm and 23.0 and 25.8 mm and circumference of diaphysis 78.1 and 77.0 mm. Significantly higher values for all traits of femur and humerus except for length and circumference of diaphysis were found in hogs SL and Hy. The length of both femur and humerus were significantly higher in T than in SL and Hy pigs. The results should be the contribution to explanation of carcass composition and distribution of tissues in the carcass of Turopolje pig breed

Can the Quality of Hospitality Services Play a Role in Sustainable Equestrian Tourism in Slovenia? Mediations, Effects, and Implications

This study investigates the relationship between the quality of hospitality services and sustainable equestrian tourism development in Slovenia. The focus will be on the relations between equestrian tourism motivations, hospitality services quality, overall service quality, equestrian tourists’ satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. The target population was equestrian tourists who stayed in one of 30 tourism farms in Slovenia and used both accommodation and food and beverage services. Face-to-face surveys with convenience sampling were used for the data collection. The results show that equestrian tourism motivations are positively associated with both hospitality services quality and the overall service quality in equestrian tourism. Moreover, the overall service quality in equestrian tourism is positively related to equestrian tourists’ satisfaction, while equestrian tourists’ satisfaction is positively related to behavioral intentions. In addition, accommodation service quality and food and beverage service quality both mediate the association between equestrian tourism motivation and overall satisfaction. The study provides both theoretical and practical implications. For one thing, it fills the research gaps present in the literature. In addition, it gives practical guidelines to farmers and tourism practitioners regarding equestrian tourism development as one of the popular areas of sustainable tourism development in rural settings

Investigation of the microbial diversity of an extremely acidic, metal-rich water body (Lake Robule, Bor, Serbia)

An investigation of the microbial diversity in the extremely acidic, metal-rich Lake Robule was performed using culture-dependant and culture-independent (T-RFLP) methods. In addition, the ability of the indigenous bacteria from the lake water to leach copper from a mineral concentrate was tested. T-RFLP analysis revealed that the dominant bacteria in the lake water samples were the obligate heterotroph Acidiphilium cryptum (approximate to 50 % of the total bacteria) and the iron-oxidizing autotroph Leptospirillum ferrooxidans (approximate to 40 %) The iron/sulfur-oxidizing autotroph Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans was reported to be the most abundant bacteria in the Lake in an earlier study, but it was not detected in the present study using T-RFLP, although it was isolated on solid media and detected in enrichment (bioleaching) cultures. The presence of the two bacterial species detected by T-RFLP (L. ferrooxidans and A. cryptum) was also confirmed by cultivation on solid media. The presence and relative abundance of the bacteria inhabiting Lake Robule was explained by the physiological characteristics of the bacteria and the physico-chemical characteristics of the lake water