The use of seaweed from the Galician coast as a mineral supplement in organic dairy cattle

This study was designed to assess the value of seaweeds from the Galician coast as a source of minerals (especially iodine (I) but also other micro-minerals) in organic dairy cattle. It was conducted in an organic dairy farm in the Lugo province that typically represents the organic milk production in NW Spain. The animal’s diet consisted mainly of local forage (at pasture or as hay and silage in the winter) and 5 kg of purchased concentrate/day per animal (representing 23.5% of feed intake). Based on the mineral composition of the diet, the physiological requirements and the EU maximum authorised levels in feed, a supplement composed by Sea Lettuce (Ulva rigida) (as flakes, 80%), Japanese Wireweed (Sargasum muticum) (flakes, 17.5%) and Furbelows (Saccorhiza polyschides) (powder, 2.5%) was formulated to give 100 g/animal per day. Sixteen Holstein Friesian lactating cows were randomly selected and assigned to the control (n=8) and algae-supplemented groups (n=8). Both groups had exactly the same feeding and management with the exception of the algae supplement, which was mixed with the concentrate feed and given to the animals at their morning milking for 10 weeks. Heparinised blood (for plasma analysis) and milk samples were collected at 2-week intervals and analysed for toxic and trace element concentrations by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry or inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. The algae supplement significantly improved the animals’ mineral status, particularly I and selenium that were low on the farm. However, the effect of the algae supplement on the molybdenum status in cattle needs further investigation because of its great relevance on copper metabolism in ruminants. The I supply deserves special attention, since this element is at a very high concentration in brown-algae species and it is excreted in the milk proportionally to its concentration in plasma concentrations (mean±s.e. in the algae-supplemented and control groups were 268±54 and 180±42 µg/l, respectively)This work was supported by the Spanish Government (projectcode AGL2010-21026) and Centro Tecnológico Agroalimentario de Lugo (CETAL)S

Measuring haemolysis in cattle serum by direct UV–VIS and RGB digital image-based methods

A simple, rapid procedure is required for the routine detection and quantification of haemolysis, one of the main sources of unreliable results in serum analysis. In this study, we compared two different approaches for the rapid determination of haemolysis in cattle serum. The first consisted of estimating haemolysis via a simple direct ultraviolet–visible (UV–VIS) spectrophotometric measurement of serum samples. The second involved analysis of red, green, blue (RGB) colour data extracted from digital images of serum samples and relating the haemoglobin (Hb) content by means of both univariate (R, G, B and intensity separately) and multivariate calibrations (R, G, B and intensity jointly) using partial least squares regression and artificial neural networks. The direct UV–VIS analysis and RGB-multivariate analysis using neural network methods were both appropriate for evaluating haemolysis in serum cattle samples. The procedures displayed good accuracy (mean recoveries of 100.7 and 102.1%, respectively), adequate precision (with coefficients of variation from 0.21 to 2.68%), limit of detection (0.14 and 0.21 g L–1, respectively), and linearity of up to 10 g L–S

The main factors affecting somatic cell count in organic dairy farming

Preventive management practices are essential for maintaining acceptable udder health status, especially in organic farming, in which the use of antimicrobials is restricted. The contribution of the following factors to somatic cell count (SCC) was assessed in 788 cows from 15 organically reared herds in northern Spain: milk production, lactation number, treatments applied, selective dry cow therapy and teat dipping routines. The data were examined by linear logistic regression. Lactation number was the main factor affecting logSCC (β= 0.339, p<0.001) followed in order of importance by milk production (β= -0.205, p<0.001), use of alternative treatments (β=0.153, p<0.001), selective dry cow therapy (β=0.120, p=0.005) and teat dipping routines (β=-0.076, p=0.028). However, the model only explained 17.0% of the total variation in SCC. This variable depends on factors other than those considered here, amongst which udder infection is probably one of the most important. Nonetheless, the study findings enabled us to determine the contribution of the main management factors that should be taken into account to improve udder health status on organic farms.Spanish Government (AGL2010-21026); Centro Tecnológico Agroalimentario de Lugo, Spain (CETAL); IO is in receipt of a FPU fellowship (Ref. FPU14/01473) from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and SportsS

Resolving the Problem of Intelligent Learning Content in Learning Management Systems

Current e-learning standardization initiatives have put much effort into easing interoperability between systems and the reusability of contents. For this to be possible, one of the most relevant areas is the definition of a run-time environment, which allows Learning Management Systems to launch, track and communicate with learning objects. However, when dealing with intelligent content, these environments show important restrictions. In this article, we study these restrictions, comparing several standardized run-time environments with nonstandardized solutions that aim to overcome these constraints

Evaluation of trace element status of organic dairy cattle

The present study aimed to evaluate trace mineral status of organic dairy herds in northern Spain and the sources of minerals in different types of feed. Blood samples from organic and conventional dairy cattle and feed samples from the respective farms were analysed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to determine the concentrations of the essential trace elements (cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), iodine (I), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni), selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn)) and toxic trace elements (arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb)). Overall, no differences between organic and conventional farms were detected in serum concentrations of essential and toxic trace elements (except for higher concentrations of Cd on the organic farms), although a high level of inter-farm variation was detected in the organic systems, indicating that organic production greatly depends on the specific local conditions. The dietary concentrations of the essential trace elements I, Cu, Se and Zn were significantly higher in the conventional than in the organic systems, which can be attributed to the high concentration of these minerals in the concentrate feed. No differences in the concentrations of trace minerals were found in the other types of feed. Multivariate chemometric analysis was conducted to determine the contribution of different feed sources to the trace element status of the cattle. Concentrate samples were mainly associated with Co, Cu, I, Se and Zn (i.e. with the elements supplemented in this type of feed). However, pasture and grass silage were associated with soil-derived elements (As, Cr, Fe and Pb) which cattle may thus ingest during grazingThis study was supported by the Spanish Government (project code AGL2010-21026). Inmaculada Orjales is in receipt of a FPU fellowship (Ref. FPU14/01473) from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and SportsS

Determination of Essential and Toxic Elements in Cattle Blood: Serum vs Plasma

This study was designed to evaluate the influence of type of blood sample (serum or plasma) on essential and toxic element analysis in cattle. Paired plasma and serum samples (n = 20) were acid digested, and the concentrations of As, B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Li, Mg, Mn. Mo, Ni, P, Pb, Sb, Se, Sr and Zn were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The study findings indicate that plasma and serum samples appear suitable and interchangeable for the determination of most of the essential and toxic elements in blood in cattle. The only exceptions are Cu and Se, the concentrations of which were significantly lower (40.9 and 29.9% respectively) in serum than in plasma. Some of the Cu in blood samples from bovine ruminants is known to be sequestered during clotting. However, further research on Se in ruminants and other animal species is warranted. Finally, the significantly higher Mn (9.9%) concentrations in serum than in plasma may have been caused by haemolysis of some samples. Special attention should be paid to preventing haemolysis of samples during collection and processing, in order to prevent overestimation of elements present at high concentrations inside erythrocytes (i.e., Fe, Mn and Zn)This study was supported by the Spanish Government (project code AGL2010-21026). The authors thank the staff of Rede de Infraestruturas de Apoio á Investigación e Desenvolvemento Tecnolóxico (RIAIDT) for analysing the samplesS

Inclusión de TIC para la colaboración creativa en el descubrimiento de algoritmos

El trabajo se enmarca en una línea de investigación del Proyecto UBATIC “Innovación Pedagógica vía TIC para la Mejora de la Calidad Educativa en la FIUBA”, acreditado por Resolución (CS) 3822/2011. Se presenta el ensayo de una experiencia colaborativa con TIC que intenta facilitar a los alumnos de las ingenierías no informáticas el descubrimiento de algoritmos para el aprendizaje de la solución de problemas con la computadora. Se explora la expansión de las fronteras del aula de Computación mediante la utilización del software libre Google Drive (disponible en la Web para crear documentos en línea, con la posibilidad de colaborar en grupo) y del recurso Wiki (de la plataforma de e-learning Moodle adoptada por la Facultad de Ingeniería de la Universidad de Buenos Aires como campus virtual para la creación colectiva de documentos) con la intención de provocar un encuentro de los integrantes de los diversos grupos en un taller propio donde ingeniarán con sus pares soluciones efectivas a los problemas. La búsqueda de la generación de oportunidades con la incorporación de TIC para ayudar a los alumnos a aprender a pensar cómo se construyen programas y para promover la creación colaborativa, motiva e impulsa la implementación de la propuesta.Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Trace Element Levels in Serum Are Potentially Valuable Diagnostic Markers in Dogs

The objective of this study was to obtain information about the role of trace element imbalance in the pathogenesis of certain diseases in dogs and to evaluate the suitability of trace element profiling as an additional tool in the diagnosis. Serum trace element concentrations (copper, molybdenum, selenium and zinc) were measured in a cohort of healthy (control) dogs (n = 42) and dogs affected by hepatic (n = 25), gastrointestinal (n = 24), inflammatory/infection (n = 24), and renal (n = 22) diseases. These data were analyzed together with data on basic biochemical parameters (alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, albumin, globulin, and glucose) by using chemometric techniques. The chemometric analysis revealed distinctive association patterns between trace elements and biochemical parameters for each clinical disorders. The findings provide clear evidence for the important role of trace elements in disease, particularly in relation to acute phase reactions, with serum copper providing an indirect measurement of ceruloplasmin (positive acute-phase protein) and serum selenium and zinc acting as negative acute phase reactants. Molybdenum may also be a suitable marker of incipient renal disease. Thus, the analysis of trace element profiles, by multielement techniques, in a single serum sample would be a valuable additional tool for the diagnosis of certain diseasesS

Uso de wiki Moodle para la creación colaborativa de algoritmos

El presente trabajo tiene como referente la construcción de una experiencia colaborativa que se enmarca en la línea de investigación “Operacionalización de la Inteligencia y la Pedagogía Compleja en la Enseñanza de la Algoritmia y la Programación” del Proyecto UBATIC “Innovación Pedagógica vía TIC para la Mejora de la Calidad Educativa en la FIUBA”, acreditado por Resolución (CS) 3822/2011. El ensayo de la experiencia colaborativa con TIC intenta facilitar a los alumnos de las ingenierías no informáticas el descubrimiento de algoritmos para el aprendizaje de la solución de problemas con la computadora en dos cursos de Computación de la Facultad de Ingeniería de la Universidad de Buenos Aires. En esta oportunidad y en base a encuestas realizadas en el ensayo anterior, se propuso una experiencia de creación colaborativa de algoritmos a los alumnos mediante el uso exclusivo del recurso wiki del campus FIUBA. Se presentan en este artículo algunas consideraciones pedagógicas y el análisis de los resultados cuantitativos y cualitativos obtenidos a través de la interpretación de encuestas realizadas a los estudiantes en relación a la utilización de la tecnología educativa para el aprendizaje de la algoritmia.Eje: Educación en TecnologíaRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI