19 research outputs found
Informe de les actuacions realitzades el 2019 en els 5 horts en teulades d'edificis p煤blics a Barcelona
Spatial epidemiology of bovine tuberculosis in domestic animals and evaluation of surveillance
Torque teno sus viruses : pathogenesis in co-infection with Porcine circovirus type 2 and humoral immune responses during natural infection of pigs
A la portada: IRTA, CReSALos Torque teno sus viruses pertenecen a la familia Anelloviridae, e infectan tanto a cerdos como a jabal铆es. En la actualidad, los TTSuVs se dividen en dos g茅neros, Iotatorquevirus para los TTSuV1, que incluye las especies: TTSuV1a y TTSuV1b; y Kappatorquevirus para los TTSuV2, que incluye las especies: TTSuVk2a y TTSuVk2b. Ambos g茅neros se caracterizan por tener una organizaci贸n similar del genoma y por una gran variabilidad gen茅tica. Las consecuencias de la infecci贸n de los TTSuVs sobre su hospedador no son del todo claras. Ambos g茅neros se detectan con una prevalencia muy alta, tanto en poblaciones de cerdos sanos como enfermos. El virus se transmite principalmente tanto por v铆a horizontal como vertical; sin embargo, la ruta parenteral tambi茅n ser铆a posible, ya que se ha detectado la presencia de TTSuVs contaminando productos vacunales veterinarios. Tras la infecci贸n, los TTSuVs se distribuyen por la mayor铆a de los tejidos y 贸rganos del cerdo. Aunque en la actualidad el papel patog茅nico de los TTSuVs a煤n no est谩 claro, se cree que estos virus pueden agravar el curso de la enfermedad en asociaci贸n con otros pat贸genos comunes de los cerdos dom茅sticos. Entre los virus concomitantes con los que se asocian destaca el Circovirus porcino tipo 2 (PCV2), responsable de la circovirosis porcina (CP), una enfermedad con consecuencias devastadoras en la poblaci贸n porcina. La relaci贸n existente entre los TTSuV y el PCV2 se basa en la mayor prevalencia de los TTSuVs en cerdos afectados por CP comparada con la de cerdos sanos. Sin embargo, la alta prevalencia de los TTSuVs en la poblaci贸n porcina y su alta variabilidad gen茅tica, combinados con una alta prevalencia de otros virus que tambi茅n infectan a los cerdos, constituyen varios obst谩culos en la comprensi贸n del papel patog茅nico asociado a la infecci贸n por los TTSuVs. Al mismo tiempo, la falta de herramientas de diagn贸stico eficaces ha sido una barrera en el progreso del conocimiento de los TTSuVs. El diagn贸stico de la infecci贸n de los TTSuV se ha basado principalmente en la detecci贸n mediante la t茅cnica de la PCR. El objetivo de los estudios realizados en esta Tesis fue el de contribuir a la comprensi贸n del papel que desempe帽an los TTSuVs en la infecci贸n del cerdo. Para poder llevarlo a cabo fue necesario desarrollar t茅cnicas de diagn贸stico eficaces para estudiar la epidemiolog铆a de TTSuVs. En el primer estudio se investig贸 la din谩mica de la infecci贸n y la carga viral en suero de los TTSuV1 y TTSuV2. Se seleccionaron sueros de cerdos afectados de CP y, se compararon los valores de carga viral y prevalencia en sueros de cerdos sanos criados en condiciones equivalentes. Para poder llevar a cabo el estudio, previamente se puso a punto una t茅cnica de PCR cuantitativa a tiempo real (qPCR). Se observ贸 que la prevalencia de los TTSuVs era alta en los dos grupos de cerdos estudiados y para los dos virus. En el caso del TTSuV2, la carga viral fue significativamente mayor en los cerdos afectados por la CP. Tal diferencia no se observ贸 en el caso del TTSuV1. Tambi茅n cabe destacar que los cerdos infectados por el TTSuV2 a edades m谩s tempranas (semanas 1 y 3 de vida) fueron m谩s propensos a desarrollar la CP. Por el contrario, dicha correlaci贸n no se observ贸 para TTSuV1. En conjunto, los resultados obtenidos refuerzan la hip贸tesis de la asociaci贸n entre la infecci贸n por los TTSuVs y el desarrollo de la CP. En el segundo estudio se investigaron las cargas virales tanto del TTSuV1 como del TTSuV2 en tejidos de 20 cerdos (divididos en dos grupos: 10 sanos y 10 afectados por CP). De cada cerdo se investigaron un total de 7 tejidos, incluyendo pulm贸n, ri帽贸n, h铆gado, 铆leon, m茅dula 贸sea, y los n贸dulos linf谩ticos mesent茅ricos y mediast铆nicos. La determinaci贸n de las cargas de TTSuV1 y TTSuV2 en tejidos se llev贸 a cabo usando la qPCR descrita anteriormente. Las cargas del TTSuV2 fueron significativamente mayores en los tejidos procedentes de cerdos afectados por la CP que en sus hom贸logos sanos y que las cargas virales del TTSuV1 para ambos grupos de cerdos. Las mayores cargas del TTSuV2 se observaron en la m茅dula 贸sea, los n贸dulos linf谩ticos mediast铆nicos y en el h铆gado. Las mayores cargas del TTSuV1 se detectaron en la m茅dula 贸sea, pulm贸n e h铆gado. Independientemente del estado de salud, la m茅dula 贸sea fue el tejido donde se observaron las cargas virales m谩s altas. En este estudio se concluy贸 que las cargas de TTSuV2 fueron significativamente mayores que las cargas de TTSuV1 en los tejidos analizados. Adem谩s, las cargas de TTSuV2 en tejidos de cerdos afectados por la CP fueron significativamente mayor que las cargas de TTSuV2 en los mismos tejidos procedentes de cerdos sanos. Por 煤ltimo, los TTSuVs se hallaron en un gran n煤mero de tejidos diferentes, e incluso es muy probable que otros tejidos que no se incluyeron en este estudio tambi茅n pudieran estar infectados por TTSuVs. En el tercer estudio se desarroll贸 una t茅cnica serol贸gica de ELISA basada en la detecci贸n de la prote铆na recombinante ORF1-A de los TTSuVs. Al mismo tiempo, la carga de los TTSuVs en suero se cuantific贸 usando la qPCR desarrollada previamente. El ensayo ELISA se us贸 para estudiar el desarrollo de la respuesta inmune humoral frente a TTSuV1 y TTSuV2. Para ello, se realiz贸 un estudio longitudinal en cerdos cl铆nicamente sanos y en sus madres. Se detectaron IgGs anti ORF1-A en las muestras de suero, tanto frente al TTSuV1 como al TTSuV2. En el caso de TTSuV1, se observ贸 una gran prevalencia de cerdos seropositivos en la semana 4 de vida; por el contrario, para el TTSuV2, el porcentaje de cerdos seropositivos en esa semana fue muy bajo. Se concluy贸 que los cerdos son capaces de desarrollar una respuesta inmune frente a la infecci贸n por los TTSuVs; sin embargo, la alta prevalencia de cerdos vir茅micos en presencia de IgGs anti ORF1-A sugiere que los anticuerpos no son capaces de eliminar los TTSuVs de la sangreTorque teno sus viruses (TTSuVs) belong to the family Anelloviridae and they infect swine and wild boar. Currently, TTSuVs infecting swine are divided into two separated genera, Iotatorquevirus for TTSuV1, including species: TTSuV1a and TTSuV1b, and Kappatorquevirus for TTSuV2, including species TTSuVk2a and TTSuVk2b. Both genera are characterized by similar genomic organization and high genomic variability. The impact of TTSuVs infection for the host is under discussion, since TTSuVs have been detected in high prevalence in healthy and diseased swine populations. Main described transmission routes are horizontal and vertical; nevertheless, the parenteral route is also possible due to the presence of TTSuVs contaminating veterinary vaccine products. In the infected host, TTSuVs are able to infect a variety of tissues and organs. However, the pathogenic role of TTSuVs is not yet clear. It is assumed they can be associated with other well-known swine pathogens, potentially worsening the prognosis of the disease. One of the most studied and harmful viruses in pig production is Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2), which is the essential cause of PCV2-systemic disease (PCV2-SD), a devastating disease for the swine industry. In fact, TTSuVs were linked to PCV2-SD triggering, based on the higher prevalence of TTSuVs observed in pigs suffering from PCV2-SD when compared with healthy counterparts. However, the high prevalence of TTSuVs in the swine population, the high genetic variability of TTSuVs, combined with high prevalence of other swine infecting viral pathogens constitute a hindrance in the understanding of the pathogenic role associated to TTSuVs infection. At the same time, the lack of effective diagnostic tools has been a barrier in the understanding of TTSuVs role or biology, as diagnosis of TTSuVs infection has been mainly based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection. The studies carried out in this Thesis aimed to contribute to the understanding of the role played by TTSuVs in the pig. To go further into the study of TTSuVs, it was necessary to develop effective tools to study the epidemiology of TTSuVs. In the first study, the dynamics of TTSuV1 and TTSuV2 loads was studied. For this, serum TTSuV loads of pigs affected by PCV2-SD were compared with appropriate healthy control animals. Such study was carried out by means of a newly developed real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) method. Results from this study showed that TTSuVs prevalence was high in all studied pigs. TTSuV2 viral load was significantly higher in PCV2-SD affected pigs. Such difference was not observed for TTSuV1. Importantly, it was observed that early TTSuV2 infected pigs were more prone to develop PCV2-SD; on the contrary, such correlation was not observed for TTSuV1. Altogether, obtained data reinforced the hypothesis of the association between TTSuVs infection and PCV2-SD development. In the second study, TTSuV1 and TTSuV2 loads were investigated in tissues of 20 pigs (10 healthy and 10 PCV2-SD affected pigs). For each pig a total of 7 different tissues were analysed, including lung, kidney, liver, ileum, bone marrow, and mesenteric and mediastinal lymph nodes. TTSuV1 and TTSuV2 tissue loads were quantified by the previously developed qPCR. TTSuV2 load was significantly higher in tissues of PCV2-SD affected pigs when compared with healthy counterparts and with TTSuV1 load. For TTSuV2, the highest viral load was observed in bone marrow, mediastinal lymph node and liver, while it was bone marrow, lung and liver for TTSuV1. Regardless of the health status, bone marrow contained the highest viral load. It was observed that TTSuV2 loads in tissues were significantly higher than TTSuV1 tissue loads. Moreover, TTSuV2 tissue load in PCV2-SD affected pigs was significantly higher than TTSuV2 load in tissues of healthy pigs. Finally, TTSuVs had a wide range of tissue distribution, so, it is very likely that other tissues not included in this study would also be infected by TTSuVs. In the third study, Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA) assays to detect antibodies against TTSuVs were developed based on the open reading frame (ORF) 1-A recombinant protein of both viruses. Concomitantly, the viral loads in the same examined sera were quantified using the developed qPCR. The ELISA assay was used to study the development of the humoral immune response against TTSuV1 and TTSuV2 in longitudinally sampled clinically healthy pigs and their dams. Anti-ORF1-A IgGs were found in serum of pigs and sows for both TTSuVs. In case of TTSuV1, a high percentage of seropositive pigs were detected at 4 weeks of age; on the contrary, for TTSuV2, percentage of seropositive pigs at the same age was very low. It was concluded that, pigs are able to mount a humoral immune response against TTSuVs. However, based on the high prevalence of viremic pigs in the presence of anti ORF1-A IgGs, it was suggested that these antibodies are not able to remove TTSuVs from blood circulation
The Cognitive bias test as a measure of emotional state in pigs
A la portada: IRTAL'avaluaci贸 de les emocions 茅s un dels principals objectius de la ci猫ncia del benestar animal. El test del biaix cognitiu (BC) s'ha proposat com una mesura per avaluar la val猫ncia (positiu vs. negatiu) i la intensitat de les emocions en animals i es basa en la premissa que els subjectes amb un estat emocional negatiu jutjaran un est铆mul ambigu m茅s negativament que els subjectes amb un estat emocional positiu. L'objectiu del primer estudi va ser avaluar l'aplicabilitat i la consist猫ncia del test del BC (TBC) en porcs. Els resultats van mostrar que els porcs eren capa莽os d'aprendre la tasca de discriminaci贸 necess脿ria per posteriorment realitzar el TBC. Malgrat tot, es va observar una inconsist猫ncia entre el TBC dut a terme en dos moments diferents. Aquest resultat suggereix que els porcs van canviar la percepci贸 de l'est铆mul ambigu degut a la capacitat de recordar el resultat d'aquest est铆mul durant el segon TBC. Els objectius del segon estudi van ser 1) avaluar l'efecte del g猫nere i del genotip halot脿 en el BC (utilitzant el TBC) i en el nivell de por (utilitzant el test d'objecte noved贸s, TON), 2) avaluar la relaci贸 entre el BC i el nivell de por i 3) contrastar els resultats del TBC i els del TON amb les concentracions d'una s猫rie de neurotransmissors. No es van trobar diferencies entre g猫neres i genotips respecte el BC i respecte la por, per貌 es va observar una correlaci贸 positiva entre els resultats del TBC i el TON, suggerint que la por juga un paper important en la presa de decisi贸. A m茅s, els porcs amb m茅s por van presentar concentracions m茅s baixes de dopamina, constatant la relaci贸 entre aquest neurotransmissor i la resposta de por. Els objectius del tercer estudi van ser 1) avaluar l'efecte del maneig en el BC (avaluat pel TBC), en la por (avaluat per el TON) i en la resposta de cascada defensiva (avaluat per el test de cascada defensiva, TCD), 2) avaluar l'efecte del maneig en la concentraci贸 de cortisol en s猫rum, saliva i pel i 3) avaluar la relaci贸 entre els testos de comportament (TBC, TON i TCD) i amb les concentracions de cortisol. No es van trobar diferencies entre porcs amb maneig positiu i negatiu respecte els testos de comportament i les concentracions de cortisol, suggerint que el maneig dut a terme no va ser prou intens o que les mesures utilitzades no eren valides o no prou sensibles per avaluar aquestes diferencies. Malgrat tot, es van trobar correlacions positives entre els resultats dels diferents testos de comportament constatant que factors individuals com ara el nivell de por o la motivaci贸 van tenir un efecte en l'estat afectiu dels porcs. El quart estudi realitzat tenia per objectiu avaluar l'efecte de les condicions d'allotjament en el TBC, en l'avaluaci贸 qualitativa de comportament (AQC), en la concentraci贸 s猫rica de cortisol i en el n煤mero de ferides en les canals dels porcs. Els resultats van mostrar que els porcs allotjats en condicions enriquides tenien millors puntuacions en l'AQC, concentracions de cortisol s猫ric m茅s baixes i un n煤mero m茅s baix de ferides a la canal que els porcs criats en condicions empobrides. Malgrat tot, els resultats del TBC no van mostrar aquestes difer猫ncies suggerint que el test no 茅s v脿lid o prou sensible per detectar les alteracions emocionals en aquests porcs. En resum, 茅s factible aplicar el TBC en porcs, ja que van realitzar correctament la tasca d'aprenentatge requerida, tot i aix铆, el test no va presentar ni consist猫ncia ni validesa q眉estionant-ne la utilitat per avaluar l'estat emocional en porcs.The assessment of animal emotions is a crucial goal in the study of animal welfare science. The cognitive bias (CB) test has been proposed as a measure to assess the valence (positive vs. negative) and the intensity of animal emotions and is based on the premise that subjects in negative emotional state will judge an ambiguous stimulus more negatively than subjects in positive emotional state. The aims of our first study were to assess the applicability and the consistency of the CB test (CBT) in pigs. Our results showed that pigs were able to learn the spatial discrimination task necessary to subsequently perform the CBT. However, there was lack of consistency between the responses of the CBT performed twice, leaving 5 weeks between them. This result suggests that pigs changed the perception of the ambiguous stimulus due to its ability to remember the outcome of the ambiguous stimulus during the second CBT or due to uncontrolled factors such as their age or hunger state over time. The aims of our second study were 1) to assess the effect of the gender and the halothane genotype on CB (using the CBT) and on the level of fear (using a novel object test, NOT), 2) to assess the relationship between the CB and the level of fear and 3) contrast the results of the CBT and the NOT with the concentrations of several brain neurotransmitters. No differences were found between genders and genotypes regarding the CB and regarding the level of fear but a positive correlation was found between the CBT and the NOT results, suggesting that fear plays an important role in the decision taken by the pig dealing with ambiguous stimuli. Moreover, more fearful pigs had lower concentration of dopamine on the prefrontal cortex, supporting the relationship between this neurotransmitter and the fear response. The aims of the third study were 1) to assess the effect of handling on the CB (assessed by a CBT), on the fear (assessed by NOT) and on the defence cascade response (assessed by the defence cascade test; DCT), 2) to assess the effect of handling on serum, saliva and hair cortisol concentration and 3) to assess the relationship between behavioural tests (CBT, NOT and DCT) and between these tests and cortisol concentrations. No differences between positive and negative handling were found regarding the behavioural tests and cortisol concentrations, suggesting that the handling treatment carried out was not powerful enough to induce such differences or that the measures used were not valid or not sensitive enough to assess such differences. Nevertheless, positive correlations were found between behavioural tests supporting that individual factors such as the fear level, the motivation or the coping style had an effect on pigs' affective state. The fourth study carried out was aimed to assess the effect of housing conditions on the CBT, on the qualitative behaviour assessment (QBA), on the serum cortisol concentration and on the number of wounds on pigs' carcass. The results showed that pigs raised in enriched housing conditions had better QBA scores, lower serum cortisol concentration and lower number of carcass lesions than pigs raised in barren housing conditions. However, the results of the CBT did not showed those differences suggesting that the test is not valid or not sufficiently sensitive to detect emotional variation in those pigs. In conclusion, is feasible to apply the CBT in pigs, as they performed correctly the required learning process, however, the test showed no consistency and no validity questioning its utility to assess the emotional state in pigs
Postformula feeding strategies to reduce concentrate consumption and improve feed efficiency in bulls fed high-concentrate diets
A la coberta: Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroaliment脿riesAls pa茂sos mediterranis la majoria de bestiar d'engreix s'alimenta amb dietes riques en concentrat amb una r脿tio de pinso i palla de 90:10, ambd贸s ad libitum, en menjadores separades. El cost del pinso (preu dels ingredients i el total de consum de pinso) representa el 70-80% dels costos de producci贸 totals. El preu del pinso 茅s variable any rere any. Aix铆 doncs, una reducci贸 del consum total de concentrat, sense perdre creixement, podria millorar l'efici猫ncia aliment脿ria i conseq眉entment la rendibilitat de l'explotaci贸. La present tesi s'ha centrat en estrat猫gies aliment脿ries que van m茅s enll脿 de la f贸rmula nutricional per tal de reduir els costos de producci贸 i millorar la rendibilitat independentment del preu del pinso. Per tant, les dues estrat猫gies aliment脿ries postf贸rmula m茅s apropiades per aplicar en el nostre (Catalunya) sistema intensiu d'engreix (vedells Frisons, dietes basades en blat de moro i granulat com a forma de presentaci贸) van ser el disseny de menjadora de pinso i la forma f铆sica del pinso (qualitat del granulat). Un primer estudi avalu脿 l'efecte de dos dissenys de menjadora de pinso alternatius (una menjadora convencional amb menor capacitat de pinso i una menjadora uniboca amb proteccions laterals) sobre els par脿metres productius, la conducta animal i aliment脿ria, el benestar i la salut ruminal. Ambdues menjadores foren bones estrat猫gies per reduir el consum de pinso sense perjudicar el creixement, la salut ruminal i el benestar. Tanmateix, l'efici猫ncia aliment脿ria no millor脿. A m茅s, la conducta aliment脿ria i la seva relaci贸 amb el disseny de menjadora, aix铆 com l'evoluci贸 amb el PV van ser analitzats en un segon estudi. Els animals alimentats amb menjadores col路lectives van exhibir un comportament m茅s sincronitzat durant la fase de creixement (dels 130 als 320 kg PV) comparat amb els animals uniboca; mentre que aquests adoptaren una conducta m茅s individualitzada durant la fase d'acabat (dels 320 als 440 kg PV) igual que els uniboca. El primer estudi va permetre detectar problemes d'adaptaci贸 a la menjadora uniboca, fet que origin脿 un tercer estudi per avaluar l'efecte de l'estrat猫gia d'adaptaci贸 (uniboca sense proteccions laterals durant els primers 4 d i una menjadora addicional amb menjar que gradualment es redu茂a durant els primers 14 d) al disseny uniboca amb proteccions laterals sobre el creixement, la conducta aliment脿ria i animal durant les primeres 6 setmanes despr茅s de l'arribada a l'engreix. L'estrat猫gia d'adaptaci贸 a la menjadora uniboca va ser exitosa facilitant l'acc茅s al menjar, fet que es va traduir en un increment del consum i del GMD durant la primera setmana i en un major PV al cap de 6 setmanes. Finalment, el quart estudi analitz脿 l'efecte de la forma de presentaci贸 del pinso sobre els par脿metres productius, la conducta aliment脿ria, i la prefer猫ncia en vedells en fase d'acabat; tamb茅 s'estudi脿 l'evoluci贸 de la qualitat del gr脿nul des de granuladora fins a menjadora. Alimentar els animals amb gr脿nuls de bona qualitat va tenir un impacte positiu en la rendibilitat de l'explotaci贸 degut a l'increment d'ingesta i creixement, i la reducci贸 de malbaratament. Els animals mostraren prefer猫ncia pels gr脿nuls de bona qualitat. A m茅s, va ser important preservar la qualitat del gr脿nul (durabilitat i percentatge de fins) des de granuladora fins menjadora per observar millores en els rendiments productius. Concloent, totes les estrat猫gies aliment脿ries postf贸rmula (disseny de menjadora, estrat猫gia d'adaptaci贸 i forma de presentaci贸 del pinso) van tenir un lleu impacte sobre el creixement i la rendibilitat. Tanmateix, l'efecte additiu d'aquestes millores podria incrementar la competitivitat i disminuir la depend猫ncia als preus dels aliments en la producci贸 intensiva d'engreix. Tamb茅, aquesta tesi ha perm猫s conscienciar a alguns productors en la implementaci贸 f脿cil d'estrat猫gies per reduir el consum de pinso.In Mediterranean countries most of intensive beef cattle are fed high-concentrate diets with concentrate to straw ratio 90 to 10, both ad libitum in separate feeders. The concentrate cost (price of ingredients and total concentrate consumption) represents around 70-80% of total production costs. The price of the concentrate has become largely variable year-by-year. Thus, a reduction of total concentrate consumption, without losing performance, may lead to an improvement in feed efficiency and thereby in fattening profitability. This current thesis has focused on feeding strategies beyond the nutritional formula that could improve production costs and profitability in intensive beef production independently of concentrate price. Hence, two different postformula feeding strategies were chosen as the more appropriate approaches to be studied in our (Catalonia) intensive beef production (Holstein bulls, corn grain-based high-concentrate diets, concentrate ad libitum in self-feeders, and pellet as main physical feed presentation); the concentrate feeder design and physical form of concentrate (pellet quality). A first study was conducted to evaluate the effect of two alternative concentrate feeder designs (a conventional feeder with less concentrate capacity and single-space feeder with lateral protections) on performance, eating and animal behavior, welfare, ruminal health, and carcass quality. Both alternative feeder designs were good strategies to reduce total concentrate consumption without impairing performance, rumen health, and animal welfare. However, feed efficiency was not improved. Furthermore, eating and drinking patterns and its relationship with feeder design, and its evolution with BW were analyzed in a second study. Animals fed on collective feeders exhibited an eating behavior more synchronized during the growing phase (from 130 to 320 kg of BW) compared with single-space feeder animals, whereas they adopted a more individualized behavior during the finishing phase (from 320 to 440 kg of BW) like single-space feeder animals. Data from the first study suggested that animals fed single-space feeder with lateral barriers had adaptation problems. Then, a third study was designed to evaluated the effect of the adaptation strategy (single-space feeder without lateral protections for first 4 d and additional feeder where feed offer was gradually reduced for first 14 d) to single-space feeder design with lateral protections on performance, eating pattern, and animal behavior for first 6 wk upon arrival at fattening. The adaptation strategy to the single-space feeder was successful facilitating feed access; fact that was translated in an increase of concentrate intake and ADG during the first week after fattening arrival, and resulting in a greater BW 6 wk later. Lastly, the fourth study analyzed the effect of physical form of concentrate on performance, eating pattern, and feed preference in finishing bulls, together with studying the evolution of physical pellet quality from pellet mill to the feeder. Feeding animals with good quality pellets had a positive economic impact on fattening profitability due to improve performance (increased intake and growth, and reduced feed wastage). The feed preference study demonstrated that animals showed a strong preference for good pellet quality. In addition, it was important to preserve parameters of pellet quality (durability and percentage of fines) from pellet mill to feeder to expect the beneficial effect of pellet quality (with good quality) on performance. In conclusion, all postformula feeding strategies proposed (concentrate feeder design, adaptation strategy to concentrate feeder design, and physical form of concentrate) had a small impact on performance and economic profitability. However, the additive effects of small benefits of these different feeding approaches could contribute to a more competitive and less dependent of feed prices intensive beef production. Moreover, this thesis has also raised awareness to producers in management strategies that improve efficiency and profitability easy to implement
El reg amb aig眉es regenerades: recomanacions per al bon 煤s de l鈥檃igua regenerada per al reg agr铆cola
Aigua regenerada; Reg agr铆cola; RecomanacionsAgua regenerada; Riego agr铆cola; RecomendacionesReclaimed water; Agricultural irrigation; RecommendationsTr铆ptic de recomanacions per al bon 煤s de l鈥檃igua regenerada per al reg agr铆cola.Tr铆ptico de recomendaciones para el buen uso del agua regenerada para el riego agr铆col
Transient fibrosis resolves via fibroblast inactivation in the regenerating zebrafish heart
After myocardial infarction in the mammalian heart, millions of cardiomyocytes are lost and replaced by fibrotic scar tissue. While fibrosis is persistent in adult mammals, there are some vertebrates, including zebrafish, with the capacity for regeneration. This process does not occur in the absence of fibrosis. Here we studied subpopulations of collagen-producing cells and analyzed their fate after complete regeneration of the zebrafish myocardium. Our data show that fibroblasts persisted in the regenerated heart but shut down the profibrotic program. While fibrosis could be considered as detrimental to the regeneration process, our study reveals a positive effect on cardiomyocyte proliferation. Accordingly, a fibrotic response can be beneficial for heart regeneration. In the zebrafish (Danio rerio), regeneration and fibrosis after cardiac injury are not mutually exclusive responses. Upon cardiac cryoinjury, collagen and other extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins accumulate at the injury site. However, in contrast to the situation in mammals, fibrosis is transient in zebrafish and its regression is concomitant with regrowth of the myocardial wall. Little is known about the cells producing this fibrotic tissue or how it resolves. Using novel genetic tools to mark periostin b - and collagen 1alpha2 (col1a2)-expressing cells in combination with transcriptome analysis, we explored the sources of activated fibroblasts and traced their fate. We describe that during fibrosis regression, fibroblasts are not fully eliminated but become inactivated. Unexpectedly, limiting the fibrotic response by genetic ablation of col1a2 -expressing cells impaired cardiomyocyte proliferation. We conclude that ECM-producing cells are key players in the regenerative process and suggest that antifibrotic therapies might be less efficient than strategies targeting fibroblast inactivation
Fax de Josep Tarrag贸 (Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroaliment脿ries) a Pere Pascual amb suggeriments a l'esborrany d'una acta de reuni贸
Relacionat amb 11/030, 11/031, 11/032, 11/034, 11/035 i 11/036
Advances in the larval rearing of meagre (Argyrosomus regius) : diet, weaning protocols, and ontogeny of the digestive and innate immune systems
Bibliografia.La producci贸n acu铆cola en Europa est谩 dominada por un peque帽o grupo de especies, como salm贸n, trucha, carpa, lubina, dorada, que a su vez limita el n煤mero de productos acu铆colas disponibles en el mercado. Estas especies han experimentado algunos problemas en relaci贸n al precio de mercado que menudo se encuentra cerca o por debajo del coste m铆nimo de producci贸n, como consecuencia de ello el crecimiento de la acuicultura en la UE se ha visto limitado, no alcanzando las cantidades previstas a la vez que se han ido incrementando las importaciones desde otros pa铆ses. Sin embargo, un sistema sostenible basado en la incorporaci贸n de nuevas especies podr铆a mermar en cierto modo gran parte del problema. Actualmente, el nivel de concienciaci贸n en la industria de la acuicultura de investigar la biolog铆a de nuevas especies contribuye a fortalecer la sostenibilidad econ贸mica, lo que trae como consecuencia un mayor inter茅s por buscar nuevas especies con ciertas caracter铆sticas como: r谩pido crecimiento, facilidad de cultivo, adaptabilidad a grandes vol煤menes de cultivo y alta productividad, que ofrezcan excelentes oportunidades para el procesamiento y desarrollo de valor a帽adido. El prop贸sito de este trabajo, es el estudio de una especies considerada prometedora para la acuicultura mediterr谩nea, perteneciente a la familia Sciaenidae y conocida com煤nmente como corvina (Argyrososmus regius). Esta especie se caracteriza por su alta tasa de crecimiento (1 kg a帽o-1) y su buen 铆ndice de conversi贸n entre otras. Sin embargo, como toda especie nueva cuenta con algunos cuello de botellas presentes durante sus primeras etapas de desarrollo que necesitan ser resueltos. As铆 los objetivos generales de esta tesis van dirigidos a estudiar los siguientes aspectos: (1) morfolog铆a y desarrollo funcional del sistema digestivo de la larva, basado en el an谩lisis histol贸gico y actividad enzim谩tica durante su fase de crecimiento, (2) estudio del efecto de diferentes estrategias de alimentaci贸n temprana de alimento artificial y reducci贸n del uso de nauplios de Artemia (destete temprano) a un 50% de la cantidad utilizada en protocolos est谩ndar de producci贸n, evaluando los efectos en el desarrollo, particularmente en crecimiento, supervivencia, digesti贸n y deformaciones. Dos experimentos fueron dise帽ados con diferentes protocolos de alimentaci贸n orientados especialmente en la incorporaci贸n temprana de alimento artificial, evaluando su efecto en la morfolog铆a y desarrollo funcional, mediante marcadores enzim谩ticos que reflejan la madurez del tracto digestivo. Sin embargo ciertos problemas inherentes a la especie particularmente, su conducta can铆bal durante la fase de post-flexi贸n marcaron efectos sobre la supervivencia, no obstante el destete temprano no tuvo mayor influencia en el desarrollo de deformaciones a nivel de estructuras esquel茅ticas. En este sentido se procedi贸 al (3) estudio de los requerimientos nutricionales durante el desarrollo larvario, especialmente en la composici贸n de 谩cidos grasos, con el intento de examinar los efectos sobre el crecimiento y supervivencia mediante diferentes composici贸n de 谩cidos grasos en larvas, espec铆ficamente contenido de DHA y relaci贸n DHA/EPA, as铆 como tambi茅n, evaluar su capacidad de poder elongar y desaturar 谩cidos grasos de sus precursores usando una emulsi贸n con bajo contenido de DHA (aceite Hemp). Dos experimentos fueron dise帽ados durante el cultivo larvario, utilizando varios contenidos de DHA (alto, medio, bajo) demostrado que los requerimientos en cuantos 谩cidos grados (DHA) son espec铆ficos a nivel de especie, adem谩s de evidenciar la incapacidad de la larva por elongar y desaturar cuando sus precursores son ofrecidos en el alimento vivo. El sistema inmune es otros de los aspectos de gran importancia durante la cr铆a larvaria ya que por lo general el 茅xito de un cultivo larvario se basa no solo en la nutrici贸n sino tambi茅n en los mecanismos de defensa con que cuenta la larva frente a innumerable agentes pat贸genos presentes en el medio de cultivo. La larva durante su desarrollo depende de una serie de importantes mol茅culas de protecci贸n que hacen frente a potenciales pat贸genos hasta que su sistema adaptativo o espec铆fico est谩 completamente maduro. Particularmente, la mayor parte de la mortalidad durante un cultivo peces se presenta durante las etapas m谩s cr铆ticas de crecimiento, limitando la producci贸n de juveniles. En este sentido, para evaluar el tiempo en que la larva es m谩s susceptible a factores externos, y su capacidad de afrontar una respuesta inmune, (4) se estudi贸 la ontogenia del sistema inmune innato durante el desarrollo larvario, enfocado en la organog茅nesis de los principales 贸rganos linfoides tales como el timo, el ri帽贸n y el bazo, adem谩s de tejidos linfoides asociados a las mucosas del intestino y branquias. Para este prop贸sito se tomaron muestras de larvas en los periodos m谩s importantes del crecimiento, considerando tambi茅n las fases criticas de cambio en el desarrollo (metamorfosis), para este fin, se utilizaron t茅cnicas histol贸gicas mediante tinciones espec铆ficas para detectar los principales cambios a nivel de composici贸n y estructuras en estos 贸rganos y tejidos. A. regius, presenta patrones similares a la mayor铆a de tele贸steos durante la organog茅nesis, pero el tiempo de aparici贸n de estas estructuras durante su crecimiento es espec铆fico. Adem谩s y para completar este estudio del desarrollo del sistema inmune (5) se analiz贸 la expresi贸n de ciertos genes relacionados con el sistema inmune inespec铆fico con el prop贸sito de identificar posibles marcadores de inmunidad durante el crecimiento, particularmente su presencia durante periodos tempranos de desarrollo as铆 como cambios a nivel de expresi贸n en larvas y tejidos de juveniles, adem谩s, evaluar si la expresi贸n relativa de estos genes puede estar correlacionada con cambios morfol贸gicos observados por la histolog铆a. Los resultados mostraron que estos genes pueden detectarse durante la etapa temprana de desarrollo y sus perfiles de expresi贸n pueden estar influenciados por la dieta durante el cultivo.Aquaculture production in Europe is dominated by a small group of species, such as salmon, trout, carp, seabass, seabream that limits the number of aquaculture products available on the market, and to some extent, the geographic regions where aquaculture can be done profitably. The market price of these species is often close to or below the minimum cost of production, which has consequent negative influences on the growth of aquaculture in the EU. A sustainable system based on the incorporation of new species could, to a certain extent, reduce the problem by providing a diversified market with increased geographic dispersal of production sites that can reduce transport costs form "farm to table". Thus, in order to increase aquaculture products in the market new species have been selected taking in account characteristics such as rapid growth, ease of cultivation, adaptability to large volumes under intensive rearing, large body size to facilitate automated post-harvest processing and development of value-added consumer products. The purpose of this thesis is to study a species considered promising for Mediterranean aquaculture belonging to the family Sciaenidae and commonly known as meagre (Argyrososmus regius). This species is characterized by its high growth rate (1 kg year-1) and good feed conversion rate. However, as other new species, meagre has some bottlenecks present during its early stages of development that need to be solved. Thus, the general objectives of this thesis aims to evaluate the following aspects: (1) morphology and functional development of the digestive system, based on histological and enzymatic activity analyses, (2) study the effect of different strategies for early weaning onto artificial feed, reduce the use of Artemia to 50% of the amount used in standard production protocols, and evaluate the effects of these diets on development, digestion, growth, survival, and deformations. Two experiments were carried out using different feeding protocols designed for an early incorporation of artificial feed, then evaluate its effects on morphology and functional development using enzymatic markers that reflect the maturity of the digestive tract. Certain problems inherent to the species, in particular, their cannibalistic behavior during the post-flexion phase had effects on survival rate, although early weaning had no major influence on the presence of skeletal deformities. In this sense, we proceeded to the (3) study of fatty acid requirements during larval development (DHA -22:6n-3- and DHA/EPA ratio) in order to examine the effects of different live prey enrichments on larval growth and survival, and evaluate their ability to elongate and desaturate fatty acids from their precursors. Two experiments were designed during larval culture using high, medium and low content of DHA demonstrating that the fatty acids requirements (DHA) are species-specific. The use of hemp oil (rich in 18:3n-6 and 18:4n-3) served to demonstrate the inability of meagre larva to elongate and desaturate fatty acids even when the precursors are offered in the live food. The immune system is another aspect of great importance during larval rearing, since the success of larval culture is based not only in nutrition, but also on the defense mechanisms that the larva possess against potential pathogens present in the water. The larva depends on a suite of important protective molecules of the innate immune system that deal with potential pathogens until the adaptive or specific system is completely mature. Most of the mortality afflicting industrial aquaculture occurs during the critical stages larval growth, thus limiting the production of juveniles. In this sense, to evaluate the time in which the larva is more susceptible to external factors and its ability to cope with an immune response, we have studied (4) the ontogeny of the innate immune system during larval development, focused on the organogenesis of the major lymphoid organs (thymus, kidney, and spleen), and lymphoid tissues associated with mucosal gut and gills. For this purpose, larval samples were taken in several developmental periods including the critical change in development (metamorphosis) where rapid changes in growth require tissue modification and increased bioenergetic consumption. For this objective we have used histological techniques and specific stains to detect the main changes in composition and structures in these organs and tissues. A. regius shows similar patterns to most teleosts during organogenesis, but the time of appearance of these structures during their growth is species-specific. In addition, and to complete this study of the development of the immune system (5) the expression of certain genes related to the non-specific immune system was analyzed in order to identify possible markers of immunity during growth. Particularly, we wanted to determine the presence during early developmental periods of significant immune gene transcripts as well changes in expression level in larvae and juvenile tissues, and study whether the relative expression of these genes may be correlated to observed morphological changes seen by histology. The results indicated that the genes under study for this work can be detected during the early stages of development and we found indications that their expression profiles may be influenced by significant dietary changes made during the larval and early juvenile culture
6th International symposium on emerging and re-emerging pig diseases. Barcelona, 12-15 de juny de 2011. Proceedings
Els esfor莽os d'aquest Simposi Internacional 茅s de reunir a cient铆fics i veterinaris de diverses disciplines que treballen a tot el m贸n en el camp de les malalties en el bestiar porc铆, en aquest cas les malalties emergents i re-emergents dels porcs