Commercial Production Units Research Articles

Humoral antibody response in Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) against Aeromonas salmonicida ssp. achromogenes following vaccination with a novel autogenous vaccine

The bacterium Aeromonas salmonicida ssp. achromogenes (Asa) causes atypical furunculosis in salmonids that may lead to extensive financial losses in intensive fish farming. The commercially available vaccine commonly used against the ssp. achromogenes in the production of Arctic charr in Iceland has been developed for Atlantic salmon (Salmon salar) against the subspecies salmonicida which causes typical furunculosis, but it has insufficient efficacy in Arctic charr. In response to this, a novel vaccine against Asa in Arctic charr was developed in cooperation with Spanish vaccine company; HIPRA, and the antibody response of Arctic charr against Asa investigated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Fish used for testing were vaccinated using the novel, monovalent autogenous experimental vaccine and a commercially available vaccine Alpha Ject® 3000 developed for Atlantic salmon that was used as a comparison. The study was conducted in commercial production units where the fish were continually exposed to natural outbreaks of atypical furunculosis. Blood samples were collected from the fish prior to vaccination and thereafter at approximately ten-week intervals in each production unit throughout the production period until the fish reached harvesting size. Fish growth and mortality was recorded throughout the study. The results indicated that both vaccines induced antibody response in fish against Asa antigens and that antibody titers obtained during the first weeks following vaccination were maintained throughout the production period. However, significantly higher antibody titers were observed in fish vaccinated with the experimental novel vaccine and fish mortality was significantly lower in production units containing fish vaccinated with the novel vaccine in comparison to the Alpha Ject 3000® vaccine. These results suggest that the novel vaccine may be a promising candidate for protective immunity against atypical furunculosis caused by Asa in Arctic charr.

Chemical Composition and Nutritional Value of Different Species of Vespa Hornets.

We genetically identified three different species of hornets and analyzed the nutrient compositions of their edible brood. Samples were collected from a commercial production unit in Shizong province of China and from forests near Andong City in Korea. The species were identified as Vespa velutina, V. mandarinia, and V. basalis from China and V. velutina from Korea. Farmed V. velutina and V. mandarinia were found to have similar protein contents, i.e., total amino acids, whereas V. basalis contained less protein. The V. velutina brood collected from the forest contained the highest amount of amino acids. Altogether 17 proteinogenic amino acids were detected and quantified with similar patterns of distribution in all three species: leucine followed by tyrosine and lysine being predominant among the essential and glutamic acid among the non-essential amino acids. A different pattern was found for fatty acids: The polyunsaturated fatty acid proportion was highest in V. mandarinia and V. basalis, but saturated fatty acids dominated in the case of V. velutina from two different sources. The high amounts of unsaturated fatty acids in the lipids of the hornets could be expected to exhibit nutritional benefits, including reducing cardiovascular disorders and inflammations. High minerals contents, especially micro minerals such as iron, zinc, and a high K/Na ratio in hornets could help mitigate mineral deficiencies among those of the population with inadequate nutrition.

Case-Based Thermal Safety Evaluation on a Pharmaceutical Process Using Dimethyl Sulfoxide as a Solvent

A rupture disc burst was recorded when conducting a calorimetric test by sensitive detection of exothermic reaction. The tested sample was a reaction mixture from a hydroamination process containing the solvent dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Subsequent investigation indicated that the event was caused by the strong autocatalytic decomposition of DMSO. The hazardous decomposition of DMSO that could be initiated by an inadvertent contact with substances involved in the process was studied. Furthermore, risk evaluation on the process thermal runaway was carried out based on the cooling failure scenario. In this particular case, although Stoessel criticality class 2 was assigned, the boiling point of DMSO could not serve as the safety barrier. On the basis of the thermal safety evaluation, the hydroamination process was safely scaled up in the Novartis pilot plant and successfully launched in a commercial production unit. This investigation highlights that every scale-up process involving DMSO as a solvent should be carefully evaluated owing to the potential safety concern caused by its autocatalytic behavior.

Microbiological assessment of liquid feed for finisher pigs on commercial pig units.

To investigate the microbiological and nutritional quality of liquid finisher pig feed on commercial production units and the factors influencing this. Microbiological and physio-chemical analyses were performed on liquid feed sampled from the mixing tank and troughs of the finisher section of eight commercial pig units. Lactic acid bacteria, yeast and Escherichia coli counts, as well as lactic acid, ethanol and acetate concentrations were higher in residual feed sampled from the troughs compared with mixing tank samples (P<0·001). Feed pH, as well as lysine, methionine and threonine concentrations and gross energy were all lower in the residual trough samples (P<0·001). Liquid co-products reduced E. coli counts in the residual trough samples (P<0·05), pH in the mixing tank (P<0·01) and fresh trough samples (P<0·05) and mould counts at all three sampling locations (P<0·01) but sanitation practices had no impact. Even when considered unfermented, a considerable degree of spontaneous fermentation occurs in liquid feed, with resultant negative effects on nutritional quality. This is one of the first studies showing that uncontrolled fermentation of fresh liquid pig feed is commonplace on commercial units, highlighting the need for implementation of suitable control strategies.

Six Multiplex TaqManTM-qPCR Assays for Quantitative Diagnostics of Pseudomonas Species Causative of Bacterial Blotch Diseases of Mushrooms.

Bacterial blotch is a group of economically important diseases of the common button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus). Once the pathogens are introduced to a farm, mesophilic growing conditions (that are optimum for mushroom production) result in severe and widespread secondary infections. Efficient, timely and quantitative detection of the pathogens is hence critical for the design of localized control strategies and prediction of disease risk. This study describes the development of real-time TaqManTM assays that allow molecular diagnosis of three currently prevalent bacterial blotch pathogens: “Pseudomonas gingeri,” Pseudomonas tolaasii and (as yet uncharacterized) Pseudomonas strains (belonging to Pseudomonas salomonii and Pseudomonas edaphica). For each pathogen, assays targeting specific DNA markers on two different loci, were developed for primary detection and secondary verification. All six developed assays showed high diagnostic specificity and sensitivity when tested against a panel of 63 Pseudomonas strains and 40 other plant pathogenic bacteria. The assays demonstrated good analytical performance indicated by linearity across calibration curve (>0.95), amplification efficiency (>90%) and magnitude of amplification signal (>2.1). The limits of detection were optimized for efficient quantification in bacterial cultures, symptomatic tissue, infected casing soil and water samples from mushroom farms. Each target assay was multiplexed with two additional assays. Xanthomonas campestris was detected as an extraction control, to account for loss of DNA during sample processing. And the total Pseudomonas population was detected, to quantify the proportion of pathogenic to beneficial Pseudomonas in the soil. This ratio is speculated to be an indicator for blotch outbreaks. The multiplexed assays were successfully validated and applied by routine testing of diseased mushrooms, peat sources, casing soils, and water from commercial production units.

Changes in Russia’s agrarian structure: What can we learn from agricultural census?

The classification of agricultural producers by legal-organizational form (agricultural enterprises, peasant (family farms), household plots and gardening associations), traditionally used by the Russian official statistics, is outdated and masks the dynamic changes that have taken place. Due to the lack of output and sales data in 2016 agricultural census, the paper uses some assumptions to calculate the so called “standard revenue” as a measure of the potential output in each census farm. The results highlight that there is only a small share of commercial production units in Russia and there is high heterogeneity of agricultural producers within each legal-organizational farm type. Contrary to a priori expectations, a large number of household plots became commercialized between the previous census in 2006 and the latest census in 2016 and they contribute 19% of the standard revenue of all commercial census units, more than the share of family farms. These results suggest that the old classification used for statistical purposes does not reflect adequately the dynamic changes stemming from the response to market signals.

The effect of linear lighting systems on the productive performance and egg quality of laying hens

The low uniformity in light distribution provided by conventional lighting systems installed in laying poultry can compromise the productive performance and egg quality of laying hens. Thus, the aim of the current study is to evaluate the effect of a linear lighting system with light-emitting diode (LED strip) on the productive performance and egg quality of laying hens, by comparing it to the conventional LED lamp lighting system. The study used Hy-Line Brown hens from a commercial production unit. Hen-day egg production (%), mortality rate (%), egg weight (g), albumen height (mm), Haugh unit, eggshell thickness, eggshell strength, and thermal-environment conditions were evaluated from the 19th to the 48th wk of age. The results have shown that LED strips were capable of improving egg production (P < 0.05) in comparison to LED lamps. Egg quality was not affected (P > 0.05) by the evaluated lighting systems throughout the experimental period. Results of the current study indicate that the homogeneous illuminance distribution provided by the linear LED strip lighting system at different cage floors improved egg production in comparison to the conventional LED lamp lighting system.

Caracterización y tipificación del sistema doble propósito en la ganadería bovina del Distrito de Desarrollo Rural 151, Tabasco, México

El objetivo del estudio fue caracterizar los componentes del sistema de producción (SP) bovino doble propósito (DP) en el Distrito de Desarrollo Rural (DDR) 151 y determinar la tipología de las unidades de producción (UP) dentro del SP DP, usando variables sociales, económicas y tecnológicas. Se analizó información de 46 UP del SP DP que participaron en el programa soporte de la Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería, Desarrollo Rural, Pesca y Alimentación (Sagarpa) 2013-2014. A través del uso de análisis de conglomerado y análisis de varianza fueron identificados y caracterizados tres tipos de UP: Tradicional (44%), Transición (30%) y Empresarial (26%). Las UP Empresarial se diferenciaron (p &lt; 0.05) de las de tipo Tradicional y en Transición por poseer mayor superficie, número de vacas, volumen de producción de leche e índice tecnológico, circunstancias que les permitieron obtener mayores ingresos por venta de leche y becerros.

AVALIAÇÃO DO DESPERDÍCIO DE HORTIFRÚTIS EM UNIDADES PRODUTORAS DE REFEIÇÃO

This study evaluated the waste of vegetables and fruits in pre-preparation in commercial and hospital Meal Production Units in the city of Belo Horizonte-MG. The samples were collected during three weeks in each unit by Nutrition students. Twenty kinds of vegetables and fruits (4 fruits and 16 vegetables) were chosen, weighed before and after cleaning and selection, process performed three times for each type of food. The waste in pre-preparation was assessed by calculating the correction factor. Data were tabulated in Microsoft Excel 2010® program and statistical analyses performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 17.0. It was found that among the foods analyzed, ten did not differ statistically, showing statistical relevance of these factors. The commercial production unit has lower correction factors or similar to literature, compared with hospital production. In general, the waste presented by some food types analyzed was mostly higher than determined by literature as acceptable. Thus, investments are necessary in personal training, equipment calibration, exchange of utensils, and selection of better suppliers. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12957/demetra.2014.8522

CRISPR in the extended hyp-operon of the cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. strain PCC 7120, characteristics and putative function(s)

The presence of small RNAs (sRNA) and their functions in transcriptional regulation has lately turned into a hot topic. Since cyanobacteria often face changes in the surrounding environment, they need to have a well working system for stress response. Quick adaption is necessary, and an RNA-based regulatory system is thus useful. One example of these sRNAs is CRISPRs. In this work we report the existence of a CRISPR within the hyp-operon (hyp genes encode proteins responsible for the maturation of hydrogenases) of the filamentous cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. strain PCC 7120. We present data concerning its characteristics and putative function(s) and raise the question concerning the importance of this CRISPR array and other CRISPR systems in general. In addition, we discuss the use of the CRISPR system as a potential bacterial genetic defence mechanism to achieve robust, cyanobacterial cultures in large scale, commercial production units.

Plant species richness and diversity in urban and peri-urban gardens of Niamey, Niger

Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) significantly contributes to food and nutritional security of urban dwellers in many African countries. Economic and demographic pressures often lead to transformation of subsistence-oriented traditional homegardens into commercial production units. Such transformation is claimed to result in decreasing plant diversity, particularly of local species. A study was therefore undertaken in 51 gardens of Niamey, Niger, to assess the factors determining plant diversity and the suitability of UPA for in situ conservation of plant genetic resources. In each garden, the number and abundance of all human-used plant species were determined, and species density, Shannon index and Shannon evenness were calculated. In the 51 surveyed gardens, a total of 116 plant species were cultivated, most of them for the production of fruits or vegetables. Annual vegetables dominated, particularly exotic species grown for sale. In the cold season, an average of 14 species were cultivated per garden, the Shannon index was 0.96 and evenness was 0.39. Commercial gardens had a species richness similar to that of subsistence gardens, but a lower evenness (P < 0.005), caused by the dominance of a few vegetable species. Gardens of immigrants had a lower Shannon index than those of members of the local Djerma ethnic group. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed significant influence of various variables on plant species richness and diversity parameters: garden size (richness and Shannon index), ethnicity of the gardener (richness and evenness), gender of the gardener and cash-oriented production (evenness), household size (richness) and garden possession status (Shannon index). Cluster analysis revealed the existence of five garden types. The highest species richness and diversity, particularly of perennial and local species, was found in large, peri-urban, commercial gardens managed by relatively wealthy, elderly gardeners with large families and a regular non-agricultural income.

The heritability of the expression of two stress-regulated gene fragments in pigs1

Pigs reared in commercial production units sometimes encounter stressors that significantly decrease growth performance. It is hypothesized that response to stress challenges could potentially be used as selection criteria. This study aimed to investigate, in a commercial setting, the heritability of two target genes previously shown to be induced in response to stress, and related to growth performance, in an experimental situation. Blood samples (n = 2,392) were collected from three separate breeding lines of pedigreed and performance-tested boars between 24 to 25 wk of age. The expression levels of a novel fragment, '29a,' and the calcitonin receptor gene (CTR) were quantified using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) on a subset (n = 709) of the blood samples. Gene expression levels were corrected for the efficiency of PCR reactions and also computed directly from threshold cycle (Ct) values. Resulting data showed a skewed nonnormal distribution of expression levels for the target genes relative to the endogenous control, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), and were highly variable. Analyses were subsequently performed using untransformed and log-transformed data, with outliers identified and deleted in edited data sets. Regardless of the transformation or editing procedures for outliers applied, there was negligible genetic variation for the expression of target genes relative to GAPDH. In contrast, repeatabilities of replicate samples were generally high (between 0.54 and 0.67). Absolute expression levels for GAPDH and 29a were lowly heritable (h2 of about 0.04), although estimates did not exceed their SE. Subsetting the data according to whether the target gene had a higher or lower level of expression than GAPDH was then performed using the relevant Ct values. In the subset where the target gene was more highly expressed than GAPDH, a moderate estimate of heritability (0.18 +/- 0.10) for the log-transformed absolute expression level of 29a was obtained, whereas the estimate for its expression relative to GAPDH was lower (0.09 +/- 0.07). Estimates of heritability did not increase in the subset of low expression data. The limitations of using gene expression measures as potential selection criteria in commercial situations are discussed.

Improvements of a Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell Power Plant via Exergy Analysis

A proposed molten carbonate fuel cell power plant design, intended for commercial production by the end of the 1990s and developed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy, the Gas Research Institute, and Energy Research Corporation, has been analyzed with exergy and pinch analysis. The commercial production units, targeted for dispersed power generation markets, are based on an existing demonstration molten carbonate fuel cell power plant design which was demonstrated from 1996–1997. Exergy analysis of the commercial plant design shows the overall, second-law system efficiency to be 53 percent. The principal inefficiency, 17 percent of the total, lies in the catalytic combustor. Another major inefficiency is the stack loss, 14 percent. Heat transfer accounts for approximately 6 percent of the loss. System reconfigurations, incorporating a steam cycle with reheat (System I) and a gas turbine cycle (System II), both with revised heat exchanger networks, for significant improvement are proposed and evaluated. The second-law system efficiency is raised to 66 percent in System I and to 70 percent for System II.

Cross-reactivity of an automated human haptoglobin immunoturbidimetric assay for detection of haptoglobin in swine serum.

The acute phase response has been previously characterized in the pig.2,9 Haptoglobin (Hpt), an a-2 glycoprotein, is a normal serum protein that increases 5–7 fold within 24– 48 hours upon the advent of an acute inflammatory response.9 Serum Hpt increases as a result of natural infections and experimentally induced inflammation in pigs as in other species.1,2,6,9,11,12 Besides serum Hpt as a marker for inflammatory disease, it has been used as an indicator of weight gain4 and stress from environmental conditions.5 The serum Hpt concentration may therefore be useful as a monitor of overall health of pigs in a commercial production unit. Automated assays for measuring serum Hpt have been validated for use in dogs, horses, and sheep.7,11,13 A commercially available immunoturbidimetric assay for human Hpt has recently been validated for use in dogs and horses.13 The purpose of this study is to report on the cross-reactivity of this same assaya for use in determining serum Hpt concentrations in swine. Serum samples were obtained from pigs housed at the Veterinary Medicine Research Farm at the University of Illinois and from samples submitted to the Purina Mills Research Center for unrelated testing. Samples from the University of Illinois were collected by venipuncture into serum clot tubes, and after centrifugation, the serum was withdrawn and stored at 270 C until assayed. Those samples submitted to Purina Mills Research Center were treated in a similar fashion. Serum used for immunoelectrophoresis, western blot, and correlation studies were from the University of Illinois, and serum for all other experiments was from the Purina Mills Research Center. A cyanmethemoglobin (CHB) assay for serum Hpt was performed as previously described.3,4 Hpt was reported in milligrams of CHB binding capacity (HBC) per deciliter of serum. Samples with relatively low, medium, and high HBC were pooled and labeled respectively. The pooled samples were used for further experiments. Immunoelectrophoresis was performed as previously described13 using 1-ml aliquots of pooled swine serum containing various Hpt concentrations as determined by the CHB assay. Serum from a healthy human donor served as a control. Following standard electrophoresis on a 1.0% agarose gel film,b anti-human Hpt antiserum (anti-Hpt antibody) was added to diffusion wells on either side of each electrophoretic lane. The antiserum was allowed to diffuse for 24 hours at room temperature, forming immunoprecipitates. The film

Differences in meat quality and the calpain enzyme system in pigs supplied by 4 different commercial production units

The calpain enzyme system plays an important role in the proteolytic events leading to the conversion of muscle to meat in livestock species. Evidence in beef has shown that the levels of calpastatin, the inhibitory component of the system, measured 24 h after slaughter can be used to predict the degree of tenderisation achieved at the end of the normal conditioning period (Koohmaraieet al., 1995). In pigs there is now evidence that calpastatin levels measured within the first hour of slaughter correlate with tenderness measured after conditioning (Senskyet al., 1998). In this study we report differences in the calpain system in pigs supplied by four different commercial production units who supplied pigs with predominantly tough (A and B below) or tender meat (C and D below) in a previous study (Senskyet al., 1998).

Canonical correlation analysis of relationships between management inputs and fish growth and yields in polyculture

Canonical correlation analysis was used to study the influence of management factors on growth and yields in an experimental polyculture system. The major conclusions are: (1) yield of each species was affected mainly by its own stocking density, followed by interactions with other species; (2) the best yields and growth rates of tilapia were obtained with stocking weights of over 13 g and; (3) common carp, Cyprinus carpio L., was affected negatively by silver carp, Hypoihalmichihys molitrix (Valenciennes), density and positively by nutrient inputs. Its best performance was obtained at silver carp density below 1000/ha. Analyses of data from commercial production units are required to confirm these conclusions

Mink

This chapter presents the basic biology and husbandry of mink as they have been used in commercial production units. Clinical laboratory data are summarized. Veterinary care is divided into viral and bacterial diseases along with several noninfectious disease sections.

Body Condition of Sows Across Parities and Relationship to Reproductive Performance2

Weight, heartgirth, backfat and body condition of sows was monitored in a commercial, farrow-to-finish unit during 1 yr. Measurements were obtained during the third, ninth and fifteenth week of gestation and the day after weaning. Litter performance and rebreeding rate also were recorded. Body weight and heartgirth increased (P less than .01) over parities because gestational gains were larger than lactational losses. Backfat tended to be lower in later parities. Body weight, heartgirth and backfat, but not condition score, declined from weaning to the third week of the subsequent gestation in both first and second litter sows. Correlations among measures of body condition were low (less than .45), except the overall correlation between body weight and heartgirth. Number of pigs born alive increased and interval to estrus decreased in later parities. There were no significant relationships between changes in body condition and rebreeding performance of sows. These results suggest that changes in body condition typically observed in sows housed in commercial production units may be too subtle to have an effect on reproductive performance.

Agitation scale‐up effects during VCM suspension polymerization

AbstractExperimental data are presented showing the effect of reactor agitation intensity and reactor size on final resin properties during VCM suspension polymerization. Experiments were carried out in three stirred batch polymerization reactors covering a broad range of vessel sizes (bench scale, pilot plant, and commercial production units). Reactors' shapes were geometrically similar. The same charge recipe and operating procedure was also used for all three reactors. The effects of major agitation parameters such as impeller diameter, width, and speed are correlated against resin properties using the Weber number. The same characteristic U‐shaped curve is found for all three reactors when mean particle diameter is plotted versus Weber number. However, the curves do not lie on top of one another but are spread apart, the larger reactors having a higher Weber number. Another interesting feature is that the coefficient of variation (particle size standard deviation divided by mean diameter) decreases dramatically as reactor size is increased. Other resin properties also show improvement upon scale‐up. In summary, resin properties continue to improve as reactor size is increased over the range studied (bench‐to‐commercial large reactor scale), but a correct application of the complex scale‐up technology must be employed to take advantage of this observation.

Observed Egg Shell Damage in a Mechanical Gathering System

INTRODUCTIONIT HAS been estimated that cracked or checked eggs account for 3 to 5 percent of all eggs produced in commercial production units (Forsythe, 1966). A combination of adverse factors such as older aged birds and hand gathering in wire baskets has been shown by Michigan workers (Toleman et al., 1964) to result in 5.7 percent cracked eggs at the production level. This same study indicated that the lowest level of checks, 0.6 percent occurred in eggs from young flocks collected on molded fiberboard trays from rollaway nests.These estimates and studies were made before the general use of mechanical gathering for large commercial operations. The loss in value due to cracked shells has been estimated at from five to seven cents per dozen. Thus, the dollar loss in the U.S. may be in the range of three to four million dollars for every one percent of damaged eggs,…