A comparative study of cultural methods for the detection of Salmonella in feed and feed ingredients

Background  

Giardia duodenalis is a ubiquitous protozoan parasite that has emerged as a significant opportunistic human pathogen. G. duodenalis may have a deleterious effect on animal growth and performance, therefore its potential as a production limiting organism should not be discounted. We therefore undertook this study to determine management and environmental factors in feedlots that influence the prevalence and environmental load of G. duodenalis cysts in fecal material deposited by feedlot cattle in the central and western United States.     

Exploring the contextual sensitivity of factors that determine cell-to-cell variability in receptor-mediated apoptosis

Stochastic fluctuations in gene expression give rise to cell-to-cell variability in protein levels which can potentially cause variability in cellular phenotype. For TRAIL (TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand) variability manifests itself as dramatic differences in the time between ligand exposure and the sudden activation of the effector caspases that kill cells. However, the contribution of individual proteins to phenotypic variability has not been explored in detail. In this paper we use feature-based sensitivity analysis as a means to estimate the impact of variation in key apoptosis regulators on variability in the dynamics of cell death. We use Monte Carlo sampling from measured protein concentration distributions in combination with a previously validated ordinary differential equation model of apoptosis to simulate the dynamics of receptor-mediated apoptosis. We find that variation in the concentrations of some proteins matters much more than variation in others and that precisely which proteins matter depends both on the concentrations of other proteins and on whether correlations in protein levels are taken into account. A prediction from simulation that we confirm experimentally is that variability in fate is sensitive to even small increases in the levels of Bcl-2. We also show that sensitivity to Bcl-2 levels is itself sensitive to the levels of interacting proteins. The contextual dependency is implicit in the mathematical formulation of sensitivity, but our data show that it is also important for biologically relevant parameter values. Our work provides a conceptual and practical means to study and understand the impact of cell-to-cell variability in protein expression levels on cell fate using deterministic models and sampling from parameter distributions.     

Molecular analyses of Salmonella enterica isolates from fish feed factories and fish feed ingredients

Isolates of the most commonly observed salmonella serovars in Norwegian fish feed factories from 1998 to 2000 (Salmonella enterica serovar Agona, S. enterica serovar Montevideo, S. enterica serovar Senftenberg, and S. enterica serovar Kentucky) were studied by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and plasmid profile analysis and compared to isolates of the same serovars from fish feed ingredients, humans, and other sources (a total of 112 isolates). Within each serovar, a variety of distinct PFGE types (with similarity levels less than 90%) were observed in the feed ingredients and other sources, while only two distinct types of each serovar were identified in the factories. The combined results of PFGE and plasmid analyses showed that each factory harbored only a few S. enterica clones. Some of these clones persisted for at least 3 years in the factories, indicating that there was long-lasting contamination probably due to inadequate decontamination procedures.     

Composition of amino acids in feed ingredients for animal diets

Dietary amino acids (AA) are crucial for animal growth, development, reproduction, lactation, and health. However, there is a scarcity of information regarding complete composition of “nutritionally nonessential AA” (NEAA; those AA which can be synthesized by animals) in diets. To provide a much-needed database, we quantified NEAA (including glutamate, glutamine, aspartate, and asparagine) in feed ingredients for comparison with “nutritionally essential AA” (EAA; those AA whose carbon skeletons cannot be formed by animals). Except for gelatin and feather meal, animal and plant ingredients contained high percentages of glutamate plus glutamine, branched-chain AA, and aspartate plus asparagine, which were 10–32, 15–25, and 8–14% of total protein, respectively. In particular, leucine and glutamine were most abundant in blood meal and casein (13% of total protein), respectively. Notably, gelatin, feather meal, fish meal, meat and bone meal, and poultry byproduct had high percentages of glycine, proline plus hydroxyproline, and arginine, which were 10–35, 9.6–35, and 7.2–7.9% of total protein, respectively. Among plant products, arginine was most abundant in peanut meal and cottonseed meal (14–16% of total protein), whereas corn and sorghum had low percentages of cysteine, lysine, methionine, and tryptophan (0.9–3% of total protein). Overall, feed ingredients of animal origin (except for gelatin) are excellent sources of NEAA and EAA for livestock, avian, and aquatic species, whereas gelatin provides highest amounts of arginine, glycine, and proline plus hydroxyproline. Because casein, corn, soybean, peanut, fish, and gelatin are consumed by children and adults, our findings also have important implications for human nutrition.     

Shape variability in tridactyl dinosaur footprints: the significance of size and function

The functional anatomy of the hindlimb of bipedal dinosaurs has been intensively studied. Yet, surprisingly little work has been done concerning functional adaptation of digits for terrestrial locomotion. While complete and articulated pes skeletons are scarce, pes shape is abundantly recorded by fossil footprints. We elucidate the significance of footprint shape and size for locomotion using a large sample (n = 303) of tridactyl dinosaur footprints from a broad range of geographical localities and time slots. Size and shape variation are characterized separately for theropods and ornithischians, the two principal trackmaker taxa. At smaller sizes, theropod footprints are best discriminated from ornithischian footprints by their smaller interdigital angle and larger projection of digit III; at larger sizes digital widths are effective discriminants. Ornithischian footprints increase in size from the Early Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous, a trend not observed in theropod footprints. Size and function are argued to be important determinants of footprint shape, and an attempt made to infer function from shape. Digit III projection and length-to-width ratio of the footprints are negatively correlated with size in both groups; digit impression width is positively correlated with size only in ornithischians. Digit III projection appears to be positively correlated with cursorial ability. Increased interdigital angles are associated with a decrease in digital width, possibly an adaptation for stability. Weak digit III projection and increased digital width are interpreted as adaptations for graviportality. Footprints yield great potential for the understanding of the functional morphology of dinosaur feet.     

Time-adjusted global warming potentials for LCA and carbon footprints

Purpose

The common practice of summing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and applying global warming potentials (GWPs) to calculate CO₂ equivalents misrepresents the global warming effects of emissions that occur over a product or system??s life cycle at a particular time in the future. The two primary purposes of this work are to develop an approach to correct for this distortion that can (1) be feasibly implemented by life cycle assessment and carbon footprint practitioners and (2) results in units of CO₂ equivalent. Units of CO₂ equilavent allow for easy integration in current reporting and policy frameworks.

Methods

CO₂ equivalency is typically calculated using GWPs from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. GWPs are calculated by dividing a GHG??s global warming effect, as measured by cumulative radiative forcing, over a prescribed time horizon by the global warming effect of CO₂ over that same time horizon. Current methods distort the actual effect of GHG emissions at a particular time in the future by summing emissions released at different times and applying GWPs; modeling them as if they occur at the beginning of the analytical time horizon. The method proposed here develops time-adjusted warming potentials (TAWPs), which use the reference gas CO₂, and a reference time of zero. Thus, application of TAWPs results in units of CO₂ equivalent today.

Results and discussion

A GWP for a given GHG only requires that a practitioner select an analytical time horizon. The TAWP, however, contains an additional independent variable; the year in which an emission occurs. Thus, for each GHG and each analytical time horizon, TAWPs require a simple software tool (TAWPv1.0) or an equation to estimate their value. Application of 100-year TAWPs to a commercial building??s life cycle emissions showed a 30?% reduction in CO₂ equivalent compared to typical practice using 100-year GWPs. As the analytical time horizon is extended the effect of emissions timing is less pronounced. For example, at a 500-year analytical time horizon the difference is only 5?%.

Conclusions and recommendations

TAWPs are one of many alternatives to traditional accounting methods, and are envisioned to be used as one of multiple characterizations in carbon accounting or life cycle impact assessment methods to assist in interpretation of a study??s outcome.     

Holocene footprints in Namibia: The influence of substrate on footprint variability

We report a Holocene human and animal footprint site from the Namib Sand Sea, south of Walvis Bay, Namibia. Using these data, we explore intratrail footprint variability associated with small variations in substrate properties using a “whole foot” analytical technique developed for the studies in human ichnology. We demonstrate high levels of intratrail variability as a result of variations in grain size, depositional moisture content, and the degree of sediment disturbance, all of which determine the bearing capacity of the substrate. The two principal trails were examined, which had consistent stride and step lengths, and as such variations in print typology were primarily controlled by substrate rather than locomotor mechanics. Footprint typology varies with bearing capacity such that firm substrates show limited impressions associated with areas of peak plantar pressure, whereas softer substrates are associated with deep prints with narrow heels and reduced medial longitudinal arches. Substrates of medium bearing capacity give displacement rims and proximal movement of sediment, which obscures the true form of the medial longitudinal arch. A simple conceptual model is offered which summarizes these conclusions and is presented as a basis for further investigation into the control of substrate on footprint typology. The method, model, and results presented here are essential in the interpretation of any sites of greater paleoanthropological significance, such as recently reported from Ileret (1.5 Ma, Kenya; Bennett et al.: Science 323 (2009) 1197–1201). Am J Phys Anthropol 151:265–279, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Effects of vegetable feed ingredients on bone health in Atlantic salmon

The aim of the present study was to examine if dietary inclusion of vegetable lipids (VL) and proteins (VP) influenced markers of bone health in Atlantic salmon. Triplicate groups were fed one of four different diets; 100% fish protein (FP) and fish lipids (FL) (FPFL), 80% VP and 35% VL (80VP35VL), 40% VP and 70% VL (40VP70VL), or 80% VP and 70% VL (80VP70VL) for 12 months on‐growth in sea water. Fish were analyzed for vertebral bone mineralization (mineral content, as % of bone dry weight), vertebral deformities (radiology), vertebral bone mRNA expression of factors involved in mineralization (bone gla protein, bgp) and growth regulation (igf‐I and growth hormone receptor), as well as plasma vitamin D metabolites. The fish grew from 0.35 to 4 kg during the experimental period. At the end of the experiment, significantly lower prevalence of fish with one or more deformed vertebrae was observed in the 80VP70VL group (11%) compared to the other groups (33–43%). There was a significant higher relative expression of igf‐I mRNA in vertebral bone of fish fed the 80VP70VL diet compared to control fish (FPFL), while the other genes studied were unaffected. Elevated plasma 25‐hydroxyvitamin D₃ recorded in the marine feed group is discussed as a predictor for later development of bone deformities. In conclusion, the present study shows that high inclusion levels of vegetable lipids and proteins may have a positive effect on bone health in Atlantic salmon postsmolts.     

Model–data synthesis in terrestrial carbon observation: methods, data requirements and data uncertainty specifications

Systematic, operational, long‐term observations of the terrestrial carbon cycle (including its interactions with water, energy and nutrient cycles and ecosystem dynamics) are important for the prediction and management of climate, water resources, food resources, biodiversity and desertification. To contribute to these goals, a terrestrial carbon observing system requires the synthesis of several kinds of observation into terrestrial biosphere models encompassing the coupled cycles of carbon, water, energy and nutrients. Relevant observations include atmospheric composition (concentrations of CO₂ and other gases); remote sensing; flux and process measurements from intensive study sites; in situ vegetation and soil monitoring; weather, climate and hydrological data; and contemporary and historical data on land use, land use change and disturbance (grazing, harvest, clearing, fire). A review of model–data synthesis tools for terrestrial carbon observation identifies ‘nonsequential’ and ‘sequential’ approaches as major categories, differing according to whether data are treated all at once or sequentially. The structure underlying both approaches is reviewed, highlighting several basic commonalities in formalism and data requirements. An essential commonality is that for all model–data synthesis problems, both nonsequential and sequential, data uncertainties are as important as data values themselves and have a comparable role in determining the outcome. Given the importance of data uncertainties, there is an urgent need for soundly based uncertainty characterizations for the main kinds of data used in terrestrial carbon observation. The first requirement is a specification of the main properties of the error covariance matrix. As a step towards this goal, semi‐quantitative estimates are made of the main properties of the error covariance matrix for four kinds of data essential for terrestrial carbon observation: remote sensing of land surface properties, atmospheric composition measurements, direct flux measurements, and measurements of carbon stores.     

Valuable ingredients and feed toxicity evaluation of Microcystis aeruginosa acidolysis product in mice

This research studied the extraction from Microcystis aeruginosa using hydrochloric acid method as a potentially valuable protein resource from eutrophic lakes. Amino acid composition, residual algal toxins, and heavy metals of the acidolysis product were studied. After 18 h of hydrochloric acid treatment, the product of M. aeruginosa contained 17 amino acids, 51.34% of total amino acid requirements, and 30.25% of the livestock and poultry essential amino acid (Eaa). The residual microcystin-LR (MC-LR) was 0.94 µg kg⁻¹, which was less than WHO drinking water limit of microcystins. The removal ratio of microcystins was higher than 99.99% during the process of hydrolysis. The concentration of heavy metals of the product was in compliance with feed standards. Furthermore, using Horn’s method, Mouse Micronucleus Test and Sperm Shape Abnormality Test were conducted to study the forage safety of the product. Half lethal dose (LD₅₀) of acidolysis product in mice was >9.09 g kg⁻¹ body weight, actually belonging to non-toxic grade. Every dose treatment did not significantly increase activities of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and γ-glutamyltransferase (γ-GT). The results of both micronucleus test and sperm shape abnormality test were negative, which suggested the product with no mutagenicity and sperm malformation effects. This study indicated that the acidolysis product of M. aeruginosa was safe to be used as a feed ingredient.     

Slow rehydration for detection of Salmonella spp. in feeds and feed ingredients

Rehydration and equilibration (4 h) of feeds and feed ingredients at water/sample ratios (vol/wt) of 1.4 to 3.2 did not markedly increase recovery of Salmonella spp. in the slurry when analyzed by standard cultural and direct enrichment methods. Of 143 naturally contaminated samples examined, equilibration increased levels of detection from 106 to 109 positive samples by the standard cultural method and from 103 to 112 by direct enrichment. Results suggest that nonhomogeneous distribution of low incident numbers of salmonellae in test samples rather than an equilibration-dependent response provided for the observed heterogeneity in recovery patterns. The novel equilibration approach is of limited application and requires validation on an individual food basis.     

Methods of energy evaluation of feed ingredients for rabbits and their accuracy

The influence of the methodology used in the evaluation of feed ingredients for rabbits on the precision of determination is reviewed. The procedures for calculation of the energy values and their standard errors are shown and discussed for each method. The direct method used for evaluating some relatively balanced feedstuffs such as alfalfa hay or wheat bran gives consistent results, but over- or underestimation and low repeatability is obtained with most imbalanced ingredients. For the substitution method, two calculation procedures of the energy values are compared, showing greater accuracy with the equation in which the gross energy of the ingredient is determined directly instead of estimated by difference. The basal diet and the rate/s of substitution must be designed to avoid a great nutrient imbalance in all the experimental diets. The substitution rate is the main factor in the precision of estimation of feedstuff evaluation, being directly related to the accuracy. Thus, the standard error of the ingredient energy value estimated by difference is 13.4, 6.4 and 2.9 times higher than the standard error of diets for 10%, 20% and 40% substitution rates, respectively. The number of replicates is of limited importance in comparison with the substitution rate; thus, the numbers of rabbits required to estimate the mean energy value within ± 5% with a 95% confidence are 37 and 10 for 20% and 40% substitution rates, respectively. Therefore, the energy value of ingredients that are usually included in diets in high proportions (20–30%) can be obtained with good precision by difference using only one rate of substitution. Several levels of inclusion (four or more) must be used when interactions between ingredients are expected or very low rates of inclusion are used. In this case, the energy value is estimated by extrapolation of the regression between the digestible energy of diets and the substitution rates and a greater precision than by difference is obtained. The multiregression method is rarely used because of the great number of ingredients included in the diets and because of the existence of interactions among them, preventing the correct estimation of their energy values.     

Slow rehydration for detection of Salmonella spp. in feeds and feed ingredients.

Rehydration and equilibration (4 h) of feeds and feed ingredients at water/sample ratios (vol/wt) of 1.4 to 3.2 did not markedly increase recovery of Salmonella spp. in the slurry when analyzed by standard cultural and direct enrichment methods. Of 143 naturally contaminated samples examined, equilibration increased levels of detection from 106 to 109 positive samples by the standard cultural method and from 103 to 112 by direct enrichment. Results suggest that nonhomogeneous distribution of low incident numbers of salmonellae in test samples rather than an equilibration-dependent response provided for the observed heterogeneity in recovery patterns. The novel equilibration approach is of limited application and requires validation on an individual food basis.     

Evaluation of methane-utilising bacteria products as feed ingredients for monogastric animals

Bacterial proteins represent a potential future nutrient source for monogastric animal production because they can be grown rapidly on substrates with minimum dependence on soil, water, and climate conditions. This review summarises the current knowledge on methane-utilising bacteria as feed ingredients for animals. We present results from earlier work and recent findings concerning bacterial protein, including the production process, chemical composition, effects on nutrient digestibility, metabolism, and growth performance in several monogastric species, including pigs, broiler chickens, mink (Mustela vison), fox (Alopex lagopus), Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), and Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus). It is concluded that bacterial meal (BM) derived from natural gas fermentation, utilising a bacteria culture containing mainly the methanotroph Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath), is a promising source of protein based on criteria such as amino acid composition, digestibility, and animal performance and health. Future research challenges include modified downstream processing to produce value-added products, and improved understanding of factors contributing to nutrient availability and animal performance.     

A review of processing of feed ingredients to enhance diet digestibility in finfish

Replacement of fish meal with plant proteins in aquaculture diets presents several problems. Firstly, aquaculture diets, particularly diets for carnivorous fish species, are nutrient dense and may contain up to 450 g crude protein (CP)/kg. Such diets preclude the use of ingredients with only moderate CP content, such as pulses including peas and faba beans or oilseed meals including canola/rapeseed meal and flax. Secondly, virtually all crops contain heat-labile and heat-stable secondary compounds including protease inhibitors, tannins, lectins, phytate, dietary fibre and starch. Removal of heat-labile secondary compounds may be accomplished by extrusion or other heat treatment. However, elimination of heat-stable secondary compounds, and increasing the nutrient concentration of diets, requires fractionation of crops. Fractionation technologies range from low technology processes such as dehulling to medium technologies such as air classification to sophisticated technologies such as aqueous and solvent protein purification. Studies on the nutritional value of processed plant proteins in various fish species have consistently shown improved digestibility and growth compared to feeding unprocessed ingredients. This review examines effects of processing technologies on nutritional properties of soybean meal, canola meal, peas, lupins and flax in aquaculture diets.     

Exploring the temporal variability of a food web using long‐term biomonitoring data

Ecological communities are constantly being reshaped in the face of environmental change and anthropogenic pressures. Yet, how food webs change over time remains poorly understood. Food web science is characterized by a trade‐off between complexity (in terms of the number of species and feeding links) and dynamics. Topological analysis can use complex, highly resolved empirical food web models to explore the architecture of feeding interactions but is limited to a static view, whereas ecosystem models can be dynamic but use highly aggregated food webs. Here, we explore the temporal dynamics of a highly resolved empirical food web over a time period of 18 years, using the German Bight fish and benthic epifauna community as our case study. We relied on long‐term monitoring ecosystem surveys (from 1998 to 2015) to build a metaweb, i.e. the meta food web containing all species recorded over the time span of our study. We then combined time series of species abundances with topological network analysis to construct annual food web snapshots. We developed a new approach, ‘node‐weighted’ food web metrics by including species abundances to represent the temporal dynamics of food web structure, focusing on generality and vulnerability. Our results suggest that structural food web properties change through time; however, binary food web structural properties may not be as temporally variable as the underlying changes in species composition. Further, the node‐weighted metrics enabled us to detect that food web structure was influenced by changes in species composition during the first half of the time series and more strongly by changes in species dominance during the second half. Our results demonstrate how ecosystem surveys can be used to monitor temporal changes in food web structure, which are important ecosystem indicators for building marine management and conservation plans.     

Stimulation of immunity in Indian major carp Catla catla with herbal feed ingredients

Catla catla, catla (150 +/- 20 g) were fed a diet containing seed of Achyranthes aspera (0.5%) and control diet without A. aspera for four weeks prior to and after ip injection with chicken erythrocytes. Fish were sampled for four consecutive weeks after immunization. Hemagglutination antibody titers were significantly higher in the test group of fishes compared with the control group. Serum globulin levels were significantly (P(t-test) < 0.05) higher in the test group than control group on days 14 and 21. Anti-trypsin activity due to total serum protease inhibitors and alpha1-antiprotease was also significantly (P(t-test) < 0.05) higher in the test group of fishes than the control. RNA/DNA ratio of spleen and kidney was also significantly (P(t-test) < 0.05) higher in test group than the control group. All these results confirm that A. aspera enhances the immunity of catla.