The objective of this study was to compare the psysico-chemical composition and fatty acid (FFA) profile of traditional dry cured bacon Slavonska slanina, produced from the authentic Black Slavonian ...Pig (BP) and modern pigs (MP), using traditional homemade principles. The samples of Slavonska slanina produced from BP had a significantly (p < 0.05) higher fat content (78.32%) than the samples produced from MP (46.47%), while the samples produced from MP showed significantly higher (p < 0.05) protein and moisture content. The samples produced from BP also showed lower aw and salt content but higher pH. Determination of fatty acid composition was performed at the end of the production process. The composition of fatty acids with respect to the groups of saturated (SFA), monounsaturated (MUFA) and polyunsaturated (PUFA) fatty acids was determined, as well as the ratios n-6/n-3 and PUFA/SFA. The results of fatty acid composition determination of Slavonska slanina produced from BP and MP show that oleic acid (C18: 1n9) is the most dominant fatty acid from the MUFA group (47.02 and 46.25%), the most common SFA acid was palmitic acid (C16: 0) (23.44 and 24.96%), and PUFA linoleic acid (C18: 2n-6c) (10.76 and 9.74%). The genotype had a significant (p < 0.05) effect on the SFA and USFA composition of Slavonska slanina. The ratios PUFA/SFA (0.34−0.28) and n-6/n-3 (31.84−27.34) for samples of Slavonska slanina produced from BP and MP are in concordance with previously published data for different dry cured meat products, and do not comply with the nutritionally recommended values of international health organizations (PUFA/SFA > 0.4 and n-6/n-3 < 4).
The Carniolan honey bee (Apis mellifera carnica) is an indigenous subspecies of the Western honey bee in Central Europe. Croatia represents a large part of its native range. Hybridization and ...introgression is a realistic possibility due to unmonitored imports by beekeepers. In this study, we focused on honey bee colonies managed by beekeepers from all over Croatia and Slovenia. The identification of the subspecies was based on wing geometric morphometrics. The similarity of all investigated colonies to A. m. carnica was substantial, which indicates that the native subspecies continues to be present in the study area. However, some of the colonies differed markedly from the currently available reference of this subspecies. The low similarity with reference samples can be related both to hybridization with non-native subspecies and to natural geographical variation within A. m. carnica. The data and results obtained from this morphometric analysis will provide a deeper insight into the phenotypic characterization of the studied honey bee populations and directions for future conservation strategies.
This study was focused on genetic evaluation of longevity in Croatian Simmental cattle using linear and survival models. The main objective was to create a genetic model that is most appropriate to ...describe the longevity data. Survival analysis, using piecewise Weibull proportional hazards model, used all information on the length of productive life including censored as well as uncensored observations. Linear models considered culled animals only. The relative milk production within herd had a highest impact on cows’ longevity. In comparison of estimated genetic parameters among methods, survival analysis yielded higher heritability value (0.075) than linear sire (0.037) and linear animal model (0.056). When linear models were used, genetic trend of Simmental bulls for longevity was slightly increasing over the years, unlike a decreasing trend in case of survival analysis methodology. Average reliability of bulls’ breeding values was higher in case of survival analysis. The rank correlations between survival analysis and linear models bulls’ breeding values for longevity were ranged between 0.44 and 0.46 implying huge differences in ranking of sires.
The objective of this paper was to study variability, heritability and correlation of the three production traits in 1409 first-calf heifers of Holstein-Friesian breed; including the determination of ...the quantity of milk during lactation (ML), the quantity of milk fat during lactation (MM) and the quantity of protein during lactation (PR). According to the obtained results it could be concluded that there were statistically significant differences (P<0.01, P<0.05, P<0.001) between ML, MM and PR regarding the effect of season of the first calving and the length of the first lactation. In addition, there were also significant differences (P<0.01, P<0.001) between ML and PR with respect to the effect of farm on which animals were raised, while on MM variability the year and age at first calving had a significant effect (P<0.05). A share of Holstein genes and the ration which animals were fed had no effect (P>0.05) on variability of any of the examined traits, while the farm on which animals were raised had no effect (P>0.05) on MM, and year and age at first calving did not demonstrate (P>0.05) statistically significant effect on ML and PR. By applying the animal model, based on the use of kinship matrix which involved 3867 animals, by help of REML methodology following heritability coefficients were evaluated: ML h2= 0.25; MM h2= 0.40; PR h2= 0.37. Coefficients determined for genetic and phenotypic correlations indicated existence of complete and positive correlations between these traits the interval of values being from rg = 0.96 between ML and MM to rg = 1.00 between ML and PR.
Cilj rada bio je utvrditi varijabilnost, nasljednost i povezanost tri proizvodne osobine 1409 prvotelki holštajn-frizijske pasmine; količina mlijeka tijekom laktacije (ML), količina mliječne masti tijekom laktacije (MM) i količina proteina tijekom laktacije (PR). Sukladno postavljenom cilju utvrđeno je da ML, MM i PR statistički značajno variraju (P<0,01, P<0,05, P<0,001) pod utjecajem sezone prvog teljenja I dužine trajanja prve laktacije. Također, ML i PR statistički su značajno varirali (P<0,01, P<0,001) pod utjecajem farme na kojoj su životinje uzgajane, dok su na varijabilnost MM signifikantan utjecaj (P<0.05) imali godina i starost prilikom prvog teljenja. Udio holstein gena i obrok koji su životinje dobivale nisu utjecali (P>0,05) na varijabilnost niti jedne od ispitivanih osobina, dok farma na kojoj su životinje uzgajane nije utjecala (P>0,05) na MM, a godina i starost prilikom prvog teljenja nisu imali (P>0,05) statistički značajan utjecaj na ML i PR. Koristeći model životinje, zasnovan na upotrebi matrice srodstva koja je sadržavala 3867 životinja, REML metodologijom ocijenjeni su koeficijenti heritabiliteta za: ML h2= 0,25; MM h2= 0,40; PR h2= 0,37. Utvrđeni koeficijenti genetskih i fenotipskih korelacija ukazivali su na potpunu i pozitivnu povezanost između ovih osobina, s intervalom vrijednosti od rg = 0,96 između ML i MM do rg = 1,00 između ML i PR.
To determine the levels of Wnt inhibitors in patients treated with aromatase inhibitors (AIs) prior to therapy and to investigate their association with bone mineral density (BMD) and lifestyle ...parameters.
137 breast cancer patients were divided into a group treated with 1 mg of anastrozole and a group w/o anastrozole therapy. Serum concentrations of sclerostin and dickkopf1 (DKK1) were measured by ELISA. BMD was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Lifestyle factors were investigated by a self-reported questionnaire.
Sclerostin was significantly higher in the AI-treated group (31.8 pmol/L vs. 24.1 pmol/L;
< 0.001), whereas DKK1 was significantly lower in the AI-treated group (24.3 pmol/L vs. 26.02 pmol/L;
< 0.001). Total hip and femoral neck BMD were significantly lower in the AI-treated group.
AI treatment was associated with increased levels of sclerostin and decreased levels of DKK1.
The extraction of amplifiable DNA is a crucial step for genetic analysis of farm animals. The aim of present study was to determine the quality and the quantity of DNA extracted from blood, milk, ...hair and tissue in cattle. It has been shown that milk and hair samples can be used as a reliable source for obtaining good quality and quantity of DNA ready for the next generation sequencing (NGS). Commercially available kit, with several modifications, was included in the evaluation. Raw milk or milk somatic cell pellet storage under -80 degreesC or -20 degreesC has shown to be a reliable procedure for preservation when large number of milk samples were collected at once. The quality (purity) and the quantity of extracted DNA were measured using a nanophotometer. The adequacy of the DNA extract was assessed by estimating average read depth of all captured bases of whole NGS mitogenome sequences. Although DNA extracted from different types of samples was suitable for NGS analysis, hair samples showed the largest variation of DNA quantity, low purity and DNA integrity. Non-invasive sampling methods such as milk and hair collection can be used for dairy cattle while sampling from free-range requires handling, capturing and caution. Milk and hair can be used for obtaining optimal DNA concentrations for NGS analysis.
Srednjoročna simulacija razvoja glavnih agrarno-političkih pokazatelja tržišta goveđega mesa u Hrvatskoj do 2030. godine izrađena je putem modela parcijalne ravnoteže AGMEMOD (AGricultural MEmber ...State MODeling). Rezultati modela do kraja simuliranoga razdoblja, uz pretpostavku nastavka postojećih mjera i instrumenata Zajedničke poljoprivredne politike, potvrđuju razvoj negativnih trendova u sklopu tržišta goveđega mesa uočenih pregledom povijesnih podataka. Do kraja simuliranoga razdoblja očekuje se smanjenje ukupnoga broja goveda za 8,63% i proizvodnje goveđega mesa za 24,46%, dok domaća potrošnja raste za 25,91%. Negativni proizvodni pokazatelji uz rastuću domaću potrošnju mogli bi uzrokovati rast uvoza goveđega mesa za 82,68%, uz stupanj samodostatnosti od 49% do 2030. godine. Cijena goveđega mesa od ulaska Hrvatske u Europsku uniju je stabilna, te se stabilan razvoj, uz blagi trend smanjenja, očekuje do kraja simuliranoga razdoblja.
Assessment of the heritability coefficients of longevity traits in the population of Black and White cows was performed on a data set that included production results of 16,539 of black and white ...culled cows, which reached a total of 50,382 lactations in the period from 1985 to 2012. The cows were grown on 7 farms of the Agricultural Corporation Belgrade and are progeny of 277 bulls. The analysis covered the following traits: length of productive life (LPL), lifetime milk yield (LMY) and number of lactations (NL). Variance components of longevity traits were estimated using a BLUP linear mixed model with animal as a random effect. Cows included in the analysis calved for the first time in the average age of 26.86 months, while the average length of productive life amounted to 1,299.9 days and during that time the animals achieved an average of 3.04 lactations and life time production of 21,016 kg of milk. The values of the heritability coefficients of longevity traits ranged from 0.066; 0.061 and 0.074 regarding the length of productive life, lifetime milk yield and number of lactations respectively.
Graves' disease is an autoimmune disease characterized by excessive thyroid hormone production. One of the consequences of that state can be a decrease in bone mineral density (BMD). Graves' disease ...is often treated with antithyroid drugs (ATD) as first line therapy, which can lead to disease remission. Moreover, recent data show that improvement in BMD can be expected. However, vitamin D deficiency can coexist along with Graves' disease, which is also involved in the process of bone remodeling. It is still not known whether lower values of vitamin D can contribute to onset of Graves' disease and if its supplementation might be helpful in therapy for hyperthyroidism. In the past couple of decades, osteopenia and osteoporosis have become a major health burden not only in post-menopausal women but also as a result of other diseases, leading to extensive research into various pathophysiological mechanisms responsible for bone remodeling. The Wnt (wingless integrated) signaling pathway is a very important factor in bone homeostasis, especially the canonical pathway. Present data indicate that stimulation of the Wnt pathway leads to bone mass increase and, in contrast, its inhibition leads to bone mass decrease. Hence, inhibitors of the canonical Wnt pathway became the focus of interest, in particular sclerostin and dickkopf 1 (DKK1). Hyperthyroidism and osteopenia/osteoporosis are quite common today and can coexist together or as separate entities. In this article, we aimed to give an overview of possible associations and potential mutual pathophysiological mechanisms.
This research was conducted with the aim ?f estimating genetic trend for a
functional length of productive life (FLPL) in the population of Black and
White cattle in Serbia. Research and bulls ...genetic evaluation for functional
longevity were performed on a set of data provided by Agricultural
Corporation Belgrade AD (PKB) which contained data on longevity and origin
of 22109 cows out of which 26% records were right-censored. Functional
length of productive life (FPLP) represents a time period from the first
calving to culling or censoring corrected for milk production. Breeding
values were estimated using Weibull method of proportional risks within
survival analysis a genetic trend for FLPL was calculated using of a
regression analysis. The cows included in the analysis were on average first
calved in the age of 809 days and had an average share of 81.9% genes of
Holstein Friesian breed. An average length of productive life was 1267 days
(41.6 months). Distribution of bull standardised breeding values did not
statistically significantly differ from normal distribution. An average
standardised breeding value was 99. A slightly positive genetic trend was
determined, that is, the length of functional productive life was by
selection increased by 0.021 day at an annual level while a reliability of
estimated breeding values showed a negative trend.
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