The objective of the present study was to determine the influence of age and sex on selected haematological and blood biochemical parameters in organically raised Dalmatian Pramenka lambs. ...Haematological and blood biochemical parameters were studied in 40 lambs with an equal representation of both sexes. The research lasted four months. Blood samples were collected once per month, from the beginning of the grazing season when lambs were at the average age of three months, and until the end of the production cycle for lamb meat. The distribution of the results according to age showed that the increase in the age of the lambs significantly reduced (P<0.05) the RBC, HGB, HCT and the concentration of GLU, BUN, BIT. The concentration of TP, ALB, GLO and the activity of enzyme AST significantly increased (P<0.05) with the increasing age of the lambs. The distribution of results by sex showed that female lambs had significantly higher WBC (P<0.05), RBC (P<0.01), and HGB (P<0.05) concentration, while male lambs had significantly higher values of MCV (P<0.01) and concentration of FFA (P<0.01). In conclusion, this research demonstrated that age and sex significantly influence most of the haematological and blood biochemical parameters of organically raised Dalmatian Pramenka lambs.
Bežični prijenos informacija, koristeći radiofrekvencijsko elektromagnetsko zračenje (RF-EMZ), danas ima nesagledive mogućnosti. S druge strane, osim mnogobrojnih korisnih
primjena, bežična ...tehnologija pobuđuje zabrinutost šire javnosti o štetnim učincima na zdravlje ljudi i životinja. Unatoč mnogobrojnim provedenim znanstvenim istraživanjima, do danas nije postignut jedinstven stav u pogledu štetnosti RF-EMZ-a na živa bića. Štoviše, veliki broj objavljenih rezultata istraživanja čak je i kontroverzan. Kada govorimo o biološkim učincima RFEMZ- a na životinje, moramo istaknuti da su istraživanja provedena na velikom broju životinjskih vrsta od beskralježnjaka do sisavaca. Nakon postavljene sumnje da RFEMZ može biti jedan od mogućih uzroka poremećaja gubitka pčelinjih zajednica, provedena su brojna istraživanja na medonosnoj pčeli (Apis mellifera). U ovome su radu sažeto objašnjeni osnovni pojmovi iz područja RF-EMZ te učinci toga zračenja na ljude i životinje, a s posebnim osvrtom na zajednice medonosne pčele.
The primary focus of the current study was to determine the potential benefits of supplementing sheep diet with white button mushrooms (WBM) in terms of growth, health and the kinetics of systemic ...CD4+ CD8+ memory T lymphocytes in lambs. Forty-five female lambs (Lika breed) were divided into three groups: A – the control group fed on a free-range pasture for the 222 days of the experiment, while groups B and C were housed in a separate facility for 42 days and fed either a commercial feed mixture (FM) or a FM supplemented with 15% of freshly prepared WBM, respectively, and ad libitum forage. For the remaining 180 days of the experiment, both groups (B and C) of lambs were kept free-range and fed pasture only. The lambs were monitored daily starting on Day 0 (or 90 days of age) before the treatments, weighed and blood sampled on Days 0, 21, 42 and 222, and were clinically observed for the incidence/severity of diarrhea and/or other signs of disease. In addition to morbidity, mortality was also monitored, and dead lambs were examined for gross pathology changes. The lambs fed FM supplemented with WBM (group C) had significantly higher body weight gain (P<0.05) on Days 42 and 222. They were neither diarrheic nor had any mortality cases throughout the experiment. Also, these lambs had a significantly increased (P<0.05) proportion of CD4+CD8+ T cells on Days 42 and 222. The data obtained supported our assumption of the efficacy of dietary WBM in the immunostimulation of CD4+CD8+ memory T lymphocytes in lambs, resulting in protection against on-farm diarrhea and providing an increased growth rate.
Plemenita pečurka (Agaricus bisporus), osim što je zdrava hrana, pripada i skupini funkcionalne hrane što potiče daljnja istraživanja njezine primjene kao funkcionalne hrane, odnosno funkcionalnog ...dodatka hrani ljudima, a i za domaće životinje namijenjene ljudskoj prehrani. Zbog prisutnosti nekih bioaktivnih sastojaka iz skupine polisaharida, lipopolisaharida, esencijalnih aminokiselina, peptida, glikoproteina, nukleozida, triterpenoida, lektina, masnih kiselina i njihovih derivata, za ove gljive poznati su protuupalni, protuvirusni, protubakterijski, hepatoprotektivni, protudijabetički, hipolipemijski, protutrombotski, hipotenzivni učinci i sinbiotska svojstva (neizravni probiotik/izravni prebiotik). U ovom istraživanju opisane su pozitivne naznake smanjenja lipida i povećanja aktivnosti enzima u m. semimembranosus janjadi hranjene svježom plemenitom pečurkom, što upućuje na bolji metabolizam i kvalitetu mesa. Na temelju dosadašnjih istraživanja u sklopu projekta HRZZ-a Inovativni funkcionalni proizvodi od janjećeg mesa (IP-2016-06-3685) te istraživanja prikazanih u ovom radu, može se zaključiti i da A. bisporus u janjadi ima potencijalan učinak promotora rasta. Stoga u ovom radu dobiveni rezultati istraživanja imaju znanstveno dokazanu primjenjivu vrijednost za plemenitu pečurku kao prirodan funkcionalni dodatak u dnevni obrok za janjad iz kojeg će se predstaviti tržišno novi i inovativni proizvod u obliku funkcionalne hrane za ljude (janjeće meso dobrog aroma profila s obzirom na sastav hlapljivih spojeva podrijetlom iz plemenite pečurke).
Gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) are a serious health problem and represent the most significant constraint in sheep grazing operations. Problems tend to be worse in organic sheep farming systems, as ...a consequence of a less restricted access of animals to outdoor environment with a higher exposure to infective larvae. In domestic animals, GIN are effectively controlled by an aggressive prophylactic administration of commercially available anthelmintics. As a consequence to a common overdose and misuse of readily available antiparasitic treatments, there is an inevitable development of populations of GIN resistant to all major classes of anthelmintics. Also, the control of GIN that is based entirely on the anthelmintic use, threatens sustainability of the sheep farming worldwide. The combination of the optimized use of anthelmintic drugs and alternative approaches seem to be a reasonable choice in sustainable parasitic control programs that offer a substantial reduction of anthelmintic treatments and conservation of anthelmintic efficacy. In that aspect, a "targeted selective treatment (TST)" directed towards animals clinically diagnosed with GIN, seems to be an effective approach to leave some parasite populations unexposed to anthelmintics (refugia) and to reduce development of anthelmintic resistance. Also, many current research efforts aim to find and validate sustainable non-chemotherapeutic approaches to GIN control, including changes in grazing management, optimized nutrition, dietary supplementation, consumption of plants with anthelmintic properties, biological control by nematophagous fungi, copper oxide wire particles (COWP), and homeopathic treatments. This manuscript outlines (outlines) and discusses relevant alternative approaches for GIN control in modern sheep farming systems.
Data concerning the morphometric parameters of sheep red blood cells (RBCs) obtained using computer-assisted image analysis have not yet been investigated, and there are no data on any analyses of ...ovine RBC subpopulations based on their morphometric parameters. The aims of this study are to determine the values of RBC haematological and morphometric size and shape parameters, to form groups according to the obtained values of haematological parameters; to determine the differences in RBC morphometric parameters between the formed groups, and to determine RBC subpopulations and their respective proportions in the formed groups. Thirty-six blood samples were collected from the jugular vein of clinically healthy Lika pramenka sheep, aged between 2 and 5 years. Haematological parameters including haemoglobin (HGB), haematocrit (HTC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and RBC distribution width were analysed using a haematology analyser. Haematological parameters were categorized into two groups: those with lower values or values below the physiological range (Groups 1) and groups with higher values or values above the physiological range (Groups 2). Morphometric parameters of RBCs were determined from stained blood smears using SFORM, a computer-assisted program. Significantly higher values of RBC area, outline, convex, minimal and maximal radius, as well as length and breadth were established in Groups 2 compared to Groups 1 of HGB, HCT, MCV, MCH, and MCHC, respectively. Based on the morphometric parameters of RBCs, three RBC subpopulations were obtained using principal component and cluster analysis: ES 1-the smallest and most elongated RBCs, ES 2-the biggest and most rounded RBCs, and ES 3-average size and shape RBCs. Significantly higher proportions of ES 2 and ES 3 subpopulations, as well as a significantly lower proportion of ES 1 subpopulation, were established in Groups 2 compared to Groups 1 of HGB, HTC, MCV, and MCH, respectively. It can be concluded that ovine RBC subpopulations, based on their morphometric parameters, can be obtained by using computer-assisted image analysis of RBC morphometry and multivariate statistical methods, including principal component and cluster analysis. RBC morphometry, including classification into subpopulations, could serve as a basis for future possibilities in the diagnostic interpretation of anaemic syndromes in veterinary medicine, especially in normocytic, macrocytic, and microcytic anaemias in sheep.
Sex-related differences in physiological processes, pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment of disease have great importance in human medicine, and these differences should also be investigated and ...implemented in studies on animals. To our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the effects of sex and castration on the serum biochemical profile of commercial pigs. The study was conducted on clinically healthy, sexually mature fattening pigs of the Swedish Landrace breed, divided into four groups: intact males (n = 6), intact females (n = 5), castrated males (n = 6) and castrated females (n = 7). Blood samples were taken from the jugular vein using blood test tubes without an anticoagulant. After centrifugation, the serum was separated, and the values of the following parameters were determined by spectrophotometry: the activities of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and y-glutamyl transferase, and the concentrations of total proteins, albumins, triacylglycerols, total cholesterol, glucose, urea, bilirubin and creatinine. The study results showed significantly lower (P<0.05) serum glucose concentrations in castrated males as compared to intact males. However, castrated males had significantly higher (P<0.05) urea concentration than intact ones. There were no significant between-group differences in the values of the other parameters investigated, however, certain patterns of occurrence were observed. Accordingly, further studies are required in order to define more accurately the effects of sex and castration on the values of biochemical parameters in the blood serum of pigs. Key words : biochemical parameters; blood serum; castration; pigs; sex
Hematological and biochemical tests are widely used for assessment of health status and diagnosis of disease in domestic animals. They are almost indispensible in health management of organic flocks, ...but environmental conditions and food supply can be highly variable in organic farming, which may cause levels of many analytes to lie outside the published reference intervals. We investigated key hematological and biochemical parameters in organically raised sheep in Croatia. Different (mostly indigenous) breeds raised in various geographic regions were evaluated throughout the year. We identified key parameters that varied under different conditions using classification based on machine learning. Our findings suggest that location (which determines climate and food availability) has a profound effect on hematological and biochemical values in organically raised sheep. The effect of location was more pronounced than that of breed and season. The results clearly show the merit of establishing specific reference intervals for each flock, especially in organic farming. We demonstrate feasibility of this approach by successful calculation of reference intervals from a small sample (30 individuals) using robust statistical methods.
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