Foods derived from animals: the impact of animal nutrition on their nutritive value and ability to sustain long-term health

Foods derived from domestic animals are a significant source of nutrients in the UK diet. However, certain aspects of some animal-derived foods, notably levels of saturated fatty acids, have given rise to concerns that these foods may contribute to the risk of cardiovascular disease, the metabolic syndrome and other conditions. However, the composition of the many animal-derived foods is not constant and can often be enhanced by manipulating the nutrition of the animal. This paper reviews these possibilities with particular attention to lipids, and draws attention to the fact that milk in particular, contains a number of compounds which may, for example, exert anti-carcinogenic effects. It is clear that the role of animal nutrition in creating foods closer to the optimum composition for long-term human health will not only be more relevant in the future, but will be vital in attempts to improve the health of the human population.

Land degradation and vegetation distribution in Chott El Beida wetland, Algeria

The aim of this study is to explore the environmental factors that determine plant Community distribution in northeast Algeria. This paper provides a quantitative analysis of the vegetation-environment relationships for a study site in the Cholt El Beida wetland, a RAMSAR site in Setif, Algeria. Sixty vegetation plots were sampled and analysed using TWINSPAN and Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) in order to identify the principal vegetation communities and determine the environmental gradients associated with these. 127 species belonging to 41 families and 114 genera were recorded. Six of the recorded species were endemic representing 4.7% of the total species. The richest families were Compositae, Gramineae, Cruciferae and Chenopodiaceae. Therophytes and hemicryptophytes were the most frequent life forms. the Mediterranean floristic element is dominant and is represented by 39 species. The samples were classified into four main community types. The principal DCA axes represent gradients of soil salinity, moisture and anthropogenic pressure. The use of classification in combination with ordination techniques resulted in a good discrimination between plant communities and a greater understanding of controlling environmental factors. The methodology adopted can be employed for improving baseline information on plant community ecology and distribution in often critically endangered Mediterranean wetland areas. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Numbers of antral follicles during follicular waves in cattle: Evidence for high variation among animals, very high repeatability in individuals, and an inverse association with serum follicle-stimulating hormone concentrations

The extent, causes, and physiological significance of the variation in number of follicles growing during ovarian follicular waves in human beings and cattle are unknown. Therefore, the present study examined the variability and repeatability in numbers of follicles 3 mm or greater in diameter during the follicular waves in bovine estrous cycles, and we determined if the variation in number of follicles during waves was associated with alterations in secretion of FSH, estradiol, inhibin, and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I). Dairy cattle were subjected to twice-daily ultrasound analysis to count total number of antral follicles 3 mm or greater in diameter throughout 138 different follicular waves. In another study, blood samples were taken at frequent intervals from cows that consistently had low or very high numbers of follicles during waves and were subjected to immunoassays. Results indicate the following: First, despite an approximately sevenfold variation in number of follicles during waves among animals and marked differences in age, stage of lactation, and season of the year, a very highly repeatable (0.95) number of follicles 3 mm or greater in diameter is maintained during the ovulatory and nonovulatory follicular waves of individuals. Second, variation in number of follicles 3 mm or greater in diameter during waves and the inverse association of number of follicles during waves with FSH are not directly explained by alterations in the patterns of secretion of estradiol, inhibin, or IGF-I. Third, ovarian ultrasound analysis can be used reliably by investigators to identify cattle that consistently have low or high numbers of follicles during waves, thus providing a novel experimental model to determine the causes and physiological significance of the high variation in antral follicle number during follicular waves among single-ovulating species, such as cattle or humans.

A general basis for quarter-power scaling in animals

It has been known for decades that the metabolic rate of animals scales with body mass with an exponent that is almost always <1, >2/3, and often very close to 3/4. The 3/4 exponent emerges naturally from two models of resource distribution networks, radial explosion and hierarchically branched, which incorporate a minimum of specific details. Both models show that the exponent is 2/3 if velocity of flow remains constant, but can attain a maximum value of 3/4 if velocity scales with its maximum exponent, 1/12. Quarterpower scaling can arise even when there is no underlying fractality. The canonical “fourth dimension” in biological scaling relations can result from matching the velocity of flow through the network to the linear dimension of the terminal “service volume” where resources are consumed. These models have broad applicability for the optimal design of biological and engineered systems where energy, materials, or information are distributed from a single source.

Phosphorus flux from wetland ditch sediments

The accumulation of phosphorus (P) in the bottom sediment of field drainage ditches poses a threat to the ecology both of the ditch water and downstream water courses. We investigated the amounts, forms and internal loading of sediment-bound P along two drainage ditches that regulate water levels in a basin fen (~ 200 ha) supporting a mixture of restored wetland and drained agricultural fields. Water levels in the Lady's Drove Rhyne are currently managed to enhance the biodiversity of the wetland (Catcott Lows Reserve — an area formerly cultivated for arable crop production); whereas, the East Ditch is managed to drain adjoining land that remains under arable and livestock production. Laboratory-based chemical fractionation schemes were used to characterise the forms and potential mobility of the sediment-bound P, whilst pore-water equilibrators were employed in situ to evaluate the diffusive flux of P through the sediment–water column, and to characterise the corresponding redox conditions. Along both ditches, sediment pore-water profiles indicated conditions ranging from weakly to very reducing conditions with increasing depth, and net fluxes of P from the sediment to overlying water. P flux values ranged from 0.33 to 1.30 mg m− 2 day− 1. Both the degree of P saturation (DPS) of the sediment and NaOH extractable (Fe/Al-bound) P correlated significantly (P < 0.05) with P flux. Both in the wetland and agricultural ditches, by far the highest values for P flux were recorded at sites closest to points of drainage water entry from the corresponding, adjoining land. Although the P flux data were obtained from only a single sampling event, this study highlights the contribution of historical as well as ongoing agricultural land use on the sustained elevated P status of ditch sediments in lowland catchments.

The zooarchaeology of medieval Christendom: ideology, the treatment of animals and the making of medieval Europe

The formation of Christendom – of Europe – was associated with a standardized worldview expressing dominion over the natural world. While some sections of medieval society, specifically monasteries and the aristocratic class, appear to have developed this paradigm, there is also evidence for heterogeneity in practice and belief. Zooarchaeologists have accumulated vast quantities of data from medieval contexts which has enabled the ecological signatures of specific social groups to be identified, and how these developed from the latter centuries of the first millennium ad. It is possible from this to consider whether trends in animal exploitation can be associated with the Christian world view of dominion, and with the very idea of what it meant to be Christian. This may enable zooarchaeologists to situate the ecological trends of the Middle Ages within the context of Europeanization, and the consolidation of a Christian society.