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Woody rangelands are important forage resources for grazing goats in the Mediterranean basin. Goats are well adapted in these heterogeneous and complex ecosystems due to their particular anatomic characteristics, metabolic efficiency and browsing ability. However, the mechanism of grazing behavior and forage selection in goats is quite complex and depends on several factors. The present study deals with the seasonal changes of chemical composition in the selected forages and ingested diets as well as their effects on milk yield and composition of goats grazing in a Mediterranean woody rangeland. Hand plucked forage samples similar to those consumed by the goats were collected for chemical analysis. The nutritive value of consumed forages, in combination with the different feeding and grazing system per trial period, influenced milk quality and performance. The replacement of feed supplementation with an increase of the contribution of grazing in the rangeland could maintain the milk yield and quality at the late stage of lactation. In addition, this paper focuses on the influence of the chemical composition of selected forages on the diet selection of goats using a modeling approach. The model showed a high interpretative accuracy and explanatory value (R2 = 0.923) and was able to distinguish the goats' most important criteria for selecting among the forage plant species in relation to several factors. The results indicate that the dietary preferences of goats were influenced, not only by the seasonality of nutritive value and availability of forages in the rangeland, but also by the plant origin of each nutrient source. The selection of Quercus frainetto was highly correlated with its NDF content. Herbaceous species, Cistus creticus and other woody species were mainly selected due to their CP content. The ADL content seemed to have the lowest influence of all nutritive variables on the selection among groups of plant species. The modeling approach, apart from the understanding of grazing behavior of goats, offers additional information that can be useful to the shepherds in order to manage more effectively the feeding and grazing system of their goat's flock.

The grazing behavior and the diet selection of goats are affected by numerous factors associated with animal characteristics, climate conditions and rangeland features as well as their interactions. Moreover, the special feeding behavior of goats due to their particular anatomic and physiologic characteristics, allow them to be highly selective, to consume lignified forages and to utilize woody plant species. The study of above traits is of great interest especially when goats browse in a complex Mediterranean environment with high seasonal changes. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the grazing behavior, the forage selection and the diet composition of goats browsing in a Mediterranean woody rangeland of Northern Greece. Grazing behavioral data were recorded using the direct observation method of a flock of local breed goats and the measurements were performed during three seasons (spring, summer and autumn) for two consecutive years. The purpose was to evaluate the seasonal differences taking into account not only the different seasons but also the different climate parameters within the two years. According to the results, Quercus frainetto was the most important part of the diet of goats despite the fact that they were able to utilize various nutritive resources such as herbaceous species and acorns. Goat is a particular versatile herbivore that is well adapted to the seasonality of complex Mediterranean landscape.

SUMMARYWe present and analyse data collected during a severe epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) that occurred between July and September 2000 in a region of northeastern Greece with strategic importance since it represents the southeastern border of Europe and Asia. We implement generic Bayesian methodology, which offers flexibility in the ability to fit several realistically complex models that simultaneously capture the presence of ‘excess’ zeros, the spatio-temporal dependence of the cases, assesses the impact of environmental noise and controls for multicollinearity issues. Our findings suggest that the epidemic was mostly driven by the size and the animal type of each farm as well as the distance between farms while environmental and other endemic factors were not important during this outbreak. Analyses of this kind may prove useful to informing decisions related to optimal control measures for potential future FMD outbreaks as well as other acute epidemics such as FMD.

Goats are characterized as selective feeders due to their specific feeding behavior, thus the study of their seasonal preferences in a Mediterranean oak-juniper ecosystem is of great interest. The current research was conducted in an open oak forest in Megalo Dereio region, northeastern Greece which was grazed mainly by a flock of 650 local breed goats. Grazing behavior data as the number of bites per plant species were recorded using a direct observation method in late spring (May), middle of summer (July) and late autumn (November) of 2010 and 2011. Additionally, a modeling approach was followed in order to study the factors influencing the dietary preferences of goats. Inference – by adopting the Bayesian paradigm – was based on the best multinomial response logistic regression model, selected by the suitable model assessment criteria. According to the results, seasonal and yearly effects were both important in explaining the grazing behavior of goats, with season being the dominant factor. The model’s estimation accuracy was additionally assessed by the comparison of the calculated model-based dietary preferences with the corresponding observed values. The model could be a useful tool to estimate the seasonal changes of dietary preferences of grazing goats.

Sheep pox is a highly transmissible disease which can cause serious loss of livestock and can therefore have major economic impact. We present data from sheep pox epidemics which occurred between 1994 and 1998. The data include weekly records of infected farms as well as a number of covariates. We implement Bayesian stochastic regression models which, in addition to various explanatory variables like seasonal and environmental/meteorological factors, also contain serial correlation structure based on variants of the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process. We take a predictive view in model selection by utilizing deviance-based measures. The results indicate that seasonality and the number of infected farms are important predictors for sheep pox incidence.

In this study, the level of technical efficiency of 58 sheep farms rearing the Chios breed in Greece was measured through the application of the stochastic frontier analysis method. A Translog stochastic frontier production function was estimated using farm accounting data of Chios sheep farms and the impact of various socio-demographic and biophysical factors on the estimated efficiency of the farms was evaluated. The farms were classified into efficiency groups on the basis of the estimated level of efficiency and a technical and economic descriptive analysis was applied in order to illustrate an indicative picture of their structure and productivity. The results of the stochastic frontier model indicate that there are substantial production inefficiencies among the Chios sheep farms and that these farms could increase their production through the improvement of technical efficiency, whereas the results of the inefficiency effects model reveal that the farm-specific explanatory factors can partly explain the observed efficiency differentials. The measurement of technical inefficiency and the detection of its determinants can be used to form the basis of policy recommendations that could contribute to the development of the sector.

We present and analyze the data collected during a severe epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) that has occurred, between July and September 2000, in a region of northeastern Greece with strategic importance since it represents the southeastern border of Europe and Asia. We implement generic Bayesian methodology, which offers flexibility in the ability to fit several realistically complex models that simultaneously captures the presence of “excess” zeros, the spatio temporal dependence of the cases, assesses the impact of environmental noise and controls for multicollinearity issues. Our findings suggest that the epidemic was mostly driven by the size and the animal type of each farm as well as the distance between farms while environmental and other endemic factors were not important during this outbreak. Analyses of this kind may prove useful to informing decisions related to optimal control measures for potential future FMD outbreaks as well as other acute epidemics such as FMD.

Dairy farming, despite its indisputable contribution to the production of edible products consumed worldwide, more than often poses threats to the environment. The purpose of this study is to provide a typology of the dairy farms situated in Central Macedonia, Greece, based on their environmental management practices. The empirical analysis uses data from a survey of 123 dairy farms in the study area. The farms are categorized into alternative profiles, using a two-step cluster analysis; the clustering is based on the results of a Categorical Principal Component Analysis, by means of which the variables describing environmental management practices are grouped into dimensions. Then, the characteristics of farmers of each category are explored by estimating a Multinomial Logit Model. The results illustrate that when it comes to the environment, dairy farmers in Central Macedonia adopt diverse farming practices, some of which are detrimental, while others promote environmental protection and, at the same time, ensure acceptable incomes for dairy farmers.

In this study the level of technical efficiency of 58 Chios sheep farms is estimated with the implementation of Data Envelopment Analysis. This level of technical efficiency is used as a classification criterion and the main technical and economic indices of the farms are analyzed in order to investigate their contribution to the improvement of technical efficiency. Next, the structural and economic characteristics of the farms that utilize the existing technology efficiently are described and compared with the average farm. The results show the presence of substantial inefficiencies in the allocation of the existing resources among farms that rear Chios sheep in Greece, which indicates that there is considerable room for development. The estimated mean level of technical efficiency is 0.76, suggesting that the average farm could increase its value of production by 24%, given the level of inputs and the existing production technology. Furthermore, larger farms are associated with higher levels of efficiency. A technical and economic description indicates that the efficient farms, compared to the average Chios breed farm, use less land and labor, rear a smaller number of ewes, utilize less variable and fixed capital and achieve a higher income in order to produce the same level of output.

Sheep herds are a significant capital of dairy industry in Greece, but as dairy farming becomes more complex and intense the need to provide assistance to dairy producers on milk quality is critical. In this study, the quality of raw milk produced in sheep farms of NE Greece was surveyed and the role of various factors was explored. In total, 21 dairy ewe's farms from the regions of Xanthi and Evros, in the north-eastern Greece were monitored. Milk samples were sampled after the morning milking every 15 days throughout the dairy period (March-June). For the study, a questionnaire was also filled by personal interview with the owners in order to collect information about herd characteristics, health status, handling practices etc. From each farm, air was also sampled for microbiological analysis. Milk samples were examined for chemical components: fat content, protein, lactose, non-fat dry matter (NFDM) and somatic cells count (SCC). Microbiological examination involved the estimation of Total Bacterial Counts (TBC), coliform count (CC), Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus sp., and preliminary incubation count (PIC). The possible correlation among different bacterial species and their interaction with SCC and chemical components of milk was also considered. It was examined whether farm management practices could influence the hygiene and the quality of milk. Our results show that as an average TBCs were 5.48 log cfu/ml, SCC: 6.05 log cells/ml, CC: 4.49 log cfu/ml, S. aureus: 3.94 log cfu/ml, Streptococcus sp.: 4.95 log cfu/ml and PIC: 5.7 log cfu/ml. The mean fat, protein, lactose and NFDM were 6.17%, 5.28%, 4.73% and 10.95% respectively. The study revealed significant positive correlation between TBC and PIC (0.825), while SCC was marginally positive correlated with protein and NFDM. No statistically significant correlations observed among SCC with any of the bacterial species. Herd size and farm management practices had considerable influence on SCC and bacterial species.

Transhumance sheep and goat production have been a common and traditional practice in Greece, with its origins dating back to ancient times. Despite the diminishing number of transhumance farms, it remains an essential activity in less-favoured and mountainous areas of the country. This article applies DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) in a sample of transhumance farms in Greece in order to assess the technical efficiency of sheep and goat transhumance flocks and determine the factors that affect their performance. The effect of EU subsidies on the technical efficiency of transhumance farms is assessed and the type of farms that benefit most is investigated. Results accrued reveal that the overall technical efficiency of transhumance farms in Greece is quite low and it is affected by herd size. EU subsidies have a significant impact on the technical efficiency of only the low-efficiency, small-sized farms.

In situ degradability and in vivo (by difference) digestibility trials were conducted to estimate lower tract residual N digestibility (LTRND) of five protein supplements. Efforts were also made to improve the in situ method of measuring protein degradability. For in situ degradability trials, soybean meal (SBM), corn gluten meal (CGM), cotton seed cake (CSC), wheat bran (WB) and corn gluten feed (CGF) were weighed into Dacron bags and incubated in the rumen of three cannulated Chios ewes. SBM, CGF and WB were degraded significantly, while CGM and CSC were least degraded. Microbial contamination (MC) resulted in a 5.3–28.3% artificially decrease in effective ruminal protein degradation of supplements. Total tract digestibility was measured using five rams in an in vivo, by difference, trial using a 5 × 5 Latin-square design. SBM had higher CP digestibility compared to WB, CGF and CSC, and higher N free extract (NFE) digestibility compared to the other feeds. CGM showed higher CP digestibility compared to WB, CGF or CSC, while CGF had higher organic matter (OM) and crude fibre (CF) digestibility compared to WB. CSC was the protein source with the lowest digestibility of OM, CP and NFE in comparison with the other feeds. LTRND was predicted as 0.928, 0.806, 0.227, 0.540, and 0.498 for SBM, CGM, CSC, WB, and CGF, respectively, or 0.931, 0.803, 0.147, 0.364, and 0.316 when the correction for MC was applied. Lower tract N digestibility could be predicted via a combination of in situ degradability and in vivo apparent digestibility data. This approach yields significant data regarding LTRND estimation of protein supplements, while diminishing animal suffering by avoiding small intestinal fistulation.

The aim of this work was to determine the effect of vacuum level of machine milking on milk yield, milk composition, milking efficiency, somatic cells counts (SCC), and teat end thickness of the Greek mountain breed Boutsiko ewes. Seventy two ewes after a suckling period of 45 ± 5 days were divided into three equal groups of 24 animals for level of milk production, prolificacy and lactation number. The overall experiment lasted 14 weeks. All groups were milked with a pulsation rate of 120/min, pulsator ratio of 50/50, and three vacuum levels of 38, 44 and 50 kPa, respectively, were applied for the three groups. Every two weeks, in a.m. and p.m. milking, measurements were taken for machine milk (MM) and machine stripped milk (MSM), milk composition, SCC, milk emission characteristics (only in a.m. milking) and teat end wall thickness (TEWT) before and after milking. The results have shown that the lower vacuum level of 38 kPa increased ( P P P

The aim of this work was to explore possibilities to build an alarming system based on the results of the application of data mining (DM) techniques in genetic evaluations of dairy cattle, in order to assess and assure data quality. The technique used combined data mining using classification and decision-tree algorithms, Gaussian binned fitting functions, and hypothesis tests. Data were quarterly national genetic evaluations, computed between February 1999 and February 2003 in nine countries. Each evaluation run included 73,000-90,000 bull records complete with their genetic values and evaluation information. Milk production traits were considered. Data mining algorithms were applied separately for each country and evaluation run to search for associations across several dimensions, including bull origin, type of proof, age of bull, and number of daughters. Then, data in each node were fitted to the Gaussian function and the quality of the fit was measured, thus providing a measure of the quality of data. In order to evaluate and ultimately predict decision-tree models, the implemented architecture can compare the node probabilities between two models and decide on their similarity, using hypothesis tests for the standard deviation of their distribution. The key utility of this technique lays in its capacity to identify the exact node where anomalies occur, and to fire a focused alarm pointing to erroneous data.

A well-established rabbit model of enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) disease was used to examine whether vitamin E (VE) nutritional supplementation had an effect on the pathological changes induced in the bowel by EPEC. Quantitative methods were used to evaluate the influence of VE on bacterial colonization, intestinal mucosal architecture and inflammation, and intestinal epithelial proliferation and apoptosis. VE did not affect EPEC colonization and did not give significant protection against EPEC-induced changes and diarrhoea. Although VE had no effect on the EPEC-related increase of enterocyte apoptosis, it clearly contributed to an acceleration of epithelial cell proliferation in the ileal crypts. This finding may explain why ileal morphometry undertaken in this study showed that VE ameliorated somewhat the effects of EPEC on intestinal mucosal architecture. Quantitative studies on inflammatory cells in the intestinal mucosa revealed that VE nutritional supplementation resulted in an increased neutrophilic and mononuclear inflammatory cell response to EPEC infection, which did not contribute, however, to the clearance of infection.

Parameters of daily milk yield during the first three lactations of Chios ewes were estimated with random regression models. Data consisted of 42 675 test-day records of 7121 ewes from 75 flocks that had lambed between 1998 and 2000. Models fitted fourth order fixed regressions on Legendre polynomials of the number of days post partum and fourth order random regressions on the individual animal. (Co)variance components were estimated with Gibbs sampling. Lactations were analysed separately. The four eigen values accounted for 0·80 to 0·84, 0·11 to 0·15, 0·04 to 0·05 and about 0·01 of the animal variance, respectively, depending on lactation number. Animal variance estimates, including genetic and, partly, permanent environment effects, were high at the beginning of each lactation and decreased as lactation progressed, suggesting that the animal effect is most important to early daily records. Residual variance was highest in the middle of lactation, suggesting that non-systematic environmental factors play a bigger at that time. Animal correlation estimates between daily yield records ranged from 0·26 to 0·99, were highest for adjacent days and decreased for days further apart. The decline had a different shape in the three lactations and was more evident in the first, suggesting that the three lactations may be biologically distinct traits. Animal correlation estimates between daily and total lactation milk yield ranged from 0·61 to 0·98 and were highest in the middle and lowest towards the end of lactation. Early lactation daily yield had an animal correlation of 0·70 to 0·80 with total lactation milk yield, in all three lactations. Results of this study suggest that daily milk yield records in the early stages of lactation may be useful for selection of ewes with high producing ability and accurate prediction of total lactation milk yield.

Linear models were developed and evaluated for the estimation of daily (24 h) and total lactation milk yield of dairy sheep from single morning (am) or evening (pm) milking records. A total of 22,908 individual test-day milk records of 5110 ewes of the Chios breed, raised in 46 flocks, were used. Depending on the model, different daily milk yield estimates were derived for each ewe, accounting for lactation number, stage of lactation, season of previous lambing and interval between successive milkings. Daily milk yield was also estimated from doubling the single am or pm record. Actual and estimated yields were compared using root mean square errors (RMSEs), mean absolute differences, an accuracy parameter defined as the ratio of the actual yield variance over the sum of the variances of actual yield and absolute difference, and the product moment correlation between estimated and actual yield. Results were validated on independent datasets. Linear models resulted in less biased and more accurate estimates of the daily milk yield than simply doubling the am or pm record. Root mean square errors decreased by 7–37% and the mean absolute difference was reduced by 1–4% of the average daily yield. Higher accuracy and correlation were obtained from linear model application than doubling. Total lactation milk yield was predicted based on actual daily yield and compared to predictions based on estimated daily yield from am or pm records, as well as directly on single milking records. Root mean square errors obtained when daily yield had been estimated with linear models were 26–35% lower compared to doubling the am or pm yield and 0–13% lower compared to estimating the total lactation yield directly from single milking records. Linear model application also resulted in lower mean absolute difference and higher accuracy and correlation than doubling the am or pm record. Recording the yield of a single milking (am or pm) instead of both can benefit milk recording by reducing its cost and increasing farmer participation. In this context, linear models developed in the present study can be used for the accurate estimation of daily (24 h) and total lactation milk yield from single milking records.

Human studies and clues from animal models have provided important links between gastrointestinal (GI) tract bacteria and colon cancer. Gut microbiota antigenic stimuli play an important role in shaping the intestinal immune responses. Therefore, especially in the case of inflammation-associated colon cancer, gut bacteria antigens may affect tumorigenesis. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of the oral administration of a bacterial product with known immunomodulatory properties on inflammation-driven colorectal neoplasmatogenesis. For that, we used cholera-toxin and a well-established mouse model of colon cancer in which neoplasia is initiated by a single dose of the genotoxic agent azoxymethane (AOM) and subsequently promoted by inflammation caused by the colitogenic substance dextran sodium sulfate (DSS). We found that a single, low, non-pathogenic dose of CT, given orally at the beginning of each DSS treatment cycle downregulated neutrophils and upregulated regulatory T-cells and IL-10 in the colonic mucosa. The CT-induced disruption of the tumor-promoting character of DSS-induced inflammation led to the reduction of the AOM-initiated colonic polypoidogenesis. This result adds value to the emerging notion that certain GI tract bacteria or their products affect the immune system and render the microenvironment of preneoplastic lesions less favorable for promoting their evolution to cancer.

An experiment was conducted in order to evaluate the effects of gestational undernutrition of rabbit does on growth, carcass composition and meat quality of the offsprings. Thirty primiparous non lactating rabbit does were artificially inseminated and randomly divided in three treatment groups: Control (C; fed to 100% of maintenance requirements throughout gestation, n = 10), early undernourished (EU; fed to 50% of maintenance requirements during days 7–19 of gestation, n = 10) and late undernourished (LU; fed to 50% of maintenance requirements during days 20-27 of gestation, n = 10). During the 4th week of the gestation period, LU does significantly lost weight compared to C and EU groups (P

The aim of this study was to test the usefulness of artificial neural networks (ANNs) for predicting lactation as well as test-day milk yield(s) in Chios dairy sheep on the basis of a few (2–4) available test-day records at the beginning of a lactation period. The ANN employed was a neural network-like system with some advantages over other ANNs. No selection of learning coefficients, of the number of hidden layers or of the number of neurons in the layers was required. The effect on the network's predictive ability of the number of records used in the training phase, the number of input variables (i.e. test-day records) and data preprocessing was investigated. Input variables were the county, herd, lactation, lambing month, litter size, milk yield recorder, test day and days in milk (after lambing) when the first milk sample was obtained. Various criteria of goodness of prediction of lactation as well as of test-day yields were used, including Pearson and rank correlations between observed and predicted yields; the average difference between observed and predicted yields; the difference between their standard deviations; the standard deviation of differences between observed and predicted yields, and the ratio between it and the observed mean value. The average difference between observed and predicted yields was generally statistically non-significant (P

Market failures are the main cause of poor acknowledgement of the true impact of functional sheep traits on the management and economic performance of farms, which results in their omission from the breeding goal or the estimation of non-representative economic weights in the breeding goal. Consequently, stated-preference non-market valuation techniques, which recently emerged to mitigate these problems, are necessary to estimate economic weights for functional traits. The purpose of this paper is to present an example of the use of a choice experiment (CE) in the estimation of economic weights for sheep traits for the design of breeding goals. Through a questionnaire survey the preferences of sheep farmers are recorded and their marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) for 10 production and functional traits is estimated. Data are analysed using random parameter logit models. The results reveal unobserved preference heterogeneity for fertility, adaptability to grazing and resistance to disease, thus highlighting that these traits are appreciated differently by farmers, because their needs are diverse. Positive MWTP is found for Greek breeds, high milk production and lambs with low fat deposition, for which there is high demand in Greek markets. On the other hand, MWTP for the cheese-making ability of milk is negative, stemming from the fact that sheep milk prices in Greece are not formulated according to milk composition. In addition, farmers seem to understand differences between udder shapes and attribute different values to various types. This application of the CE method indicates that communication channels among farmers and breeders should be established in order to enhance market performance and to provide orientation to the design of breeding programmes. Non-market valuation can be used complementarily to market valuation techniques, in order to provide accurate estimates for production and functional traits.

Effects of vacuum level, pulsation rate and pulsator ratio on machine milking efficiency in local Greek goats were studied in three separate experiments lasting 12, 10 and 11 weeks in three different years. After weaning (49 days) all goats were milked for 14 days at a vacuum level 44 kPa, a 90-pulsations/min and a 50:50 pulsator ratio (this 2-week interval was considered the familiarization period). In the first experiment, three groups (treatments) of goats were subjected to 70, 90 and 120 pulsations/min at milking. For the second experiment another three groups were milked with a vacuum level of 36, 44 and 52 kPa. For the third and final experiment, three pulsator ratios; 65:35, 50:50, 35:65 were compared in three groups. Results suggest that a faster rate (120 pulsations/min) and a higher vacuum level (52 kPa) decreased the percentages of machine milk (MM; from 60.6 to 55.1% for the rate and from 77.3 to 67.9% for the vacuum) and total machine milk (TMM) while increasing the percentage of machine stripped milk (MSM) and hand stripped milk (HSM; from 17.1 to 20.3% for the rate and from 5.7 to 10.0% for the vacuum). Milking time decreased as vacuum levels increased from 36 to 52 kPa and as pulsator ratios increased from 35:65 to 50:50 and 65:35. The pulsator ratio did not modify the percentage of the above milk fractions (MM, MSM, HSM and TMM) but did increase the average milking rate. Optimum conditions for machine milking of local Greek goats appears to be a vacuum level of 36–44 kPa, a pulsation rate of 70–90 and a pulsator ratio of 65:35.

The objective of the present experiment was to investigate the implications of severe maternal undernutrition on the post-weaning behavior of rabbits. Thirty two does were randomly assigned to four groups: the control group (C) that was fed 100% of the recommended energy maintenance requirements throughout pregnancy and lactation and the U1, U2 and U3 groups that were fed 50% of the recommended energy maintenance requirements between the 6th and the 19th day of pregnancy, between the 20th and the 27th day of pregnancy and between the 3rd and the 10th day of lactation, respectively. At the age of 50 and 65 days, behavior of rabbits in cages was recorded and rabbits were further subjected to an open-field test; a paradigm used as an indicator of fear and emotional distress. Significant differences were found between the U2 and the other experimental groups for the duration of eating and drinking, and duration of locomotory and investigatory behaviors (P0.05). At the age of 65 days, duration of comfort behaviors was also lower in the U2 compared to the other groups (P0.05). On the other hand, duration of resting appeared to be the highest in the group of rabbits born from undernourished does between the 20th and the 27th day of pregnancy (P0.05). Duration of resting was significantly increased, although frequency and duration of eating and drinking were significantly decreased at the age of 65 days (P0.05). Male rabbits had greater values for locomotory and investigatory behaviors, and duration of eating and drinking compared to the females (P0.01). A decreased activity of rabbits during the light period was observed (as expected), whereas an increase in duration of locomotory and investigatory behaviors was observed during the first four and the last 4h of the light and dark periods, respectively (P0.05). Rabbits born from the U1 and U2 group of does displayed increased rates of latency to leave the start position compared to the other groups during the implementation of the open-field test (P0.05). No other significant differences in the exhibition of the examined behaviors were found between the treatment groups, with the exception of 'moving forelegs' activity that had the lowest value in the U3 group of rabbits. It is concluded that severe maternal undernutrition (50% of the recommended maintenance requirements) especially between the 20th and the 27th day of pregnancy has significant effects on the exhibition of rabbits' post-weaning behavior, since the offspring from the U2 undernourished does were significantly less active compared to the other experimental groups.

Using traditional bibliometric indices such as the well-known journal impact factor (IFAC), as well as other more recently developed measures like the (journal) h-index and modifications, we assessed the impact of most prolific scientific journals in the field of animal and dairy science. To achieve this end, we performed a detailed investigation on the evaluation of journals quality, using a total of 50 journals selected from the category of "Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science" included in the Thomson Reuters' (formerly Institute of Scientific Information, ISI) Web of Science. Our analysis showed that among the top journals in the field are the Journal of Dairy Research, the Journal of Dairy Science, and the Journal of Animal Science. In particular, the Journal of Animal Science, the most productive and frequently cited journal, has shown rapid development, especially in recent years. The majority of the top-tier, highly cited articles are those associated with the description of statistical methodology and the standard chemical analytical methodologies.

International audience; The repercussions of the economic crisis have been severe upon the foundations of the Greek economy and society, and the margins for future development are more than ever strict and urgent. Within an economically turbulent period, agriculture's role is reexamined and is called to play an enhanced role, particularly the livestock sector that comprises a key growth element for the economy, bearing in mind the number of people and industries employed in the production and processing of dairy products. The present study is a classification approach regarding small ruminant farmers (sheep and goat), examining their reaction strategies against the economic crisis and its economic consequences to their farming systems. Primary quantitative data were collected through administrative (structured questionnaire) personal interviews from 110 small ruminant farmers, in the remote region of Anatoliki Macedonia and Thraki. A combination of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, cluster and discriminant analysis was employed to identify potentially distinct groups among the farmers. Results accrued reveal three clusters of farmers: the active entrepreneurs (47.2 % of the sample) who adopted more dynamic and cost-effective management practices, the complacent farmers (38.1 % of the sample) who followed a passive path of management decisions and the non-active farmers (14.7 % of the sample) who incorporate a static behaviour in the struggle against the economic crisis. The study is a first attempt to measure response to an ongoing economic crisis that has changed normal behaviour and expectations, and increased risk and uncertainty. In this sense, it demonstrates (with the use of the appropriate methodologies) the adaptation practices implemented by farmers from a significant economic sector (small ruminants), in a remote and less favourite Greek region, in order to persist and effectually respond to the current economic downturn.

Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) participates in cancer-related biologic processes, such as wound healing and inflammation. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of uPA deficiency on the long-term outcome of early life episodes of dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis in mice. Wild-type (WT) and uPA-deficient (uPA(-/-)) BALB/c mice were treated with DSS or remained untreated. Mice were necropsied either 1 week or 7 months after DSS treatment. Colon samples were analyzed by histopathology, immunohistochemistry, ELISA, and real-time polymerase chain reaction. At 7 months, with no colitis evident, half of the uPA(-/-) mice had large colonic polypoid adenomas, whereas WT mice did not. One week after DSS treatment, there were typical DSS-induced colitis lesions in both WT and uPA(-/-) mice. The affected colon of uPA(-/-) mice, however, had features of delayed ulcer re-epithelialization and dysplastic lesions of higher grade developing on the basis of a significantly altered mucosal inflammatory milieu. The later was characterized by more neutrophils and macrophages, less regulatory T cells (Treg), significantly upregulated cytokines, including interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-17, tumor necrosis factor-α, and IL-10, and lower levels of active transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) compared to WT mice. Dysfunctional Treg, more robust protumorigenic inflammatory events, and an inherited inability to produce adequate amounts of extracellular active TGF-β1 due to uPA deficiency are interlinked as probable explanations for the inflammatory-induced neoplasmatogenesis in the colon of uPA(-/-) mice.

Melphalan is an alkylating chemotherapeutic agent currently used in the treatment of various neoplasms. Several lines of evidence suggest that chemotherapeutic regimens that include melphalan administration are related with impairment of testicular function. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of Melphalan treatment in the histology of rat testis. For that, adult male Wistar rats were dosed weekly with 7.5 mg/kg body weight for a period of three weeks. Animals were sacrificed at different time-points including one (group A; n =15) and 65 (group B; n =15) days following last administration of melphalan. Histopathological indices of testicular injury such as sloughing of seminiferous epithelium, vacuolization of Sertoli and seminiferous tubule cells, retention of step 19 spermatids at IX–XII stages, formation of multinucleated spermatids and seminiferous tubule atrophy were scored on HE-stained sections. Germ cell apoptosis was also assessed semi-quantitatively by use of caspace-3 specific immunohistochemistry. Seven rats (46.6%) of group A but only a single rat of group B (6.67%) had apoptotic germ cells exceeding the normal range. In group A, vacuolization of the seminiferous tubules, vacuolization of the Sertoli cells and sloughing of the seminiferous epithelium was found in 8 (53.3%), 2 (13.3%) and 1(6.67%) rat, respectively. Group B scores for the same lesions were unremarkable. Retented step 19 spermatids were noticed at 7 rats (46.67%) of group A and 4 rats (26.67%) of group B. None of group B animals had notable scores for the presence of multinucleated spermatids and atrophic seminiferous tubules. At group B prominence of multinucleated spermatids and atrophic seminiferous tubules were found in 2 (13.33%) and 6 (40%) rats, respectively. Taken together the results of the present study indicate that a powerful alkylating and mutagenic agent such as melphalan produced significant changes in the spermatogenic compartment of the rat testis. However, the damage was largely reversible, and the spermatogenic process was significantly restored within a two months period following termination of treatment.