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The aim of the present study was to determine correlations between udder skin surface temperatures and milk yield and estimated composition in dairy cows. The thermographic images of 34 Polish Holstein–Friesian black-and-white cows were taken in a milking parlor before and after milking. Partial correlation coefficients were calculated between the surface temperatures of the udder hind quarters and milk production traits controlling for age, parity, year, and milking time. Daily milk yield was weakly and nonsignificantly correlated with surface temperatures ( rp ranging from −0.19 to 0.21), except for the mean and maximum temperatures of the left hind quarter after milking ( rp = 0.40 and rp = 0.38, respectively). There were significant correlations of skin surface temperature with estimated fat content ( rp = −0.55 to 0.48), protein content ( rp = −0.39 to 0.42), fat yield ( rp = −0.42 to 0.54), and protein yield ( rp = 0.37 to 0.54). The estimated somatic cell count was significantly correlated with the minimum temperature ( rp = −0.54 to −0.36). The estimated urea content was significantly correlated with the minimum temperature ( rp = 0.52). A larger sample size is required in future research to confirm these preliminary results.

The aim of the present study was to analyse the mobility of Polish Konik horses in their natural environment. The study was conducted on a herd of 15 Polish Konik horses in 2018. The Global Positioning System (GPS) transmitter was used to track the horses' movements. Two habitats (forest and meadows), four seasons (autumn, winter, spring, and summer), and four times of the day (morning, midday, evening, and night) were distinguished. Season, habitat, and time of the day as well as the interaction among them significantly (p

The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between the body condition, and the number of parasites in the gastrointestinal tract of the tufted duck (Aythya fuligula), using the Akaike information criterion. Absolute and relative measurements of 197 ducks were taken. Liver mass was positively associated with the number of parasites in the duodenum (β = 0.5). Heart mass affected positively the number of parasites in the rectum (β = 2.3), the number of nematodes in the jejunum (β = 7.45), the total number of trematodes (β = 1.7), their number in the ceca (β = 7.3) and rectum (β = 4.2), and the number of cestodes in the ceca (β = 8.2). Beak length influenced the number of nematodes in the rectum (β = 1.7). Left tarsometatarsus length (β = 1.4) and relative head height (β = -2.0) affected the number of trematodes in the ceca. Tail length influenced negatively the number of cestodes in the ileum (β = -0.2). Similarly, a ratio of body mass to body length was negatively associated with the total number of parasites (β = -0.1), their number in the ceca (β = -0.2) and rectum (β = -0.3), the total number of trematodes (β = -0.3), and their number in the ceca (β = -0.5) and rectum (β = -0.4). A ratio of keel-skin length to keel length affected differently the total number of parasites in the ceca (β = 9.1), the number of nematodes in the jejunum (β = -17.9) and the number of trematodes in the duodenum (β = -5.8). A ratio of fat mass to body length affected the number of cestodes in the jejunum (β = 1.8). The present study indicates some morphological and anatomical parameters that may be useful for determining the correlation between the body condition and the level of parasitic infection.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to present our own experience with the use of thermography as a complementary method for the initial diagnosis and differentiation of intraocular tumors, as well as for the evaluation of the efficacy of treatment of intraocular melanomas. Methods: The study group comprised 37 patients with intraocular tumors, including 9 with uveal melanoma, 8 with uveal melanoma after I125 brachytherapy, 12 with a focal metastasis to the uvea, and 8 with retinal capillary hemangioblastoma. A FLIR T640 camera was used to capture images in the central point of the cornea, eye area, and orbital cavity area. Results: Eyes with uveal melanoma had higher temperature compared with the fellow normal eye of the patient in the range of all measured parameters in the regions of interest. In the group of patients with melanoma after unsuccessful brachytherapy, higher temperature was observed at the central point of the cornea. In patients with tumor regression, all measured parameters were lower in the affected eye. We observed lower tempe­ratures in the range of all tested parameters and areas in eyes with choroidal metastases. Eyes with diagnosed intraocular hemangioblastoma were characterized by higher parameters for the regions of interest versus eyes without this pathology. Conclusions: A thermographic examination of the eye can be used as an additional first-line diagnostic tool for the differentiation of intraocular tumors. Thermography can be a helpful tool in monitoring the treatment outcome in patients with intraocular melanoma.

Coat colour in dogs is influenced by many genes and their polymorphic forms. The main coat colour pattern depends on pigment type, i.e. eumelanin or pheomelanin, whose synthesis is regulated by tyrosinase encoded by the TYRP1 gene. However, other genes also contribute to the ultimate phenotype. One of them is PMEL responsible for the merle coat colour. This review focuses on the role of melanocytes in the phenotypic expression of coat colour, the merle phenotype and genotype, phenotypic diversity of the M allele carriers, health consequences for the carriers of the allele responsible for the merle coat colour and problems with the identification of the M allele carriers based on phenotype and dog breeds with the merle coat colour accepted by the FCI.

Introduction Quasiamidostomum fulicae (Rudolphi, 1819) Lomakin, 1991, is a species of which the systematic position is still unclear, and it is reported in the literature under many synonyms. In the present study, an attempt has been made at establishing the ultimate systematic position of Quasiamidostomum fulicae against the backdrop of selected Amidostomatinae species. Material and Methods The parasites were identified based on measurements of external and internal structures. Ecological analysis of Q. fulicae was carried out using the quantitative indices (frequency, prevalence, mean intensity, relative abundance, and dominance index). Statistical analyses (discriminant analysis) were performed on measurement data. Results The intestines of 77 coots were examined. They yielded a total of 398 parasites, including 67 identified as Q. fulicae. Both males and females were located in the muscular gizzard. The morphometric analysis of Q. fulicae in this study showed the dimensions of all the internal organs to be in agreement with measurements reported by other authors. The discriminant analysis, used to find the differences between the examined nematode species (Amidostomoides acutum, A. petrovi, A. monodon, Amidostomum anseris, and Quasiamidostomum fulicae), gave highly significant results (P < 0.0001) with respect to both males and females. Conclusion The results justify the separation of Q. fulicae from the genus Amidostomum.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) play a role in a wide variety of physiological processes. They are produced by a series of desaturation and elongation reactions. Δ -6-desaturase is a membrane-bound enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of α -linolenic acid (C18:3 n -3) and linoleic acid (C18:2 n -6) to stearidonic acid (18:4 n -3) and γ -linolenic acid (18:3 n -6). It is encoded by the FADS2 gene located on bovine chromosome 29. The aim of this study was to identify a single nucleotide polymorphism in the FADS2 gene and to determine possible associations with milk fatty acid composition in two breeds of dairy cattle, i.e., Jersey and Polish Holstein-Friesian. Direct DNA sequencing revealed the presence of an A-to-G substitution in intron 3 of the FADS2 gene (rs209202414). Both populations were genotyped with an appropriate PCR-RFLP assay. The following genotype distributions were observed: for Jerseys, AA = 0.24, AG = 0.63, and GG = 0.13; for Polish Holstein-Friesians, AA = 0.17, AG = 0.40, and GG = 0.43. In Jerseys, statistically significant relationships were found between the FASD2 genotypes and the following milk fatty acids: lauric ( P=0.0486 ), behenic ( P=0.0199 ), lignoceric ( P=0.0209 ), oleic ( P=0.0386 ), eicosatrienoic ( P=0.0113 ), and docosadienoic ( P=0.0181 ). In Polish Holstein-Friesian cows, significant associations were observed for erucic ( P=0.0460 ) and docosahexaenoic ( P=0.0469 ) acids. The study indicated the A-to-G substitution (rs209202414) in the bovine FADS2 gene as a potential genetic marker for fatty acid composition in cattle milk.

The aim of the study was to assess the effects of training on haematological and biochemical blood parameters as well as on the changes in body surface temperature in horses. In order to identify the predictive value of surface temperature measurements as a marker of animal's performance, their correlations with blood parameters were investigated. The study was carried out on nine horses divided into two groups: routinely ridden and never ridden. Infrared thermography was used to assess surface temperature changes before (BT) and just after training (JAT) on a treadmill. Seven regions of interest (ROIs) located on the neck, shoulder, elbow, back, chest, gluteus and quarter were analysed. The blood samples were taken BT, JAT and 30 min after training (30AT). Haematological parameters including white blood cells, lymphocytes (LYMs), monocytes (MONOs), granulocytes (GRAs), eosinophils (EOSs), haematocrit (HCT) and platelets (PLTs) as well as biochemical parameters such as glucose (GLUC), urea, Na+, K+ and Ca2+, and creatine phosphokinase (CPK) were analysed. Our results indicated a significant increase in surface temperature JAT (p=0.043) in the neck, shoulder, elbow, gluteus and quarter in routinely ridden horses. Significant changes in EOS (p=0.046) and HCT (p=0.043) in the case of the never-ridden and routinely ridden group, respectively, were found between the times of blood collection. In addition, there was a significant effect of the horse group and the time of blood collection on the CPK activity (p=0.025 to p=0.045) and urea concentrations (p=0.027 to p=0.045). In the routinely ridden horses, there were significant correlations between the changes in MONO (ρ=0.40), GRA (ρ=-0.40), PLT (ρ=-0.77), HCT (ρ=-0.36), GLUC (ρ=0.56) and urea (ρ=0.56) and the total ROI temperature changes. Moreover, significant correlations between the changes in MONO (ρ=-0.86), EOS (ρ=-0.65), GLUC (ρ=0.85), urea (ρ=0.85), Na+ (ρ=0.59) and K+ (ρ=-0.85) and the total ROI temperature changes were found in never-ridden horses. Different changes in body surface temperature and blood parameters in routinely ridden and never-ridden horses could be associated with different conditioning and performance. A significantly higher surface temperature in routinely ridden horses, as well as the dynamics of changes in HCT, CPK and urea after training indicate better performance of these horses. Significant correlations between MONO, GLUC, and urea and a total ROI surface temperature as well as a negative correlation between MONO and the total ROI temperature in never-ridden horses indicated poor performance.

Simple Summary Routinely collected data on the performance of dairy cows are a valuable source of information on the beginning, course, and completion of their productive life. As a result, when using sufficiently accurate methods, one can analyze and optimize the milk production process at a herd level from the breeding and economic point-of-view. In this context, it is important to have a possibility to early predict culling reasons for cows, since, in the case of finding an effective method, it would be possible to modify breeding actions and farm management practices without anticipating the end of the animals’ productive lives. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to verify whether artificial neural networks and a general discriminant analysis may be an effective tool for predicting the culling reasons in cows based on routinely collected first-lactation data. It turned out that they were most effective in predicting culling due to old age and reproductive problems. It is significant because infertility is one of the conditions that are the most difficult to eliminate in dairy herds. Abstract The aim of the present study was to verify whether artificial neural networks (ANN) may be an effective tool for predicting the culling reasons in cows based on routinely collected first-lactation records. Data on Holstein-Friesian cows culled in Poland between 2017 and 2018 were used in the present study. A general discriminant analysis (GDA) was applied as a reference method for ANN. Considering all predictive performance measures, ANN were the most effective in predicting the culling of cows due to old age (99.76–99.88% of correctly classified cases). In addition, a very high correct classification rate (99.24–99.98%) was obtained for culling the animals due to reproductive problems. It is significant because infertility is one of the conditions that are the most difficult to eliminate in dairy herds. The correct classification rate for individual culling reasons obtained with GDA (0.00–97.63%) was, in general, lower than that for multilayer perceptrons (MLP). The obtained results indicated that, in order to effectively predict the previously mentioned culling reasons, the following first-lactation parameters should be used: calving age, calving difficulty, and the characteristics of the lactation curve based on Wood’s model parameters.

Purpose: To assess the thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), ganglion cell and inner plexus layer (GCIPL) and blood flow parameters in retrobulbar vessels, and to analyze correlations between these parameters in myopes. Methods: The study included forty myopic and 20 healthy eyes. Standard eye examination was supplemented with OCT of the optic nerve and macula (GCIPL, RNFL, RNFL in each quadrant and rim area of the optic nerve) and color Doppler imaging of retrobulbar arteries [peak systolic and end-diastolic velocities, pulsatile index and resistance index (RI) in the ophthalmic (OA), central retinal (CRA), nasal posterior ciliary and temporal posterior ciliary arteries]. Results: Significant correlations were found between blood flow parameters in the CRA, RNFL and GCIPL thickness, and axial length (AL) and spherical equivalent (SE). There were significant positive correlations between RNFL with PSV and EDV in the CRA and negative correlations between RNFL and RI in the CRA. GCIPL was positively correlated with PSV and EDV in the CRA. The decrease in RA was associated with reduced blood flow velocities in the CRA, TPCA and NPCA. Conclusion: The reduced retrobulbar blood flow in healthy young myopes is correlated with increasing AL and refractive value, and thinning of the RNFL and GCIPL. Reduction of the rim-area of the optic disc is associated with vascular and retinal circulatory disorders. These phenomena indicate the vascular basis of the described changes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study which correlates ocular circulation with retinal structure.

Background: Growth ability and meat performance are of great economic importance in beef cattle. Therefore, breed comparison experiments are needed to provide valuable information on the suitability of different beef breeds for different production conditions. The aim of the present study was to compare the growth performance and meat quality of young Red Angus, Salers and Limousin bulls. Methods: The material comprised 30 bulls of Red Angus (RA), Salers (SL) and Limousin (LM) breeds. The parameters studied were 210-d bodyweight and daily gains from birth to weaning and to finishing, as well as from weaning to finishing. The finished bulls were slaughtered after 12-hour fasting and post-slaughter evaluation was carried out. The compositions of the samples of meat from the longest dorsal muscle (m. longissimus dorsi) were subjected to basic chemical analysis and sensory analysis. Result: The best results in the period of maternal nursing were obtained by the SL bulls and during intensive fattening, by the LM bulls. The differences existed in the chemical composition and sensory characteristics of meat from the bulls of the studied breeds. The RA breed demonstrated the highest content of intramuscular fat in the longissimus dorsi muscle and received higher scores for sensory characteristics.

To estimate changes in self-perception and satisfaction in women undegoing breast augmentation surgery (BAS).Using a quasi-experimental questionnaire study design, we enrolled a cohort of BAS women treated at a private clinic during a 5-year interval. The primary predictor variable was treatment (before/after). The main outcome variables included effect of considering breast augmentation as one of the most important life events on self-image (BAOMILE), and subjective evaluation of physical appearance and life satisfaction. Other study variables were demographic data. The Mann-Whitney and the Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to compare the outcomes between before and after the surgery. The Spearman rank correlation and the Pearson chi-squared test were computed to analyze the relationships among variables.The sample consisted of 53 subjects (52.3% married; 40.9% from medium-sized towns) with a mean age of 33.2 ± 6.4 years (range, 21-46). Life satisfaction was significantly increased after BAS in the whole cohort (preop., 7.83 vs. postop., 8.42; P = .003; 95% CI, -0.95 to -0.22) as well as in the BAOMILE subgroup (preop., 7.87 vs. postop., 8.56; P = .011; 95% CI, -1.20 to -0.17). Within the BAOMILE subgroup, there was a positive correlation between the appearance assessment and the number of positive traits before surgery (ρ = 0.63; P = .002; 95% CI, 0.27-0.83) and life satisfaction after surgery (ρ = 0.480; P = .03; 95% CI, 0.06-0.74).The results of this study suggest that BAS improves self-perception and life satisfaction of the patients. The psychologist's role in understating patient's motivation for cosmetic surgery and the revision of their attitudes towards expected effects require further investigations.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of high intensity laser therapy (HILT) on tendon and ligament injury treatment in horses. Twenty six horses with tendinopathies were randomly assigned to a HILT treated or to a non-treated group. Each horse was subjected to the same rehabilitation programme. Horses from the treatment group underwent a series of fifteen HILT treatments with the same parameters. Clinical and ultrasound assessments were performed by the same veterinarian and were carried out before (day 0), during (day 13&ndash, 15) and after treatment (day 38&ndash, 40). Clinical evaluation included: pain, swelling and lameness of the affected limb. The ultrasound examination evaluated lesion echogenicity and lesion percentage. After the treatment, pain, swelling and lameness were significantly improved by HILT compared with the control group (p = 0.023, 0.008 and 0.044, respectively). No significant changes were found in lesion echogenicity degree between both groups in measurements taken during treatment (p = 0.188) and after treatment (p = 0.070). For lesion percentage reduction, the statistical modelling showed a significant improvement in the HILT group compared with the control group during (p = 0.038) and after treatment (p = 0.019). In conclusion, HILT promoted analgesic and anti-oedema effects, with visual lameness reduction in horses with tendon and ligament injuries, and reduced lesion percentage but did not influence change in lesion echogenicity.

Purpose: In this study, we present our observations on changes in the surface temperature of the cornea, eye, and orbital cavity after cataract surgery. Methods: A total of 39 patients who underwent cataract surgery based on phacoemulsification were enrolled. Temperature was measured at the center of the cornea, on the eye surface, and in orbital cavities using the FLIR T640 thermal imaging camera at days 1, 14, and 28 after cataract phacoemulsification and compared with preoperative baseline values. Results: The mean value of ocular surface temperature of the orbital cavity 14 days after cataract surgery was significantly different compared with the preoperative temperature (p£0.05). Temperature of the investigated areas showed a reduction, with the greatest decrease on day 14 after surgery, followed by an increase on day 28 after surgery, which was comparable to the temperature measured prior to surgery. Conclusions: The reduction in ocular surface temperature toward the end of post-cataract surgery follow-up may be associated with increased instability of the tear film after phacoemulsification. Therefore, patient awareness regarding the possibility of clinical symptoms of dry eye syndrome during the first month after surgery should be part of clinical management of cataract surgery. Ocular surface temperature did not increase after cataract surgery, suggesting the absence of significant inflammation, and the temperature about 1 month after cataract surgery was comparable to that before surgery. Nevertheless, the negative correlation between age and ocular surface temperature should be of concern in the elderly.

The goal of the study was to assess whether tonic immobility (TI)-induced stress reactions in laying hens can be reduced by probiotic supplementation and if the changes in body surface temperature, as a stress indicator, are genetically dependent and can be detected using infrared thermography (IRT). Seventy-one white and 70 brown hens were used. Hens were randomly assigned to three treatments at 1-day-old: beak trimmed and fed a regular diet; non-beak trimmed and fed a regular diet; and non-beak trimmed and fed a diet supplemented with probiotics, Bacillus subtilis. At 40 weeks of age, hens were tested for TI reactions. Eye and face temperatures were measured with IRT immediately before and after TI testing. Results revealed that the probiotic supplementation did not affect hens' stress responses to TI testing; the left and right eye temperatures increased by 0.26s°C and 0.15°C, respectively, while right face temperature tended to increase following TI testing. However, the right eye (32.60°C for white, and 32.35°C for brown) and face (39.51°C for white, and 39.36°C for brown) temperatures differed significantly among genetic lines. There was a positive correlation between TI duration and the changes of the left and right eye temperatures after TI testing in white hens. Based on these results, hens experienced TI-induced surface temperature changes that were detectable using IRT. White hens experienced greater stress reactions in response to TI than brown hens. However, supplementation with Bacillus subtilis did not attenuate hens' reaction to TI testing.

The main objectives of the study were to: (1) deeply analyse the serum protein composition of Equus caballus, (2) assess the effectiveness of the high-abundant protein depletion and improve the concentration of medium- and low-abundant proteins. The analysis were performed on the blood plasma of three healthy part-Arabian mares. The implementation of two-dimensional electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation – time of flight mass spectrometry allowed us to establish a horse plasma proteome map. Serum proteins were resolved at pH 4 to 7, followed by 12% SDS-PAGE. As a result 136 spots were successfully identified, representing the products of 46 unique genes. Of these, 22 gene products have not been previously identified in horse serum/plasma samples using proteomic tools. Gene ontology analysis showed that almost 30% of all identified gene products belong to the coagulation and complement cascades. These results can undoubtedly serve as a useful and prospective prerequisite for the future analysis of horse plasma proteome changes in different physiological and pathophysiological conditions. The use of the medium- and low-abundant protein enrichment tool increased their abundance and allowed us to identify a higher number of protein gene products. The highest depletion efficiency was observed for the most abundant plasma proteins, that is albumin, IgG heavy chains and serotransferrin.

The present study is planned to apply boosted classification trees for the detection of cows with potential conception problems. Nine hundred and eighteen artificial insemination records from Polish Holstein-Friesian Black-and-White cows were included. Each record consisted of nine predictor variables. The output variable was a conception difficulty class (good or poor). Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy on the test set were 82.93%, 84.46% and 83.91%, respectively. The most influential predictors of conception difficulty included calving interval, gestation length, body condition score, fat and protein content and age. Boosted classification trees could be applied as an on-farm decision support tool to identify cows with conception problems.

Introduction The advances in research methods used in ophthalmology allow for an increasingly accurate examination of the eyes, as well as the morphology and function of the vessels. Colour Doppler imaging is still the first-line method for the analysis of parameters of retrobulbar circulation. Therefore, the aim of this work was to present the current state of knowledge about anatomical and functional age-related changes in retrobulbar arteries. Methods A literature search was performed mainly based on the PubMed database. Results The anatomy of retrobulbar arteries, histological background of age-related vascular changes, age-related changes in retrobulbar blood flow in the ophthalmic artery, central retinal artery, short posterior ciliary arteries, and the reference values for the age-dependent retrobulbar circulation parameters measured by colour Doppler imaging are discussed in this review. Conclusion The age of the subject should always be taken into account when interpreting the parameters of retrobulbar blood flow measured by colour Doppler imaging.

The aim of the present study was to: 1) check whether it would be possible to detect cows susceptible to mastitis at an early stage of their utilization based on selected genotypes and basic production traits in the first three lactations using ensemble data mining methods (boosted classification tress – BT and random forest – RF), 2) find out whether the inclusion of additional production variables for subsequent lactations will improve detection performance of the models, 3) identify the most significant predictors of susceptibility to mastitis, and 4) compare the results obtained by using BT and RF with those for the more traditional generalized linear model (GLZ). A total of 801 records for Polish Holstein-Friesian Black-and-White cows were analyzed. The maximum sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the test set were 72.13%, 39.73%, 55.90% (BT), 86.89%, 17.81%, 59.49% (RF) and 90.16%, 8.22%, 58.97% (GLZ), respectively. Inclusion of additional variables did not have a significant effect on the model performance. The most significant predictors of susceptibility to mastitis were: milk yield, days in milk, sire’s rank, percentage of Holstein-Friesian genes, whereas calving season and genotypes (lactoferrin, tumor necrosis factor alpha, lysozyme and defensins) were ranked much lower. The applied models (both data mining ones and GLZ) showed low accuracy in detecting cows susceptible to mastitis and therefore some other more discriminating predictors should be used in future research.

WOS: 000461147800004 In this study, an attempt was made at predicting the values of selected reproductive parameters in Harnai sheep using different data mining algorithms (artificial neural networks - ANN, classification and regression trees - CART, chi-square automatic interaction detector - CHAID and multivariate adaptive regression splines - MARS) and indicating the most influential predictors of these traits. A total of 382 reproduction records including three predictors (month of lambing - MOL, age at first lambing - AFL and lambing weight - LW) and seven dependent (output) variables (services per conception - SPC, service period - SP, lambing interval - LI, twinning rate - TR, gestation length - GL, breeding efficiency - BE and fertility rate - FR) were used. A 10-fold cross-validation was applied to train and evaluate the models. The highest correlation coefficients (r) were found for LI (0.18 - 0.29; P 0.05) and FR (0.11 - 0.26; P

The impact of a rider’s and saddle’s mass on saddle thermal pattern distribution was evalu ated using infrared thermography (IRT). Eighteen racehorses were ridden by four riders with their own saddle. Images of the saddle panels were captured at each of six thermographic examinations. On each image, six regions of interest (ROIs) were marked on the saddle panels. The mean temperature for each ROI was extracted. To evaluate the influence of load on saddle fit, 4 indicators were used: ΔTmax (difference between the mean temperature of the warmest and coolest ROI); standard deviation of the mean temperature of the six ROIs; right/left; bridging/rocking and front/back thermal pattern indicator. Incorrect saddle fit was found in 25 measurements (23.1%) with ΔTmax greater than 2˚C. The relationships between rider and saddle fit as well as saddle fit and horse were significant (p

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) play a role in a wide variety of physiological processes. They are produced by a series of desaturation and elongation reactions. Δ-6-desaturase is a membrane-bound enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of α-linolenic acid (C18:3n-3) and linoleic acid (C18:2n-6) to stearidonic acid (18:4n-3) and γ-linolenic acid (18:3n-6). It is encoded by the FADS2 gene located on bovine chromosome 29. The aim of this study was to identify a single nucleotide polymorphism in the FADS2 gene and to determine possible associations with milk fatty acid composition in two breeds of dairy cattle, i.e., Jersey and Polish Holstein-Friesian. Direct DNA sequencing revealed the presence of an A-to-G substitution in intron 3 of the FADS2 gene (rs209202414). Both populations were genotyped with an appropriate PCR-RFLP assay. The following genotype distributions were observed: for Jerseys, AA = 0.24, AG = 0.63, and GG = 0.13; for Polish Holstein-Friesians, AA = 0.17, AG = 0.40, and GG = 0.43. In Jerseys, statistically significant relationships were found between the FASD2 genotypes and the following milk fatty acids: lauric (P=0.0486), behenic (P=0.0199), lignoceric (P=0.0209), oleic (P=0.0386), eicosatrienoic (P=0.0113), and docosadienoic (P=0.0181). In Polish Holstein-Friesian cows, significant associations were observed for erucic (P=0.0460) and docosahexaenoic (P=0.0469) acids. The study indicated the A-to-G substitution (rs209202414) in the bovine FADS2 gene as a potential genetic marker for fatty acid composition in cattle milk.

Background The aim of the present study was to verify the relationship between the level of neuroticism and selected aspects of life satisfaction in women undergoing breast augmentation surgery. Methods The study group included 109 women, aged 18–46 years, who completed the self-developed survey measuring selected psychological traits before and after (1 year) surgery. Four questions in this survey were related to the level of neuroticism and two pertained to the self-assessment of leading character traits and the level of life satisfaction. Three questions made up the lie scale. Results The studied women were constant in their truthfulness. No statistically significant difference in the level of neuroticism before and after surgery was noticed. However, an increase in the subjective life satisfaction after surgery was highly significant (p

The aim of the present study was to construct a rule-based module (RBM) for dystocia detection in dairy cattle and to verify its predictive performance. A total of 3041 calving records of Polish Holstein-Friesian Black-and-White heifers and cows were used. Three continuous and seven categorical predictors of dystocia were included in the three decision tree models, from which the rules for RBM were extracted. The system was equipped with a user-friendly text interface. The percentage of correctly detected easy, moderate and difficult calvings in heifers on the independent test set was 26.13%, 76.52% and 77.27%, respectively. The overall accuracy was 60.12%. The respective values for cows were: 59.18%, 69.01%, 0% and 62.03%. The predictive performance of the constructed system was satisfactory, except for the difficult category in cows.

The aim of this study was to assess the influence of horse, saddle, and rider on saddle fit in racehorses by detecting pressure distribution using infrared thermography. In this study, 22 saddles used on 65 racing horses ridden by 21 riders were used. Data from horses including gender, breed, age, training intensity, and level of performance were collected. Type and mass of the saddle were also obtained, along with information about the rider's body mass and riding skills. Thermographic images of the saddle's panels were captured immediately after untacking the horse at each thermographic examination. On each thermographic image of the saddle panels, six regions of interest (ROIs) were marked, with mean temperature calculated within each ROI to indicate pressure distribution. Saddle fit was evaluated for right/left panel pressure, bridging/rocking pressure, and front/back pressure according to horse's: gender, breed, age, training intensity, level of conditioning, rider's skills, and load (saddle plus rider mass). There were statistically significant relationships (P < .05) between left/right asymmetry and age, training, intensity and load. In front/back pressure, there was a statistically significant relationship (P < .05) for load. No statistically significant relationships were observed between bridging/rocking pressure and the rest of the aforementioned variables. The study indicated that load, horse age, and training intensity influence pressure distribution in racing saddles. Therefore, animal age and load have to be considered in saddle fit. Infrared thermography has been confirmed as a useful tool in the evaluation of saddle fit in racing horses.

The effect of hybrid material—graphene flakes with Fe3O4 nanospheres (GO-Fe3O4), graphene oxide (GO) and magnetite nanospheres (Fe3O4) in rotating magnetic field on mammalian cells metabolism has been studied. Several reports shown that exposure to magnetic field may have influence on cellular membrane permeability. Thus, the aim of presented study was to determine the cellular response of L929 fibroblast cells to nanomaterials and rotating magnetic field for 8-h exposure experiment. The GO had tendency to adsorb proteins, thus cell metabolism was decreased and the effect of that mechanism was enhanced by impact of nanospheres and rotating magnetic field. The highest reduction of cellular metabolism was recorded for WST-1 and NR assays at concentration 100 µg/mL of all tested nanomaterials and magnetic induction value 10.06 mT. The lactate dehydrogenase leakage assay has shown significant changes in membrane permeability. Further studies need to be carried out to precisely determine the mechanism of that process.