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Boar taint is an unpleasant odour found in the carcasses of entire male pigs, resulting from androstenone and skatole accumulation during pubertal development, and impacting pork quality. This study proposes the validation of an adapted chromatographic method for quantifying skatole and androstenone in the pigs' liquid fat using fluorescence detection. A good chromatographic separation was achieved, with skatole (SKA) and androstenone (AND) elution at 4.4 and 9.9 min., respectively. An external calibration method was applied, with calibration curves correlation coefficient of 0.9999 for both analytes. Detection limit values were 1.53 and 16.02 ng/g for SKA and AND, respectively. SKA recovery was 99.72±2.34 % (2.34 % RSD) and 102.84±1.62 % (1.57 % RSD) for AND. Results showed good precision values (repeatability <2.46 % RSD for SKA, <6.85 % RSD for AND; intermediate precision <2.87 % RSD for SKA, <6.98 % RSD for AND). The method's robustness was tested and the values were within the reference ranges. The validation results proved that the adaptation of an existing method resulted in good assessments of robustness, reliability and accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finishing entire male pigs after puberty is not common in Europe due to aggression and boar taint. Alternatives to surgical castration or immunocastration should be explored as the production of entire males can also increase the productivity and sustainability of swine production. This study evaluated the performance, welfare, health, and meat quality of heavier pigs (from 95 to 135 kg) raised without castration. A factorial experiment consisting of 2 housing conditions (H1 control, H2 improved) x 3 diets (D1 - control diet, D2 - 10% beet pulp, D3 - 5% beet pulp + 4% Fibrofos) with 60 entire males randomly allocated to 6 pens, 23 to 30 weeks of age, was conducted using a Pietrain x (Large White x Landrace) cross. Treatment effects were evaluated with respect to growth, carcass yield, skin lesions, cortisol, hemogram, skatole, androstenone and meat physicochemical characteristics. Improved housing with more headspace, larger feeders, extra drinkers, environmental enrichment (organic toys), and group stability until slaughter led to a significant decrease in androstenone levels and benefited animal health and welfare without compromising performance. In addition, diets with inulin from Fibrofos or sugar beet pulp allowed to significantly reduce skatole content. Due to the price, beet pulp is more sustainable and its 10% inclusion did not negatively affect either intake or performance. Raising entire male pigs for carcasses with low boar taint is be possible if adequate space, environmental enrichment, and specific feeds are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immunocastration can be an alternative to surgical castration in Bísaro pigs when there is a need to keep animals on the farm until at least 8 months old. As an autochthonous breed, some particularities must be addressed when doing immunocastration, for which 3 different protocols were tested and two control groups were made with surgically castrated males (SC) and boars (Bo). Two protocols were made in prepubertal pigs, with two (E2) and three inoculations (L3) in the first cycle, and another in adults (A2) with only two inoculations. Physicochemical parameters and boar taint compounds quantification and sensory analysis of the meat from the studied pigs were assessed. Immunocastration provided intermediate values between surgically castrated pigs and entire males, with low levels of boar taint compounds. The L3 group provided closer results to SC, which was also corroborated by the sensory analysis. Although the other two protocols had no significant differences with Bo, there was a positive tendency towards them. As is, the L3 protocol was promising as a good alternative to surgical castration, maintaining the characteristic attributes of the Bísaro pig meat., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Traditional outdoor pig farming is renowned for its emphasis on animal welfare and the production of highly valued, quality meat. While seasonality is known to impact certain animals, particularly those raised outdoors, there is a lack of research on Bísaro boars, a native Portuguese breed. This research study was conducted on a total of 20 male entire Bísaro pigs, reared in outdoor pens from 4 to 13 months old, and subsequently slaughtered. The animals were divided into two groups: one slaughtered in winter (Wi, n = 9), and the other in summer (Su, n = 11). The objective was to evaluate testicular morphometry, boar taint compounds, and meat quality traits, including sensory analysis and fatty acid profile. Testicles from the Su group exhibited reduced volume, indicating diminished functionality during that season. While no significant differences were observed in the boar taint compound analysis, panelists could discern a more intense aroma and flavor of boar taint in the Su meat. Other meat quality traits showed no significant variations, but the fatty acid profile displayed higher values in the Wi group. This study reveals that Bísaro boars experience reproductive seasonality, leading to variations in boar taint compounds across the seasons. This information is crucial for farm planning., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

The Bísaro pig is a Portuguese autochthonous breed greatly appreciated for its meat quality and is mainly reared outdoors. Immunocastration could be a solution to avoid undesirable pregnancies and boar taint in cull sows. The present study tested three immunocastration protocols (with Improvac ® ) according to their reproductive cycle. The first inoculation was performed two weeks after farrowing (IM1, n = 5), at the beginning of estrus (IM2, n = 5), and one week after the end of estrus (IM3, n = 5), followed by a second administration four weeks apart. A control group (C, n = 5) was also included in the same housing conditions. The sample collection included the reproductive tract for morphometric evaluation, neck fat for the quantification of boar taint compounds, and a portion of the Longissimus thoracis et lumborum for meat quality trait assessment. The reproductive tracts from intact sows (C) were significantly heavier compared to the immunocastrated groups ( p < 0.05) (1.403 kg C to 0.508 kg IM1, 0.590 kg IM2, and 0.599 kg IM3), suggesting the regression of the reproductive tract to nonstimulated conditions due to immunization against GnRH. The IM1 group exhibited significantly smaller reproductive tract measurements compared to group C for most of the evaluated segments ( p < 0.05). No marked differences were observed in the meat quality traits. Therefore, immunocastration can be used in culling sows to avoid ovarian activity, and it is not detrimental to pork quality traits.

Background: While the majority of patients with Alzheimer's disease resides in low and middle-income countries, little is known of their preparedness for emerging disease-modifying treatments. We analyze the preparedness of Brazil, one of the most populous middle-income countries, from a capacity and institutional preparedness perspective., Methods: Desk research and 12 interviews for background and capacity data. Markov model to estimate wait times for access to treatment., Findings: Brazil has no national dementia strategy or established pathway for evaluation of cognitive concerns, and dementia is typically diagnosed late if at all. While members of private health plans have ready access to elective specialty care, wait times in the public sector are long. Assuming potentially treatment-eligible patients are referred from primary to specialty care based on a brief cognitive exam and a blood test for the Alzheimer's pathology, available capacity will not be sufficient to match the projected demand. The biggest obstacle is availability of dementia specialist visits, and the effect of population growth and ageing means that the wait list for specialist appointment will continue to grow from around 400,000 in 2022 to over 2.2 million in 2040. We do not project substantial wait times for confirmatory biomarker testing and treatment delivery but note that this is a consequence of patients waiting for their specialist appointments. These queues will result in estimated persistent wait times for treatment of around two years on average with substantial differences between the public and private sectors, as capacity growth is insufficient to keep up with increasing demand., Discussion: Our findings suggest that Brazil is ill-prepared to provide timely access to an Alzheimer's treatment with predicted wait times of about two years, largely because of a limited number of dementia specialists., (© 2022 The Authors. Alzheimer's & Dementia published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.)