scholarly journals Carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition of commercial dog food in Brazil

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e5828 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo de Aro Galera ◽  
Adibe Luiz Abdalla Filho ◽  
Luiza Santos Reis ◽  
Janaina Leite de Souza ◽  
Yeleine Almoza Hernandez ◽  
...  

Background Brazil is a low- to medium-income country and has the second largest pet food market in the world with 8% of world pet food consumption. The lowest-income social class spends around 17% of their domestic budget on pet food and other items related to pets. Consumers are frequently misled by advertising as there is no precise information about the main sources of protein, carbohydrates and fat in the labels, and the Brazilian pet food industry can legally claim that their products contain certain items like salmon or beef even if they use just a flavoring compound. Methods The stable isotope methodology compares the stable isotope ratios of carbon (13C/12C) and nitrogen (15N/14N) between source and product. The 13C/12C ratio of a specific product (e.g., dog food) reveals the proportions of C4 (maize) and C3 (soybean, rice and wheat) plants in that product and the 15N/14N ratio reveals the proportion of the compounds derived from animals. With this isotopic data, we used MixSIAR, a Bayesian stable isotope-mixing model, to estimate the proportion of maize, grains, poultry and beef in dog food. Results The δ13C values of dry dog food ranged from −24.2‰ to −12.8‰, with an average (± standard-deviation) of −17.1‰ ± 2.8‰. The δ13C values of wet pet food ranged from −25.4‰ to −16.9‰, with an average (± standard-deviation) of −21.2‰ ± 2.4‰, which was significantly lower (p < 0.01). The δ15N values of the dry and wet food ranged from 1.7‰ to 4.2‰, and from 0.5‰ to 5.5‰, respectively. The average δ15N values of dry food (2.9‰ ± 0.5‰) was not higher than the wet food (2.6‰ ± 1.3‰) (p > 0.01). The output of the MixSIAR showed a low proportion of bovine products in dry dog food samples. On the other hand, poultry was obviously the dominant ingredient present in most of the samples. Maize was the second dominant ingredient. Wet and dry dog food showed similar isotopic analysis results. The only difference was a lower proportion of maize and higher proportion of grains in wet dog food. Discussion The main finding is that dog food in Brazil is mostly made of approximately 60% (ranging from 32% to 86%) animal-based and 40% (ranging from 14% to 67%) plant-based products. Poultry and maize are the main ingredients. Poultry is added as a by-product or meal, which avoids competition between dogs and humans for meat products, while they can compete for maize. On the other hand, a large proportion of plant-based products in dog food decreases the energy and environmental footprint, since plant-based food products tend to be less harmful compared to animal-based products. Labels can mislead consumers by showing pictures of items that are not necessarily part of the product composition and by not showing the detailed information on the proportion of each ingredient. This information would allow customers to make their own choices considering their pet’s nutrition, the competition between animals and humans for resources and environmental sustainability.

Author(s):  
Katarzyna Kazimierska ◽  
Wioletta Biel ◽  
Robert Witkowicz ◽  
Jolanta Karakulska ◽  
Xymena Stachurska

AbstractIn addition to properly balancing nutritional value in accordance with the needs of a dog, estimating the microbiological quality of dog food is crucial in providing healthy and safe foods. The aim of this study was to examine the quality of dry food for adult dogs, with particular reference to: (1) evaluating the nutritional value and compliance with nutritional guidelines for dogs, (2) comparing the nutritional value of dog foods, with particular emphasis on the division into cereal and cereal-free foods, and (3) evaluating their microbiological safety. All thirty-six evaluated dry dog foods met the minimum European Pet Food Industry FEDIAF requirement for total protein and fat content. The total aerobic microbial count in the analyzed dry dog foods ranged from 2.7 × 102 to above 3.0 × 107 cfu/g. In five (14%) dog foods the presence of staphylococci was detected; however, coagulase positive Staphylococcus (CPS) was not found. Mold presence was reported in one cereal-free dog food and in six cereal foods. In none of the analyzed foods Enterobacteriaceae were found, including coliforms, Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. Bacteria of the genus Listeria and Clostridium as well as yeasts were also not detected. In conclusion, the evaluated dry dog foods had varied microbiological quality. The detected number of microorganisms may have some implications for long-term consumption of contaminated food. The lack of European Commission standards regarding the permissible amounts of microorganisms in pet food may result in insufficient quality control of these products.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-194
Author(s):  
Doni Anggoro Ari Santoso ◽  
Zumrotul Muniroh ◽  
Nurul Akmaliah

ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to find out the effect of the using of flash cards towards student’s speaking ability in STBA Pertiwi, Cileungsi. The researchers hope that this research can give advantages to all of lecturers and students in doing the learning process, especially in English speaking ability. The method used in this research is experiment method using two groups of classes. One class as experiment class, where the researchers are giving the materials using flash cards. While the other class is control class, where the materials are given with lecturing method. Based on the result of the data analysis, it can be concluded that the average score for English speaking ability in control class is 64,7. The median is 61.5. The modus is 57,5. The variance is 258, 6256. And the standard deviation is 16,082. In the other hand, the average score for English speaking ability in experiment class is 70,5. The median is 71,21. The modus is 85,056. The variance is 229, 128. And the standard deviation is 15,14. It is also obtained that the equation of Total Variance is 15,62. And the TObserved is 1,69 and the T table is 1,667. So that Tobserved >Ttable; 1,69>1,667 that is significant. It can be concluded that there is positive and significant effect of using of flash cards towards student’s speaking ability in STBA Pertiwi, Cileungsi.


Author(s):  
C. Lin ◽  
J. Cohen

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> Biomass burning and urbanization are both significant sources of CO emissions and atmospheric loadings in the real environment. The sources of CO are due to incomplete combustion, on one hand of biomass from agriculture or forest clearing, and on the other hand from coal, oil, gas, and other similar materials. However, the spatial and temporal underlying properties and patterns are quite different between these two types of source regions, with urban regions having a relatively constant source of CO emissions, with only short term concentration fluctuations due to local meteorology. On the other hand, in biomass burning regions, the emissions themselves tend to be highly concentrated over a short burning period, and very low otherwise. We hence present a new technique to classify and quantify biomass burning regions and urban regions based on an objective analysis of the CO total column measurements from the MOPITT satellite. By using all of the data from 2000&amp;ndash;2016, in connection with averages and standard deviation cutoffs, we successfully determine these regions. By performing a sensitivity analysis, in connection with additional ground-based measurements, we determine that the ideal cutoffs for the mean column loading and standard deviation of the column loading 28<span class="thinspace"></span>&amp;times;<span class="thinspace"></span>1017<span class="thinspace"></span>mol/cm<sup>2</sup> and 6<span class="thinspace"></span>&amp;times;<span class="thinspace"></span>1017<span class="thinspace"></span>mol/cm<sup>2</sup> respectively. These results are capable of representing known urban regions and biomass burning regions well throughout China, Southeast Asia, and South Asia, specifically including Beijing, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Hunan, Guangdong, and Bangkok on one hand, and Northeastern India, Myanmar, Laos, Northern Thailand, and Vietnam on the other hand. A detailed analysis of the time series over the different classified regions show that while the urban areas have a much higher annual value, and a relatively long peak time, that their maximum is never as high as the peaks in the biomass burning regions, and that these peaks in the biomass burning regions are extremely short in duration, although they occur annually or bi-annually. Finally, we have not been able to obtain a statistically relevant decreasing trend, as others have found, making CO possibly an interesting species for future studies.</p>


The study has unequivocally demonstrated that siliceous sponges Spirastrella cuspidifera and Prostylyssa foetida from the same microecological niche exhibit a high degree of species specificity, while accumulating a host of heavy metal ions (Ni, Cr, Cd, Sn, Ti, Mo, Zr). S. cuspidifera accumulated, in addition, 60 Co and 63 Ni, showing discrimination against other radionuclides, 137 Cs and 131 I, present in the ambient waters receiving controlled low level waste discharges from a B. W. R. nuclear power station. P. foetida , on the other hand, accumulated only 131 I and showed discrimination against other radionuclides including 60 Co, although the stable iodine concentrations in both the sponges were the same. The specific activity of 60 Co (in becquerels per gram of 59 Co) in S. cuspidifera and 131 I (in becquerels per gram of 127 I) in P. foetida were at least two orders of magnitude greater than in the ambient sea water. That of 63 Ni (in becquerels per gram of 62 Ni) in S. cuspidifera , on the other hand, was lower by two orders of magnitude than in either abiotic matrices from the same environment. Thus, not only did both the species show bioaccumulation of a specific element, but also preferential uptake of isotopes of the same element, though they were equally available for intake. Such differential uptake of isotopes can possibly be explained in terms of two quite different mechanisms operating, each applicable in a particular case. One is that the xenobiotic isotope enters the environment in a physicochemical form or as a complex different from that of its natural counterpart. If equilibration with the latter is slow, so that the organism acquires the xenobiotic in an unfamiliar chemical context, it may treat it as a chemically distinct entity so that its concentration factor differs from that of stable isotope, thus changing the specific activity. Alternatively, if the xenobiotic is present in the same chemical form as the stable isotope, the only way in which specific activities can be modified is by fractionation on the basis of mass of isotope. In view of the remarkable concentration factors observed for stable and radioactive isotopes of the same element and the specific activities reached, it is desirable that species of sponges, especially from the coastal and estuarine environments, be monitored to detect levels of pollution due to anthropogenic substances.


Mineralogia ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 42 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 113-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamaleldin Hassan

Note on the stable isotope values of vein calcite in the El-Seboah peralkaline granite (SW Egypt)Stable isotope data for carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) are used to constrain the environments of calcite formation in two veins in the El-Seboah peralkaline granite in south-western Egypt. Vein I with calcite-magnetite-goethite-hematite-quartz, and vein II with calcite-magnetite-goethite-kaolinite-hematite-quartz are texturally distinct. The calcite of each vein has characteristic δ13C- and δ18O-values: + 0.32 and -7.28‰ for vein I and + 1.16 and - 1.21‰ for vein II, respectively. The observed differences between the δ13C values of the two veins indicate that they represent two separate systems of primary dissolved inorganic carbon formed at or near equilibrium with atmospheric CO2. The δ18O values, on the other hand, indicate calcite deposition from meteoric waters which were fresh for vein I and brackish for vein II.


Author(s):  
Ramprasad Sengupta

Chapter 4 introduces the concept and measurement of multidimensional poverty and that of human development indicators as its obverse in terms of attainment of human capability. On the other hand, on the environmental sustainability front, the chapter discusses the measures of ecological footprint and its obverse the environmental performance index as possible alternative indicators. It has reviewed the concept of ecological footprint along with carbon footprint which are measures of stress caused by human demands on the services of ecosystems in terms of appropriation of productive land area. The environmental performance indicator on the other hand indicates the extent of performance of environmental conservation and protection as driven by human policy initiatives. Finally, the chapter provides an overall development indicator based on the indicators of three components of sustainability—economic, social, and environmental—as their geometric mean, along with the comparative estimates of per capita income.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimmo Sorjonen ◽  
Guy Madison ◽  
Tomas Hemmingsson ◽  
Bo Melin ◽  
Fredrik Ullén

According to the worst performance rule (WPR), the correlations between intelligence and sorted performances, for example on reaction time tasks, should strengthen from the best to the worst performance. A commonly proposed explanation for the WPR is that poor performances reflect lapses of attention that are particularly strongly related to intelligence. The correlation of sorted scores rule (CSSR), on the other hand, claims that the WPR arises due to certain statistical properties of the data. Specifically, the magnitude of intelligence-performance correlations will change with the rank order of the test when intelligence is correlated with the within-individual standard deviation (WISD) of the tests. If the latter correlation is negative, a WPR is seen, i.e. intelligence-performance correlations will be lower for tests with higher rank order. If the intelligence-WISD correlation is positive, however, intelligence-performance correlations instead increase with test rank order. In the present study, through strategic slicing of two full samples (N = 5467 and N = 43,987, respectively), we created subsamples with a large range of intelligence-WISD correlations. In accordance with the CSSR, but not the WPR, the association between intelligence-performance correlations and test rank order was found to reflect the intelligence-WISD correlation of the subsample. This indicates that the WPR might be a special case of the more general CSSR and that the WPR is crucially dependent on intelligence-WISD correlations. The findings also indicate that the predictions made by the CSSR generalize to other predictors besides intelligence and to other outcomes besides reaction time.


Riset ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 550-562
Author(s):  
Wagiyu Wagiyu ◽  
Heri Setiawan

Business risk is the potential deviation of corporate results  and financial results because the company enters a certain business with a typical industrial environment and uses certain technologies. In business there are so many decisions or actions that must be made, it makes more and more risks that may occur as a result. The purpose of this research is to find out how big the Business Risk Central Tile Industry in Lohjinawi Village, Pringsewu Regency,The analysis was carried out descriptively, using standard deviation of ROE; Financial Leverage; Operating Leverage namely the sensitivity of EBIT to changes in the company's sales; as well as Degree of Operation Leverage (DOL). The results of the analysis show that: 1) ROE, has increased due to an increase in Sales and an increase in EAT, and vice versa; 2)The use of debt can increase the Company's ROE; 3) Operating Leverage, where EBIT is very sensitive to changes in company sales; 4)Degree of Operating Leverage (DOL) measures what percentage of EBIT changes if sales; 2018-2019 of 1.50x  which means DOL of 150% that every 100% increase or 1x sales will cause an increase in operating profit of 1.50x otherwise, if sales decrease 1x then operating profit will decrease by 1.50x. While the year 2019-2020 amounted to 2.01x which means a DOL of 201% indicates that every 100% or 1x decrease in sales will cause a 2.01x decrease in operating profit. On the other hand, if sales decrease 1x, operating profit will decrease by 2.01x.


Author(s):  
Lassaad Ben Mahjoub ◽  
Ines Amara

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the effect of the shareholder governance on environmental sustainability by the moderating effect of some cultural factors.Design/methodology/approachThe authors have studied the extent of sustainability by continent. On the other hand, the authors have conducted three empirical models that deal with the effect of shareholder governance on environmental sustainability and also with the moderating effect of cultural factors.FindingsUsing a sample of 140 countries during the year 2018, the authors find a notable and positive effect of the shareholder governance on environmental sustainability. Regarding the role of cultural factors, the authors found that the factor gender parity is more important than other factors.Practical implicationsThe findings have policy implications for governments aiming to combat environmental sustainability and shareholder governance.Originality/valueThis research has approached cultural factors in a different context, which is an eastern country, which are completely different from those of western countries. On the other hand, the subject of sustainability is not sufficiently threated in this country (Saudi Arabia).


Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Poullet ◽  
Muñoz-Perez ◽  
Poortvliet ◽  
Mera ◽  
Contreras ◽  
...  

Sieving is one of the most used operational methods to determine sand size parameters which are essential to analyze coastal dynamics. However, the influence of hand versus mechanical shaking methods has not yet been studied. Herein, samples were taken from inside the hopper of a trailing suction dredger and sieved by hand with sieves of 10 and 20 cm diameters on board the dredger. Afterwards, these same samples were sieved with a mechanical shaker in the laboratory on land. The results showed differences for the main size parameters D50, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis. Amongst the main results, it should be noted that the highest values for D50 and kurtosis were given by the small sieves method. On the other hand, the lowest values were given by the mechanical shaker method in the laboratory. Furthermore, standard deviation and skewness did not seem to be affected by the sieving method which means that all the grainsize distribution was shifted but the shape remained unchanged. The few samples that do not follow these patterns have a higher percentage of shells. Finally and definitely, the small sieves should be rejected as a sieving method aboard.


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