Oral adenocarcinoma observed in Boa constrictor maintained in captivity

Information on neoplasms in animals has increased over time, and these studies have helped in the management of reptiles that present tumors. There are similar incidences of neoplasms between homeothermic and ectothermic animals. Furthermore, there are usually more than one type of tumor present. The treatment of wild animals afflicted with cancer usually happens late, contributing to their low life expectancy. Thus, the present work aimed to describe an infrequent case of oral tumor in Boa constrictor. The tumor was observed in an adult female animal, raised in an exhibition area of the Zoo and Botanical Park of the Emílio Goeldi Museum, located in Belém, State of Pará, Brazil. Macroscopically, the mass presented morphologically with an irregular, multilobulated surface, color that varied from white to grey, hemorrhagic areas and its extension was 3.9 x 2.3 cm. The neoplasm was surgically removed, and the histopathological evaluation revealed an adenocarcinoma, with a papillary-like development pattern and a moderate degree of differentiation. The animal died three months after diagnosis due to starvation. The necropsy showed that there was tumor recrudescence and no metastases. Given the impossibility of surgical removal with a greater margin of safety, and adjuvant therapies, this condition favoured the resurgence of the neoplasm. This compromised the animal’s ability to feed and consequently lead to death. Malignant neoplasms in reptiles may have an unfavourable clinical evolution for the maintenance of life, requiring specific therapeutic care such as chemotherapy. Scientific contributions on tumors in these animals are essential for the medical treatment of wild animals, and the conservation of wild species.

Tree vegetative and generative properties and their inter-correlations for prospective apple cultivars under two training systems for young trees

Little information is available on vegetative and generative performance of apple cultivars during the early growth of trees in orchards. The aim of this five-year study was to evaluate 2 vegetative (trunk cross sectional area (TCSA) and tree height (TH)) and 7 generative parameters (tree yield (TY), fruit number per tree (FNT), crop load (CL), fruit diameter (FD), shape index (SI), fruit surface color (FSC) and fruit color intensity (FCI)) and their inter-correlations (Pearson correlation, regression analyses and PCA) for young apple trees, on 9 apple cultivars (‘Jugala’, ‘Galaval’, ‘Gala Venus Fengal’, ‘Gala Decarli-Fendeca’, ‘Gala Schnitzer (S) Schniga’, ‘Fuji September Wonder’, ‘Crimson Crisp (Co-op 39)’, ‘Jeromine’, and ‘Red Idared’) in a slender spindle training system (2597 trees ha−1) and on 4 apple cultivars (‘Wilton’s Red Jonaprince’, ‘Red Cap Valtod (S)’, ‘Early Red One’, and ‘Red Topaz’) in a super spindle training system (5194 trees ha−1) in Eastern Hungary. The strongest vegetative growth was observed in ‘Red Idared’, while the weakest was in ‘Early Red One’. Most ‘Gala’ mutants showed high yields in all years, except for ‘Galaval’. On the 6 year-old trees, the lowest tree yield was found in ‘Fuji September Wonder’ (8.2 kg tree−1), while the highest was found in ‘Gala Venus Fengal’ (35.8 kg tree−1). The lowest fruit number per tree (15 fruit tree−1) was found in ‘Jeromine’, while the highest (222 fruit tree−1) was in ‘Gala Venus Fengal’. The highest crop load was found in ‘Gala Venus Fengal’ (12.72 fruit per cm2 TCSA), while the lowest was in ‘Jeromine’ (2.13 fruit per cm2 TCSA). The smallest fruit diameter (66.3 mm) was recorded in ‘Gala Schnitzer (S) Schniga’, while highest (93.6 mm) was in ‘Red Idared’. The lowest shape index (0.73) was found in ‘Red Topaz’, while the highest (0.92) was in ‘Red Idared’. The majority of the cultivars reached very good fruit surface color (80–100%). The lowest fruit surface color (40%) was observed in ‘Gala Schnitzer (S) Schniga’, while the highest (100%) was in ‘Jeromine’ and ‘Early Red One’. The highest fruit color intensity was observed in most cultivars with the exception of ‘Jeromine’, ‘Gala Schnitzer (S) Schniga’ and’Fuji September Wonder’. In addition, correlation and regression analyses revealed strong and significant (p = 0.05) relationships between TH vs TCSA, TY vs TCSA, TH vs TY, TY vs FNT, and FCI vs FSC. PCA explained 87% of the total variance and PC1, PC2, PC3, and PC4 accounted for 33, 21, 20, and 13% of the variance, respectively, and correlated with TSCA, TH, TY and FNT; with FNT, CL and FS; with FSC and FCI; and with TH and SI, respectively. In conclusion, our study provides useful tree property data on prospective mutants/cultivars for growers/advisors in order to select the most suitable cultivars for establishing new orchards under climate conditions similar to central Europe.

Shelf-Life Evaluation of Ingredient Combinations and Technologies for Use in Pet Food Formulations

Poultry co-product chicken frames (CF) and wooden breast (WB) along with ingredient technology use may bring enhanced value to the pet food industry. Therefore, the current study focused on evaluating CF and WB combinations along with sodium alginate and encapsulated calcium lactate pentahydrate (ALGIN) inclusion within a fresh pet food formulation under simulated shelf-life conditions. Fresh chicken frames (CF) and boneless-skinless wooden breast (WB) were ground and allocated randomly to one of ten treatment combinations with either 0.5 or 1.0% added ALGIN. Ground treatments were placed into a form and fill vacuum package and stored using a reach-in refrigerated case for 21 days. Packages were evaluated for instrumental surface color, lipid oxidation, water activity, and pH on days 1, 3, 7, 14 and 21 of the display. Packages of pet food were lighter, less red, and more yellow (p < 0.05) with increasing percentages of CF regardless of ALGIN inclusion, whereas pH was greater (p < 0.05) and lipid oxidation was less (p < 0.05) with increasing percentage of WB. Water activity increased (p < 0.05) when WB and ALGIN inclusion increased. The current results suggest that the use of ALGIN in a poultry co-product pet food formulation can improve shelf-life characteristics such as surface color and lipid oxidation in fresh pet food.

Surface Color Variations of Ground Beef Packaged Using Enhanced, Recycle Ready, or Standard Barrier Vacuum Films

With current meat industry efforts focused on improving environmental influencers, adopting sustainable packaging materials may be an easier transition to addressing the sustainability demands of the meat consumer. With the growing popularity of vacuum-packaged meat products, the current study evaluated instrumental surface color on fresh ground beef using vacuum packaging films, recycle-ready film (RRF), standard barrier (STB) and enhanced barrier (ENB). Ground beef packaged using ENB barrier film was lighter (L*), redder (a*) and more vivid (chroma) than all other packaging treatments during the simulated display period (p < 0.05). By day 12 of the simulated retail display, the ground beef surface color became lighter (L*), more yellow (b*), less red (a*), less vivid (chroma) and contained greater forms of calculated metmyoglobin, oxymyoglobin (p < 0.05). The current results suggest that barrier properties of vacuum packaging film for ground beef are pivotal for extending the surface color during fresh shelf-life conditions.

Investigation of the Relationship between Degradation of the Coating of Gas Turbine Blades and Its Surface Color

This article presents issues concerning the relationship between the degradation of the coating of gas turbine blades and changes in the color of its surface. Conclusions were preceded by the determination of parameters characterizing changes in the technical condition of protective coatings made based on a metallographic examination that defined the morphological modifications of the microstructure of the coating, chemical composition of oxides, and roughness parameters. It has been shown that an increased operating time causes parameters that characterize the condition of the blades to deteriorate significantly. Results of material tests were compared with those of blade surface color analyses performed using a videoscope. Image data were represented in two color models, i.e., RGB and L*a*b* with significant differences being observed between parameters in both representations. The study results demonstrated a relationship between the coating degradation degree and changes in the color of the blade’s surface. Among others, this approach may be used as a tool to assess the condition of turbine blades as well as entire gas turbines.

Selection of effective manufacturing conditions for directed energy deposition process using machine learning methods

In the directed energy deposition (DED) process, significant empirical testing is required to select the optimal process parameters. In this study, single-track experiments were conducted using laser power and scan speed as parameters in the DED process for titanium alloys. The results of the experiment confirmed that the deposited surface color appeared differently depending on the process parameters. Cross-sectional view, hardness, microstructure, and component analyses were performed according to the color data, and a color suitable for additive manufacturing was selected. Random forest (RF) and support vector machine multi-classification models were constructed by collecting surface color data from a titanium alloy deposited on a single track; the accuracies of the multi-classification models were compared. Validation experiments were performed under conditions that each model predicted differently. According to the results of the validation experiments, the RF multi-classification model was the most accurate.

Physiochemical properties and sensory characteristics of resistant starch enriched cookies

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine sensory attributes, physiochemical characteristics and consumer preference of drop sugar cookies prepared using high-amylose maize resistant starch (HAMRS) as a replacement for 10%, 20% and 30% of all-purpose (AP) flour as compared to a control made with 100% AP flour. Design/methodology/approach A balanced complete block experimental design was used to evaluate the eating quality of the resistant starch enriched cookies using a consumer panel. Consumer preference for the appearance, flavor, texture, moistness and overall acceptability of cookies was assessed. Diameter, height, spread ratio, hardness, moisture, pH, density, surface color and nutrient composition of cookies were analyzed. Findings Compared with the control cookies, the HAMRS cookies had lower diameters, higher, heights, reduced spreads, reduced % moisture losses and lower densities (p < 0.001). TA.XT Plus Texture Analyzer showed the HAMRS cookies had a softer texture than the control cookies (p < 0.0001). Evaluation of surface color showed no significant difference in lightness between the control and the HAMRS cookies. The HAMRS cookies were preferred over the control for appearance, texture and moistness in sensory evaluation with 42.5% of panelists choosing the 20% HAMRS replaced cookies as their overall preference. The 20% and 30% HAMRS replaced cookies qualify to be labeled as a “good source” and “excellent source” of fiber, respectively. Practical implications This data demonstrates that replacement of up to 30% of AP flour with HAMRS improves eating quality and dietary fiber content of sugar cookies. Our results show that HAMRS has good potential for developing high fiber cookies with minimal adverse impact on physical characteristics and notable improvements in sensory attributes and nutritional value. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that has reported on the functionality, consumer preference and nutritional value of cookies enriched with a HAMRS that is available to consumers in the form of flour.

Investigation on Aesthetic and Water Permeability of Surface Protective Material under Accelerated Weathering

In this paper, experiments were conducted on the effects of aesthetic and durability of three representative surface protective material under accelerated weathering test for 5000 h. First, the adaptability of the surface protective material coating to the substrate was proven by examining the aesthetic properties and the water permeability of the building materials. Second, the pollutant resistance of the surface protective material coating to artificial stain was assessed using xenon-arc light. The result shows that the appearance of the silane types did not change significantly, and the water permeability was improved. In addition, the silicate types did not improve water permeability and the surface color was changed. Fluor- resin types effectively improved the water permeability, but the surface color became dark. Sample measurements showed changes in the average width of the contamination after weathering, with an increase after spray cleaning and ultrasonic cleaning. However, it was observed that after washing the pollution average width of all specimens due to weathering at 5000 h was almost as much or smaller than the initial value.

Morphological and anatomical study of four Pyrrosia (Polypodiaeae) species from Rumbai forest, Riau Province, Indonesia

Sofiyanti N, Sari AK, Iriani D, Mutrofin R, Taufiq I, Juliantari E, Pranata S. 2021. Morphological and anatomical study of four Pyrrosia (Polypodiaeae) species from Rumbai forest, Riau Province, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 22: 4905-4914. Pyrrosia is one of genera in Polypodiaceae that is commonly distributed at Riau Forest, Indonesia. However, the detailed morphological characteristics and anatomical study of Pyrrosia in this region is scanty. This study was aimed to characterize the morphology and anatomy of four Pyrrosia species (P. angustata, P. lanceolata, P. nipoboloides and P. piloselloides) from Rumbai Forest, Riau Province. All of the specimens were collected in the field. Morphological characters were examined in detail. Anatomical preparation was conducted using the paraffin method. The specimens were then observed and photographed using a light microscope. Principal Component Analysis had been carried out using a total of 52 morphological and anatomical characters. The result showed the morphological variation among the species, especially on the shape of sterile lamina and sori characteristics. Anatomically, the examined species showed variations in outline shape in the transverse section of rhizomes and stipes, schelerenchymatous sheath and strand, as well as number of meristele. The PCA results showed that only three characters (shape of sterile laminae, base of sterile laminae, and upper surface color of sterile laminae) have eigenvalue over 1.00 and together these explain 100% of the total variability of the data. The anatomical data in this study is reported for the first time on Pyrrosia from Riau province.