Preselection test of jury for improvement of olfactometric certification efficiency.

To certificate an olfactometric jury, laboratories usually follow up the panelist screening methodology described in the European Standard EN 13725/2003. The procedure takes a lot of time, labour and money. In laboratory routine of LCQAr - Laboratory of Air Quality Control, of Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil, it was found that the efficiency of jury approvals used to be as low as around 30%. In order to improve the efficiency, a quick preselection test was proposed and tried for late certification recommended by EN 13725. The methodology to create the preselection test was based on the conceptions of the standards EN 13725 (CEN, 2003), ASTM 679 (2011) and ASTM 544 (2010). In the trial test, 31 volunteers participated and then screened according to the EN13725 standard. It was verified that the efficiency increased to 46% from about 30% after the introduction of the preselection test. The experiments were conducted at LCQAr, with the contribution of Water Research Centre of University of New South Wales, Australia.

Virus interference on local scale viticulture: the case of Moll variety from Majorca (Spain)

In Europe, many autochthonous grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.) are only cultivated at local scale, but play a very important economic role due to their strict relation with terroir and wine tipicity. In this study, it was pursued to evaluate the influence of several factors on performance of Moll, the main autochthonous white variety of Majorca, by means of the database coming from a clonal preselection. The effects of multiple virus infections, vintage and vineyard components were studied by univariate linear models and principal component analysis, starting from measurement of production and must quality parameters of several vines located in 14 vineyards belonging to two appellations during four consecutive years (2001-2004). Absence of multiple virus infections, double cordon system, high clay content and Useful Water Reserve in soils have enhanced vine production without inducing considerable alterations in sugar accumulation in berries and acidity. Moll variety presented great viticultural and oenological potentials. Fertile and deep soils should be preferred in order to maximize production. Also, the use of certified propagation material is strongly recommended. However, further investigations are required to optimize must quality by opportune managements. This study does not provide only essential information to improve Moll cultivation in Majorca, but it also represents a useful example to analyze grapevine varieties that are endemically infected by viruses. In fact, in such situations, it may be supposed an insidious interference by viruses on terroir and wine tipicity.(AU)

Virus interference on local scale viticulture: the case of Moll variety from Majorca (Spain)

In Europe, many autochthonous grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.) are only cultivated at local scale, but play a very important economic role due to their strict relation with terroir and wine tipicity. In this study, it was pursued to evaluate the influence of several factors on performance of Moll, the main autochthonous white variety of Majorca, by means of the database coming from a clonal preselection. The effects of multiple virus infections, vintage and vineyard components were studied by univariate linear models and principal component analysis, starting from measurement of production and must quality parameters of several vines located in 14 vineyards belonging to two appellations during four consecutive years (2001-2004). Absence of multiple virus infections, double cordon system, high clay content and Useful Water Reserve in soils have enhanced vine production without inducing considerable alterations in sugar accumulation in berries and acidity. Moll variety presented great viticultural and oenological potentials. Fertile and deep soils should be preferred in order to maximize production. Also, the use of certified propagation material is strongly recommended. However, further investigations are required to optimize must quality by opportune managements. This study does not provide only essential information to improve Moll cultivation in Majorca, but it also represents a useful example to analyze grapevine varieties that are endemically infected by viruses. In fact, in such situations, it may be supposed an insidious interference by viruses on terroir and wine tipicity.

Production and body composition traits of broilers in relation to breast weight evaluated by path analysis

Breast weight has great economic importance in poultry industry, and may be associated with other variables. This work aimed to estimate phenotypic correlations between performance (live body weight at 7 and 28 days, and at slaughter, and depth of the breast muscle measured by ultrasonography), carcass (eviscerated body weight and leg weight) and body composition (heart, liver and abdominal fat weight) traits in a broiler line, and quantify the direct and indirect influence of these traits on breast weight. Path analysis was used by expanding the matrix of partial correlation in coefficients which give the direct influence of one trait on another, regardless the effect of the other traits. The simultaneous maintenance of live body weight at slaughter and eviscerated body weight in the matrix of correlations might be harmful for statistical analysis involving systems of normal equations, like path analysis, due to the observed multicollinearity. The live body weight at slaughter and the depth of the breast muscle as measured by ultrasonography directly affected breast weight and were identified as the most responsible factors for the magnitude of the correlation coefficients obtained between the studied traits and breast weight. Individual pre-selection for these traits could favor an increased breast weight in the future reproducer candidates of this line if the broilers' environmental conditions and housing are maintained, since the live body weight at slaughter and the depth of breast muscle measured by ultrasonography were directly related to breast weight.

O peso do peito possui grande importância econômica na indústria de frangos, podendo estar associado a outras variáveis passíveis de seleção. Estimaram-se correlações fenotípicas entre características de desempenho (peso vivo aos 7, 28 dias e ao abate e profundidade de músculo peitoral por ultra-sonografia), carcaça (peso eviscerado e de pernas) e composição corporal (peso do coração, do fígado e da gordura abdominal), em uma linhagem de frangos, e quantificou-se a influência direta e indireta destas variáveis sobre o peso do peito. Para tanto, utilizou-se a análise de trilha, desdobrando-se a matriz de correlações parciais em coeficientes que forneceram a influência direta de uma variável sobre a outra, independentemente das demais. A manutenção das variáveis peso vivo ao abate e peso eviscerado na matriz de correlações pode ser prejudicial à análise estatística que envolve os sistemas de equações normais, como a análise de trilha, devido à multicolinearidade observada. O peso vivo ao abate e a profundidade do músculo peitoral por ultra-sonografia apresentaram efeitos diretos importantes sobre o peso de peito e foram identificadas como as principais responsáveis pela magnitude dos coeficientes de correlação obtidos. Assim, uma pré-seleção individual para estas características pode favorecer um aumento no peso de peito nesta linhagem, se mantidas as condições ambientais de criação dos frangos, uma vez que o peso vivo ao abate e a profundidade de músculo peitoral por ultra-sonografia afetam fenotipicamente e diretamente o peso de peito.

Production and body composition traits of broilers in relation to breast weight evaluated by path analysis

Breast weight has great economic importance in poultry industry, and may be associated with other variables. This work aimed to estimate phenotypic correlations between performance (live body weight at 7 and 28 days, and at slaughter, and depth of the breast muscle measured by ultrasonography), carcass (eviscerated body weight and leg weight) and body composition (heart, liver and abdominal fat weight) traits in a broiler line, and quantify the direct and indirect influence of these traits on breast weight. Path analysis was used by expanding the matrix of partial correlation in coefficients which give the direct influence of one trait on another, regardless the effect of the other traits. The simultaneous maintenance of live body weight at slaughter and eviscerated body weight in the matrix of correlations might be harmful for statistical analysis involving systems of normal equations, like path analysis, due to the observed multicollinearity. The live body weight at slaughter and the depth of the breast muscle as measured by ultrasonography directly affected breast weight and were identified as the most responsible factors for the magnitude of the correlation coefficients obtained between the studied traits and breast weight. Individual pre-selection for these traits could favor an increased breast weight in the future reproducer candidates of this line if the broilers' environmental conditions and housing are maintained, since the live body weight at slaughter and the depth of breast muscle measured by ultrasonography were directly related to breast weight.

O peso do peito possui grande importância econômica na indústria de frangos, podendo estar associado a outras variáveis passíveis de seleção. Estimaram-se correlações fenotípicas entre características de desempenho (peso vivo aos 7, 28 dias e ao abate e profundidade de músculo peitoral por ultra-sonografia), carcaça (peso eviscerado e de pernas) e composição corporal (peso do coração, do fígado e da gordura abdominal), em uma linhagem de frangos, e quantificou-se a influência direta e indireta destas variáveis sobre o peso do peito. Para tanto, utilizou-se a análise de trilha, desdobrando-se a matriz de correlações parciais em coeficientes que forneceram a influência direta de uma variável sobre a outra, independentemente das demais. A manutenção das variáveis peso vivo ao abate e peso eviscerado na matriz de correlações pode ser prejudicial à análise estatística que envolve os sistemas de equações normais, como a análise de trilha, devido à multicolinearidade observada. O peso vivo ao abate e a profundidade do músculo peitoral por ultra-sonografia apresentaram efeitos diretos importantes sobre o peso de peito e foram identificadas como as principais responsáveis pela magnitude dos coeficientes de correlação obtidos. Assim, uma pré-seleção individual para estas características pode favorecer um aumento no peso de peito nesta linhagem, se mantidas as condições ambientais de criação dos frangos, uma vez que o peso vivo ao abate e a profundidade de músculo peitoral por ultra-sonografia afetam fenotipicamente e diretamente o peso de peito.

Desempenho agroindustrial de cultivares de cana-de-açúcar na zona da mata litoral sul de Pernambuco / Agroindustrial performance of sugar cane cultivars in the coastal-forest zone of Pernambuco

Objetivou-se, neste trabalho, avaliar a variabilidade genética de alguns caracteres da planta e o desempenho agroindustrial em cultivares de cana-de-açúcar. O delineamento experimental foi o de blocos casualizados, com quatro blocos e dezesseis cultivares. As parcelas foram formadas por cinco sulcos de 8,0 m de comprimento, espaçados de 1,0 m, caracterizando uma área útil de 40 m². Foram avaliadas as variáveis toneladas de cana por hectare (TCH), toneladas de pol por hectare (TPH), pol na cana (PC), fibra por cento cana (FIB), brix na cana (BC) e pureza na cana (PUR). O TCH é o componente mais influenciado pelos ciclos de colheita da lavoura de cana-de-açúcar e o menos expressivo para os demais caracteres estudados. As variáveis TCH e TPH refletiram a maior parte da variação fenotípica observada devida às causas genéticas, indicando êxito na seleção no melhoramento desses caracteres. Os genótipos SP78-4764, SP86-0621 e SP86-127 demonstraram potencial produtivo do ponto de vista agroindustrial. O efeito de ciclo de colheita da cana foi altamente significativo indicando o comportamento específico entre as cultivares durante os cortes da cana.

The aim of this work was to evaluate the genetic variability of some characters of the plant and the agroindustrial performance of sugar cane cultivars. The experimental design was the complete randomized blocks with four replications and 16 cultivars, being four of them used as check varieties. The plots were formed by five furrows of 8.0 m length, spaced 1.0 m, characterizing a useful area of 40 m². The variables evaluated were the tons of cane per hectare (TCH), tons of pol per hectare (TPH), pol in the cane (PC), percent cane fiber (FIB), brix in the cane (BC) and purity in the cane (PUR). The TCH is the component most influenced by the harvest cycles of the sugar cane farming and the least expressive for the other studied characters. The variables TCH and TPH reflected most of the phenotypic variation observed due to genetic causes, indicating success in the selection for the improvement of these characters. The genotypes SP78-4764, SP86-0621, and SP86-127 demonstrated productive potential from the agroindustrial point of view. The effect of the cane cut cycle was highly significant, indicating specific behaviors among the cultivars during the cane harvest.

A deterministic simulation study of embryo marker-assisted selection for age at first calving in Nellore (Bos indicus) beef cattle

We used deterministic simulation of four alternative multiple ovulation and embryo manipulation (MOET) closed nucleus schemes to investigate the benefits of using marker-assisted selection (MAS) of Nellore (Bos indicus) beef cattle embryos prior to transplantation to reduce the age at first calving (AFC). We found that MAS resulted in increased genetic gain as compared to selection without AFC quantitative trait loci (AFC-QTL) information. With single-stage selection the genetic response (GR) increased as follows: GR = 0.68 percent when the AFC-QTL explained 0.02 of the AFC additive genetic variance (sigma2A); GR = 1.76 percent for AFC-QTL explaining 0.05 sigma2A; GR = 3.7 percent for AFC-QTL explaining 0.1 sigma2A; and GR = 55.76 percent for AFC-QTL explaining 0.95 sigma2A. At the same total selected proportion, two-stage selection resulted in less genetic gain than single stage MAS at two-years of age. A single stage selection responses of > 95 percent occurred with pre-selected proportions of 0.4 (0.1 sigma2A explained by AFC-QTL), 0.2 (0.3 sigma2A explained by AFC-QTL) and 0.1 (0.5 sigma2A explained by AFC-QTL), indicating that the combined use of MAS and pre-selection can substantially reduce the cost of keeping recipient heifers in MOET breeding schemes. When the number of recipients was kept constant, the benefit of increasing embryo production was greater for the QTL explaining a higher proportion of the additive genetic variance. However this advantage had a diminishing return especially for QTL explaining a small proportion of the additive genetic variance. Thus, marker assisted selection of embryos can be used to achieve increased genetic gain or a similar genetic response at reduced expense by decreasing the number of recipient cows and number of offspring raised to two-years of age.

China: ultrasound abuse in sex selection.

PIP: In China, the combination of the one child policy, a longstanding preference for sons, and the ability to detect the sex of a fetus through ultrasound has led to the excess abortion of female fetuses and a skewed sex ration which is as high as 120 boys for every 100 girls in some regions. By 1990, more than 100,000 ultrasound scanners were in use in China where more than 1.7 million female babies are "missing" each year. While doctors are officially banned from telling parents the gender of a fetus, they usually pass on this information when bribed.^ieng

Boys or girls? Parents' preferences and sex control.

PIP: Recent evidence from the U.S. and from other selected countries is examined on parent sex preferences for their children and how strongly these are held. This involves the significance of these preferences, the social and economic conditions that foster different types of preferences, and how different individuals and societies deal with them. The traditional preference for boys appears to remain nearly universal, which runs contrary to the ideal of "every child a wanted child," and also presents an obstacle to desired declines in fertility in developing countries where sons are still perceived as needed for economic and emotional security. This tendency has been turned around in Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the U.S., where small families are now the ideal. 3 basic approaches to the scientific selection of sex-specific sperm for preselection, the timing of sexual intercourse, the separation of male- and female-bearing sperm followed by artificial insemination, and selective abortion after fetal sex determination indicate that an effective and practical method of sex control is still further off than predicted.^ieng