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The purpose of this experiment was to determine the extent to which lamb carcass quality and fat composition could be altered by applying a dry olive cake-based ration instead of a conventional ration or pasture feeding. Three treatments were compared in a completely randomized experiment using 36 single male Suffolk Down lambs with an initial age and live weight of 80 d and 25 kg, respectively. The three treatments were: (a) suckling lambs kept with their mothers on annual Mediterranean grassland (GRAZE); (b) weaned stall-fed lambs on a control ration (CONC); and (c) weaned stall-fed lambs on an olive cake-based ration (CAKE). At the end of the 28-d experimental period, lambs were slaughtered, carcass quality evaluated, and samples of subcutaneous fat analyzed for fatty acids. Treatments did not differ in weight gain or carcass weight and quality, but highly significant differences were found in several fatty acid contents. CAKE animals had reduced palmitic acid as well as increased oleic and stearic acid contents. Atherogenic and thrombogenic indices improved with cake feeding. Principal component and discriminant analyses clearly differentiated treatments suggesting they could be applicable for traceability purposes. A laboratory experiment demonstrated that with or without added vitamin E, the dry olive cake did not alter its lipid properties with increased storage time.

The spatiotemporal dissemination of Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) was evaluated by DASI-ELISA in orange and grapefruit fields of six citrus producing regions in Cuba, and aphid populations were evaluated in two selected areas. The aphid species found in these areas were Toxoptera citricida (the most efficient vector of CTV), T. aurantii and Aphis spiraecola . A logistic model was the most appropriate to explain the temporal increase in the proportion of CTV-infected plants for almost all the fields. Although nearly all areas showed an increase in this proportion, there were regions of low CTV spread, which was slower in grapefruit than in orange fields. 2DCORR analysis indicated spatial dependence among immediately adjacent trees, higher in the within-row direction than in the across-row direction. Aggregation was also detected by dispersion index and binary power law fitting within quadrats of all sizes. For most fields, autocorrelation analysis showed a significant edge effect and spatial dependence among infected plants of different sub-areas. Based on these results a new tristeza management strategy was proposed for each region of the country.

The main objective of this research was to find associations between the outcome of a simulated CrossFit® competition, anthropometric measures, and standardized fitness tests. Ten experienced male CrossFit® athletes (age 28.8 ± 3.5 years; height 175 ± 10.0 cm; weight 80.3 ± 12.5 kg) participated in a simulated CrossFit® competition with three benchmark workouts (“Fran”, “Isabel”, and “Kelly”) and underwent fitness tests. Participants were tested for anthropometric measures, sit and reach, squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ), and Reactive Strength Index (RSI), and the load (LOAD) corresponding to the highest mean power value (POWER) in the snatch, bench press, and back squat exercises was determined using incremental tests. A bivariate correlation test and k-means cluster analysis to group individuals as either high-performance (HI) or low performance (LO) via Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were carried out. Pearson’s correlation coefficient two-tailed test showed that the only variable correlated with the final score was the snatch LOAD (p < 0.05). Six performance variables (SJ, CMJ, RSI, snatch LOAD, bench press LOAD, and back squat LOAD) explained 74.72% of the variance in a k= 2 means cluster model. When CrossFit® performance groups HI and LO were compared to each other, t-test revealed no difference at a p ≤ 0.05 level. Snatch maximum power LOAD and the combination of six physical fitness tests partially explained the outcome of a simulated CrossFit competition. Coaches and practitioners can use these findings to achieve a better fit of the practices and workouts designed for their athletes.

In this report, the measurement of salivary biomarkers as an aid for diagnosis of equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) was studied. A comprehensive panel of 23 salivary analytes was measured in the saliva of horses affected by EGUS and compared to healthy animals and horses with other diseases clinically similar to EGUS but with a negative diagnosis at gastroscopic examination. A total of 147 horses were included in the study and divided into heathy population (n = 12), the EGUS group (n = 110), and the group of horses with other diseases (n = 25). From the 23 analytes studied, 17 showed increased values in EGUS horses when compared to healthy ones, and uric acid, triglycerides, and calcium were significantly increased in horses with EGUS compared to the group of other diseases. The receiver operating characteristic curve analyses showed a modest but significant discriminatory power of those three analytes to identify EGUS from other diseases with similar symptoms. The discriminatory power enhanced when the results of the three analytes were combined. In conclusion, the results showed that selected salivary analytes could have potential use as biomarkers in horses with EGUS.