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Consumer assessment, in Ireland and the United Kingdom, of the impact of the method of suspension of carcasses from dairy-origin bulls and steers, on the sensory characteristics of the longissimus muscle
Get PDFpeer-reviewedThe objective was to compare the assessment of beef produced in Ireland from a 19-month bull or a 24-month steer dairy beef production system by consumers in Ireland (Cork) and the United Kingdom (Belfast and Reading). Carcass sides were suspended by the Achilles tendon or by the pelvic bone and 21-d aged longissimus muscle assessed using Meat Standards Australia protocols. Carcass weight and classification were similar for bulls and steers. Consumers in Belfast and Cork rated aroma liking, tenderness, juiciness, overall liking and the composite meat quality score (MQ4) similarly, but lower (P < 0.05) than consumers in Reading. Consumers in Belfast and Cork rated flavour liking similarly as did consumers in Cork and Reading, but consumers in Reading rated flavour liking higher (P < 0.05) than consumers in Belfast. Muscle from steers had higher scores for aroma liking, flavour liking, overall liking and MQ4 scores than bulls (P < 0.05). On average, pelvic suspension increased (P < 0.05) the scores for aroma liking and flavour liking compared with conventional suspension but increased (P < 0.05) tenderness, juiciness, overall liking and MQ4 scores only in bulls. Consumers in Reading rated striploin from the traditional Achilles tendon-suspended steers similarly to striploin from pelvic-suspended bulls (MQ4 score of 71.8 and 68.2, respectively). Beef from the latter system could replace the traditional steer beef in this market, thereby benefiting the beef producer and the environment
Enzyme technology for value addition in the beverage industry waste
Get PDFpeer-reviewedThe beverage industry generates a huge quantity of by-products and waste largely in the form of spent grains and pomace. These are generally used as low-value animal feed, composts, fertilizers or a source of bio-fuel. However, these by-products and waste are attractive sources of bioactive compounds such as (poly) phenols, dietary fiber and essential oils. Through enzymatic bioprocessing, it is possible to efficiently recover these high-value ingredients for food applications. This chapter discusses the different types of by-products and how these waste and/or by-products, through biotechnological innovations, are being utilized by the food and beverage industry as the main ingredient or as a fortifying agent along with developments for an upcycled food certification mark. The reintegration of beverage industrial by-products into the food chain would develop a more environment friendly and sustainable food system.Dr. Kamaljit Moirangthem has received funding from the Research Leaders 2025 Fellowship Programme co-funded by Teagasc – the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority, and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement number 754380
Estimation of body condition score change in dairy cows in a seasonal calving pasture-based system using routinely available milk mid-infrared spectra and machine learning techniques
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Increasing tree cover on Irish dairy and drystock farms: The main attitudes, influential bodies and barriers that affect agroforestry uptake
Get PDFAgroforestry has been cited as a means to increase sustainability and biodiversity at a farm level while allowing farming to continue on the same parcel of land. However, even with profitable financial incentives currently in place to promote agroforestry uptake, uptake remains low in Ireland. This highlights that farmer decision-making regarding the adoption of agri-environmental measures do not follow the assumed economic rationality. To better understand the factors that influence farmer decision-making with respect to tree planting on farms, this study used an extended Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to identify the main attitudes, influencers and intentions of Irish dairy and drystock farmers to planting trees on their land. The barriers to these farmers adopting agroforestry were also investigated. An online cross-sectional survey using a semi-structured questionnaire was administered to a nationally representative sample of the farmers in Ireland. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to assess the direct and indirect effects of TPB constructs on intention towards adopting agroforestry. According to the SEM analysis, the TPB constructs explained 74% of the variance in intention to plant trees. The results demonstrate that these farmers are mainly driven by their attitude and moral norms which in turn are shaped through the views of their influential people such as advisors and local farmers. The current method of increasing agroforestry uptake is mainly top-down driven and focused on the economic incentives currently in place. New methods to increase agroforestry should focus on encouraging people of influential status within the farming community to promote agroforestry, and through promoting co-design and co-creative systems
Identification of Bioactive Peptides from a Laminaria digitata Protein Hydrolysate Using In Silico and In Vitro Methods to Identify Angiotensin-1-Converting Enzyme (ACE-1) Inhibitory Peptides
Get PDFPeer-reviewedBioactive peptides range in size from 2–30 amino acids and may be derived from any protein-containing biomass using hydrolysis, fermentation or high-pressure processing. Pro-peptides or cryptides result in shorter peptide sequences following digestion and may have enhanced bioactivity. Previously, we identified a protein hydrolysate generated from Laminaria digitata that inhibited ACE-1 in vitro and had an ACE-1 IC50 value of 590 µg/mL compared to an ACE-1 IC50 value of 500 µg/mL (~2.3 µM) observed for the anti-hypertensive drug Captopril©. A number of peptide sequences (130 in total) were identified using mass spectrometry from a 3 kDa permeate of this hydrolysate. Predicted bioactivities for these peptides were determined using an in silico strategy previously published by this group utilizing available databases including Expasy peptide cutter, BIOPEP and Peptide Ranker. Peptide sequences YIGNNPAKGGLF and IGNNPAKGGLF had Peptide Ranker scores of 0.81 and 0.80, respectively, and were chemically synthesized. Synthesized peptides were evaluated for ACE-1 inhibitory activity in vitro and were found to inhibit ACE-1 by 80 ± 8% and 91 ± 16%, respectively. The observed ACE-1 IC50 values for IGNNPAKGGLF and YIGNNPAKGGLF were determined as 174.4 µg/mL and 133.1 µg/mL. Both peptides produced sequences following simulated digestion with the potential to inhibit Dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV).TeagascDiane Purcell-Meyerink, also known as Diane Purcell, has received funding from the Teagasc Research Leaders 2025 programme co-funded by Teagasc and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement number 754380
Supplementary Data: Using milk mid-infrared spectroscopy to estimate cow-level nitrogen efficiency metrics
No full textIn vitro enzyme inhibitory effects of green and brown Australian seaweeds and potential impact on metabolic syndrome
Get PDFpeer-reviewedHypertension, type-2-diabetes (T2D) and obesity are contributory risk factors for the development of metabolic syndrome. Peptides, polyphenols and polysaccharides may inhibit enzymes involved in the disease pathways of this disorder. Peptide hydrolysates (PEP), polyphenol (PP) and polysaccharide (PS) extracts generated from the Australian seaweeds Phyllospora comosa (Labillardière) C. Agardh, Ecklonia radiata (C. Agardh) J. Agardh, and Ulva ohnoi M. Hiraoka & S. Shimada were screened in vitro for their potential to inhibit enzymes important in the control of diseases associated with metabolic syndrome. These enzymes include angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE-1; EC 3.4.15.1) which affects the development of hypertension in mammals, α-amylase (EC 3.2.1.1) and lipase (EC 3.1.1.3) which play a role in the development of T2D and dietary lipid absorption, respectively. The inhibitory activity of each seaweed extract was determined using established in vitro colorimetric methods with mammalian-derived enzymes and their respective substrates. The ACE-1 half-maximal inhibitory (IC50) concentrations of generated bioactive extracts ranged from 167.52 ± 3.17 µg mL−1 (U. ohnoi PEP) to 713.84 ± 12.45 µg mL−1 (E. radiata PS). None of the extracts screened displayed IC50 values comparable to the positive control drug Captopril (8.87 ± 0.04 µg mL−1). IC50 values determined for extracts that inhibited α-amylase ranged from 58.31 ± 1.41 µg mL−1 (P. comosa PP) to 515.24 ± 10.53 µg mL−1 (E. radiata PEP). All PS and PP had significantly lower IC50 values than the α-amylase inhibitor control, Acarbose (89.90 ± 0.15 µg mL−1). Lipase IC50 values determined for extracts ranged from 52.14 ± 2.77 µg mL−1 (P. comosa PP) to 876.30 ± 34.92 µg mL−1 (E. radiata PEP). All PP had significantly lower IC50 values than the lipase inhibitory drug Orlistat (70.83 ± 0.07 µg mL−1). To the authors’ knowledge there are no published values for the inhibitory potential of P. comosa, E. radiata or U. ohnoi extracts against the enzymes ACE-1, α-amylase, or lipase. These findings demonstrate the functional food potential of P. comosa, E. radiata and U. ohnoi polyphenols, polysaccharides and peptides.This research was funded by the Research Leaders 2025 programme, co-funded by Teagasc Ireland and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement number 754380.This research was funded by the Research Leaders 2025 programme, co-funded by Teagasc Ireland and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement number 754380
Motivational Interviewing in Veterinary Practice
Get PDFPeer-reviewedPrevious articles for the Veterinary Ireland Journal have outlined the critical role of the veterinary practitioner as an advocate for behavioural change in relation to antimicrobial resistance and herd health planning (Gribben and Burrell, 2023; Regan and Burrell, 2021). Within the realm of preventative veterinary medicine and herd health planning consults, evidence-based communication strategies which draw on psychological theory and practice have been shown to improve shared decision-making and collaboration between veterinary practitioners and their clients (Bard et al, 2022). In this article, we will describe the relational and technical components of motivational interviewing.
The term ‘motivational interviewing’ (MI) might suggest images of someone standing on a stage with a handsfree microphone and an inspirational speech, something which it is not. In short, MI is a collaborative conversation style reflecting person-centred care and is used to elicit and strengthen a person’s own, intrinsic motivation to change. It is used by those working in a helping profession such as counsellors, social workers, doctors, teachers, physiotherapists, psychologists and probation officers.
Miller and Rollnick (2013) give the example of a healthcare professional who is supporting a patient to respond to a chronic disease diagnosis. This patient’s future health, quality of life and indeed life expectancy may be determined by their behaviour and lifestyle. The kind of helping conversation that the healthcare professional might have with their patient in this situation can be described as being on a continuum of communication styles.
On one side of this continuum is a ‘directing’ style of communication – the practitioner tells the patient what to do and how to do it and this requires adherence and compliance from the patient. On the other side of this communication continuum is ‘following’ – the practitioner merely seeks to understand and does not give any of their own views or advice at all. Motivational interviewing sits in between these two approaches, in a ‘guiding’ style of communication.
Millner and Rollnick compare this ‘guiding’ style of communication to being a good tour guide – tourists neither want to be marched around a city being told exactly what to eat and where to go, nor do they want their tour guide to follow them around aimlessly. ‘Guiding’ involves actively listening and providing expertise when asked for. In the case of the healthcare professional and patient, this means exploring what a disease diagnosis means for that person and how they can realistically make the changes required, while incorporating the practitioner’s expertise and knowledge of the disease where needed
Metagenomic comparison of the faecal and environmental resistome on Irish commercial pig farms with and without zinc oxide and antimicrobial usage
Get PDFpeer-reviewedAbstract
Background
Antimicrobials and heavy metals such as zinc oxide (ZnO) have been commonly used on Irish commercial pig farms for a 2-week period post-weaning to help prevent infection. In 2022, the prophylactic use of antimicrobials and ZnO was banned within the European Union due to concerns associated with the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and contamination of the environment with heavy metals. In this study, faecal and environmental samples were taken from piglets during the weaning period from ten commercial farms, of which five farms used antimicrobial or ZnO prophylaxis (AB-ZnO farms) and five which had not used antimicrobials or ZnO for the previous 3 years (AB-ZnO free farms). A total of 50 samples were compared using a metagenomic approach.
Results
The results of this study showed some significant differences between AB-ZnO and AB-ZnO free farms and suggested positive selection for AMR under antimicrobial and ZnO treatment. Moreover, strong differences between environmental and faecal samples on farms were observed, suggesting that the microbiome and its associated mobile genetic elements may play a key role in the composition of the resistome. Additionally, the age of piglets affected the resistome composition, potentially associated with changes in the microbiome post-weaning.
Conclusions
Overall, our study showed few differences in the resistome of the pig and its environment when comparing AB-ZnO farms with AB-ZnO free farms. These results suggest that although 3 years of removal of in-feed antimicrobial and ZnO may allow a reduction of AMR prevalence on AB-ZnO farms, more time, repeated sampling and a greater understanding of factors impacting AMR prevalence will be required to ensure significant and persistent change in on-farm AMR
Draft Genome Sequences of Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus paralicheniformis Strains Isolated from Irish Skim Milk Powder
No full textNineteen Bacillus licheniformis strains and four strains of the closely related species Bacillus paralicheniformis were isolated from a variety of Irish medium-heat skim milk powders. The draft genome sequences of these 23 isolates provide valuable genetic data for research work relevant to dairy products and process development. The isolates are available at Teagasc