The Usefulness of Sexual Behaviour Assessment at the Beginning of Service to Predict the Suitability of Boars for Artificial Insemination.

Parameters of sexual activity were determined in 49 young boars used for artificial insemination, four times at three-month intervals. The parameters included the time from entering the arena until mounting the phantom; the time from mounting the phantom until achieving erection; the time from achieving full erection until the start of ejaculation; duration of ejaculation; and the number of times the boar mounted the phantom. Characteristics of the ejaculates were also assessed. The libido parameter associated with the greatest efficacy of artificial insemination was the effectiveness of artificial insemination service, the time from entering the arena until the start of ejaculation. The significance of this trait for predicting ejaculation performance was analysed. The libido characteristics were classified into three categories: boars with a short reaction time to the phantom, boars with an intermediate reaction time, and boars with a long reaction time. For these groups, the characteristics of ejaculates collected at the start of the period during which ejaculates were collected and after three, six and nine months were determined. The sexual experience of boars was not associated with the expression of sexual behaviour because young boars during their first three months of ejaculate collections required less time to initiate ejaculation. The ejaculates with the greatest utility were obtained after six months of service. These ejaculates had the largest volume (255.22 mL), and the most insemination doses could be prepared from these ejaculates. On average, more than 23 insemination doses were prepared from ejaculates collected after six months of semen collections, which is about four doses more than from ejaculates collected at the start of artificial insemination service (p < 0.01).The time from entering the arena to beginning ejaculation can be used to predict a boar's future libido. A relationship was shown between the level of libido and ejaculate characteristics. The ejaculates of the boars which needed the longest time to begin ejaculation at the start of semen collections had the greatest sperm concentration and number. In group 3, the boars'ejaculates contained about 6-9 × 109 more sperm than the ejaculates of boars from group 1. After six months of the experimental period, the difference was nearly 15 × 109 sperm (p < 0.05), and after nine months, it exceeded 22 × 109 sperm (p < 0.01).

Genotoxicity of physical silver nanoparticles, produced by the HVAD method, for Chinchilla lanigera genome.

Each year, growing demand for silver nanoparticles (AgNP) contributes to the search for alternative methods of their production. Stable AgNP with antibacterial properties, low toxicity to the environment and living organisms are especially valued. In the study presented here, an attempt was made to assess the toxicity of two AgNP solutions produced using the HVAD method to the Chinchilla lanigera genome. The AgNO3 solution was the indicator and reference for the harmfulness of AgNP. The study was carried out in vitro on bone marrow cells isolated from Chinchilla lanigera bones. The genotoxicity was assessed by comet assay, following the treatment of cells with three silver solutions: unstable and sodium citrate-stabilized silver nanoparticles, as well as silver nitrate at three concentrations (5, 10 and 20 µg/L), after 3, 6 and 24 h. Based on the percentage of the DNA content in the comet tail and the tail moment, an increase in cell DNA integrity disruption was demonstrated in all tested variants: of solution, exposure time and concentration, compared to the control sample. A statistically significant correlation was determined between the level of induced DNA breaks and the concentration of the active solutions and the duration of their activity. A solution of silver nanoparticles stabilized with sodium citrate was shown to have the most harmful effect on bone marrow cells. Silver nitrate demonstrated a level of toxicity similar to these particles. Further studies are necessary to directly compare the genotoxic properties of AgNP produced using the HVAD method and the chemical method under the same conditions.

Chromosomal Instability at Fragile Sites in Blue Foxes, Silver Foxes, and Their Interspecific Hybrids.

A cytogenetic assay based on fragile sites (FS) enables the identification of breaks, chromatid gaps, and deletions. In healthy individuals, the number of these instabilities remains low. Genome stability in these species is affected by Robertsonian translocations in the karyotype of the blue fox and by B chromosomes in the silver fox. The aims of the study were to characterise the karyotype of blue foxes, silver foxes, and their hybrids and to identify chromosomal fragile sites used to evaluate genome stability. The diploid number of A chromosomes in blue foxes ranged from 48 to 50, while the number of B chromosomes in silver foxes varied from one to four, with a constant number of A chromosomes (2n = 34). In interspecific hybrids, both types of karyotypic variation were identified, with the diploid number of A chromosomes ranging from 40 to 44 and the number of B chromosomes varying from 0 to 3. The mean frequency of FS in foxes was 4.06 ± 0.19: 4.61 ± 0.37 in blue foxes, 3.46 ± 0.28 in silver foxes, and 4.12 ± 0.22 in hybrids. A relationship was identified between an increased number of A chromosomes in the karyotype of the hybrids and the frequency of chromosomal breaks. The FS assay was used as a biomarker for the evaluation of genomic stability in the animals in the study.

The influence of environmental pollution with fluorine compounds on the level of fluoride in soil, feed and eggs of laying hens in Central Pomerania, Poland.

The present study was aimed at evaluating fluorine contamination of the eggs of free-ranging laying hens in Northern Poland, in the Central Pomerania region, in relation to the distance from the emission sources. Fluorine levels in the soil, feed, and the shells, and contents of the eggs were assayed with the potentiometric method using an ion-selective electrode from ORION Ion Meter. The sampled eggs were subjected to pressure microwave digestion with the use of a Milestone MLS-1200 microwave. All the samples were digested in 5 ml of supra-pure grade concentrated HNO3 from Merck. The mean level of fluorine in the studied soils ranged from 3.79 mg kg-1 of DM in typical river alluvial soil to 126.19 mg kg-1 of DM in lessive soil. The study revealed an average fluorine content in the feeds administered to the hens on the farms in zone 1 (17.29 mg kg-1 of DM), it being 3.5 times higher than the corresponding content in zone 2 (4.92 mg kg-1 of DM). A statistically significantly higher mean fluorine level was identified in the eggshells of hens on zone 1 farms, located closer to the pollution emission sources (17.52 mg kg-1 of DM), the value being more than 3-fold higher than that in zone 2 (5.47 mg kg-1 of DM). The present study revealed an almost twice as high fluorine mean content in the hen eggs collected on farms in zone 1 (1.488 mg kg-1 of DM) compared with the hen egg contents in the experimental zone 2 (0.640 mg kg-1 of DM), the difference being statistically significant.

Analysis of the Effects of Aggressive Environments Simulating Municipal Sewage on Recycled Concretes Based on Selected Ceramic Waste.

This paper presents the results of research aimed at finding the possible ways of disposing of ceramic waste material, focusing mainly on the possibility of using it as aggregates in concretes exposed to an aggressive chemical environment (municipal sewage). The research part presents the preparation method and investigation of waste ceramic aggregates (red, glazed and sanitary ceramic aggregates). A suitable ratio of coarse to fine aggregates was selected, and their density, absorptivity and crushing strength were examined. All examined aggregates were also subjected to SEM analysis. Red ceramic aggregate is characterized by a greater degree of crushing compared to glazed and sanitary ceramic aggregate, by 205.7% and 439.4%, respectively. Another part of the research was to compare the properties of concrete with traditional aggregate (gravel, basalt) and with ceramic waste aggregate. The tested parameters included consistency, apparent density, absorptivity, flexural and compressive strengths of concretes. The study proved that the absorptivity of recycled composites is higher than that of traditional composites by 20.8⁻24.7%. The concrete based on sanitary ceramic waste has the highest strength parameters. Its compressive strength is higher by 10.5% and flexural strength by 5.9% compared with the basalt aggregate concrete. The compressive strength of sanitary ceramics concrete is higher by 42% and by 59% compared with concrete based on glazed ceramic and red ceramic aggregate, respectively. The last part of the research was to examine the resistance of concrete to aggressive environment. The scope of the work included the preparation of the research environment in the form of solutions with an increased concentration of aggressive agents (hydronium, sulfate, magnesium, ammonium ions). Among the concretes with ceramic aggregate, the highest decrease in the compressive strength was demonstrated by the concrete based on red ceramics (128.2%), while the smallest was demonstrated by the concrete based on sanitary ceramics (aggregate from sanitary ceramics (15.4%). The mass loss at different time intervals and compressive strength loss of samples stored in solutions were tested. The smallest weight loss caused by aggressive environment attack was recorded in the concrete based on ceramic sanitary and glazed aggregate (20.2% and 34.5%, respectively, after 120 days of aggressive environment).

BOX-PCR is an adequate tool for typing of clinical Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates.

In this study, the BOX-PCR fingerprinting technique was evaluated for the discrimination of clinical Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates. All isolates were typeable and nearly half showed unique banding patterns. According to our results, BOX-PCR fingerprinting is applicable for typing of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates and can be considered a useful complementary tool for epidemiological studies of members of this genus.