Exploring consumer beliefs about novel fortified foods: A focus group study with UK-based older and younger adult consumers.

Consuming 'nutritionally-enhanced' food products (including those that are fortified or enriched to deliver nutritional and functional properties) may help to improve overall diet quality and combat risks associated with malnutrition. However, fortification can negatively impact consumer acceptance, particularly where expected sensory properties of 'delivery' foods are affected by target ingredients. Here, we explored factors influencing consumer acceptability for six novel food products that had been fortified, including both savoury and sweet meal components (e.g., high protein dumplings, probiotic yoghurt drink). In person focus groups (25 consumers aged between 22 and 76 years old) were conducted with two stages; firstly, participants completed a blind taste test of products without awareness of fortification. Secondly, participants discussed products with awareness of additional ingredients and food properties. Reflexive thematic analysis showed that liking of sensory properties differed between foods, but informing participants about the fortification of products highlighted potential trade-offs between taste, health, price, and familiarity. Though taste and texture were generally prioritised by participants, positive perceptions of health benefits increased consumer willingness to buy, whilst both cost and uncertainty about product use were potential barriers. Trust of information was a key concern for labelling and product claims. These results highlight product features that may be optimised to support the success of fortified foods. Greater transparency when building product brands and improving consumer knowledge of fortification may also be important for longer-term consumer acceptance.

Cook Inlet beluga whale Delphinapterus leucas with valvular endocarditis, encephalitis, rhabdomyolysis, heavy parasitism and fungal dermatitis.

This is a case report of a Cook Inlet beluga whale Delphinapterus leucas found dead stranded on September 28, 2020 in Turnagain Arm, Alaska. This subadult male had valvular endocarditis, encephalitis, rhabdomyolysis, myoglobinuric nephropathy, severe parasitism and fungal dermatitis. Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae was detected in the heart lesion, eye and external swabs. The level of infection and parasitism in this individual is markedly higher than what has been found in other Cook Inlet belugas, suggesting immunosuppression.

HISTOLOGIC ANALYSIS OF TESTICULAR DEVELOPMENT AND SEXUAL MATURATION IN REHABILITATED NORTHERN SEA OTTERS (ENHYDRA LUTRIS KENYONI).

As part of routine captive management of the species, sea otter (Enhydra lutris) males are often castrated to prevent reproduction, to preserve limited spaces for future nonreleasable stranded individuals, and to minimize potential aggression among cohorts. To determine the relative stage of testicular development, testicles from 14 castrated, rehabilitated northern sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) were submitted for histologic examination. Eight of the otters (aged 201, 304, 344, 352, 360, 373, 401, and 1,423 d old) had evidence of varying degrees of sexual maturity. Histologic grading of maturity of individual testicles showed inactive testes, spermatocytes with some maturation of spermatogenic precursors, and fully active spermatogenesis. Spermatozoa were seen in the otters that were 401 and 1,423 d old (1.1 and 3.9 yr old). Sexual maturity for wild male sea otters in Alaska has been previously reported to occur from 3 to 5-6 yr. Social maturity, or the ability to breed and reproduce, may occur a few years later than the onset of physiologic maturity; age, weight, territory quality, and the length of time holding a territory may influence a male otter's mating success. Early testicular development in rehabilitated sea otters may be related to abundant resources, lack of competition, and decreased environmental pressures. Additionally, these findings have implications for husbandry and management practices in short- and long-term care facilities.

INVESTIGATION OF THE USE OF SERUM BIOMARKERS FOR THE DETECTION OF CARDIAC DISEASE IN MARINE MAMMALS.

Cardiac disease has been extensively documented in marine mammals; however, it remains difficult to diagnose antemortem. Assays measuring cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) are used as sensitive and specific biomarkers of cardiac disease in many species, but have not been widely investigated in marine mammals. This study aimed to provide a set of reference values for cTnI and NT-proBNP in belugas (BW) (Delphinapterus leucas), sea otters (SO) (Enhydra lutris), Steller sea lions (SSL) (Eumetopias jubatus), and California sea lions (CSL) (Zalophus californianus) with and without cardiac disease, and to determine if these biomarkers are useful indicators of cardiac disease in these species. First, existing immunoassays for cTnI and NT-proBNP were successfully validated utilizing species-specific heart lysate spiked serum. Cohorts were defined by histopathology as animals with no evidence of cardiac disease ("control"), with confirmed cardiac disease ("disease"), and with concurrent renal and cardiac disease ("renal") for which serum samples were then analyzed. Serum concentration ranges for cTnI (ng/ml) and NT-proBNP (pmol/L) were determined for control and disease cohorts. There was significantly higher cTnI (P= 0.003) and NT-proBNP (P= 0.004) concentrations in the CSL disease cohort, as well as positive trends in BW, SO, and SSL disease cohorts that did not reach statistical significance. NT-proBNP concentrations were significantly higher in the CSL renal cohort compared with the control (P < 0.001) and disease (P= 0.007) cohorts. These results suggest that cTnI and NT-proBNP may be clinically useful in the antemortem diagnosis of cardiac disease in CSL, and warrant further investigation in BW, SO, and SL.

Competency of common northern sea otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) prey items to harbor Streptococcus lutetiensis and S. phocae.

Streptococcus lutetiensis and S. phocae have been associated with significant morbidity and mortality in northern sea otters Enhydra lutris kenyoni in Alaska, USA, but the route and mechanism(s) of transmission remain unknown. The goal of this study was to determine the competence of common northern sea otter prey to harbor 2 species of pathogenic Streptococcus bacteria. Prey items (bay mussels Mytilus trossulus, butter clams Saxidomus giganteus, Dungeness crab Metacarcinus magister and black turban snails Tegula funebralis) were exposed to known concentrations of exponential phase cultures of S. lutetiensis and S. phocae in seawater for 24 h. A quantitative PCR assay was developed targeting the sodA gene of both S. lutetiensis and S. phocae to quantify DNA in the prey samples. Results (mean ± SD) revealed that butter clams had the highest concentration of bacteria (4.32 × 107 ± 8.20 × 106 CFU ml-1 of S. lutetiensis, 1.20 × 108 ± 2.08 × 107 CFU ml-1 of S. phocae), followed by mussels (4.26 × 107 ± 1.66 × 107 CFU ml-1, 1.16 × 108 ± 5.39 × 107 CFU ml-1), snails (1.90 × 107 ± 5.26 × 106 CFU ml-1, 5.97 × 107 ± 2.07 × 107 CFU ml-1) and crab (1.46 × 107 ± 0 CFU ml-1, 1.64 × 107 ± 0 CFU ml-1). All prey species harbored higher concentrations of S. phocae than S. lutetiensis.

Audiogram of a Cook Inlet beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas).

Noise is a stressor to wildlife, yet the precise sound sensitivity of individuals and populations is often unknown or unmeasured. Cook Inlet, Alaska belugas (CIBs) are a critically endangered and declining marine mammal population. Anthropogenic noise is a primary threat to these animals. Auditory evoked potentials were used to measure the hearing of a wild, stranded CIB as part of its rehabilitation assessment. The beluga showed broadband (4-128 kHz) and sensitive hearing (<80 dB) for a wide-range of frequencies (16-80 kHz), reflective of a healthy odontocete auditory system. Data were similar to healthy, adult belugas from the comparative Bristol Bay population (the only other published data set of healthy, wild marine mammal hearing). Repeated October and December 2017 measurements were similar, showing continued auditory health of the animal throughout the rehabilitation period. Hearing data were compared to pile-driving and container-ship noise measurements made in Cook Inlet, two sources of concern, suggesting masking is likely at ecologically relevant distances. These data provide the first empirical hearing data for a CIB allowing for estimations of sound-sensitivity in this population. The beluga's sensitive hearing and likelihood of masking show noise is a clear concern for this population struggling to recover.

Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) sinus tumors are associated with coinfections by potentially pathogenic bacteria in the upper respiratory tract.

Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) sinus tumors are hyperplastic to neoplastic, predominantly stromal masses of the paranasal sinuses that expand the sinus lining and obstruct the sinus cavities. Obstruction of the sinus cavities and disruption of normal sinus lining anatomy may interfere with clearance of bacterial pathogens from the upper respiratory tract. To examine this possibility, we explored whether the presence of sinus tumor features (tumor score) affected the likelihood of detecting potentially pathogenic bacteria from upper respiratory sinus lining tissues in bighorn sheep. We developed or used existing PCR assays for the detection of leukotoxigenic Pasteurellaceae and Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae in sinus lining tissues collected from 97 bighorn sheep in Colorado, US from 2009 to 2012. With the use of logistic regression analyses we found that tumor score was a good predictor of the probability of detecting potentially pathogenic bacteria in sinus lining tissues; we were more likely to detect potentially pathogenic bacteria from samples with high tumor scores. These findings add to our understanding of possible mechanisms for the maintenance and shedding of bacterial agents from the upper respiratory tracts of bighorn sheep.