Investigating the Effect of Enrichment on the Behavior of Zoo-Housed Southern Ground Hornbills

Enrichment is essential for the welfare of many zoo-housed animals, yet the value of enrichment is not well understood for all taxa. As an intelligent, long-lived species, the southern ground hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri) is a good model for enrichment research. A pair of southern ground hornbills, housed at Beale Wildlife Park and Gardens, were observed during study periods in 2014, 2018, and 2019. Three types of enrichment were provided for the birds; these enrichment types were developed based on information on the habits of the species as found in natural history papers. The enrichment types consisted of a pile of twigs, small animal carcasses, and plastic mirrors. Overall, the carcass feeds and the mirrors resulted in the greatest changes in behavior, with hornbills engaging in long periods of food manipulation with carcasses. For the mirror condition, hornbills spent time stalking around and pecking at mirrors, similar to the ‘window smashing’ behavior seen in wild hornbills. Overall, the research suggests that not only can enrichment modify the behavior of southern ground hornbills, but non-nutritional enrichment may be equally valuable to the animals. Natural history papers may have some value in inspiring novel enrichment items for zoo-housed animals.

male body and Catholic piety in early modern Spain

Features of embodied female piety adduced from late medieval texts are now established categories of interpretation for religious experience in the early modern period. These include intense Eucharistic devotion in relationship to food culture, extreme food manipulation and exaggerated violence against the physical self. However, evidence from documents by and about early modern religious men indicates that male and female ascetic piety had more in common than not during this period. Strategies of backgrounding or masking those practices when carried out by men made them less visible in comparison to those practised by women, due to gender inflections in religious politics.

Genetically Modified Food

Although humans have been manipulating plants and animals used in agriculture for thousands of years, there are differing views on whether it is morally or ethically acceptable to produce, use, or consume genetically modified (GM) organisms particularly in the context of food products. In this chapter, the development of GM foods is placed within the historical context of food manipulation and commercialization, along with a discussion of the key ethical debates associated with both GM foods and the broader food production system of which they are a part. The chapter concludes with a call for more deliberation and dialogue in the development of food policy.

Animal models of osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is an important systemic disorder, affecting mainly Caucasian women, with a diverse and multifactorial aetiology. A large variety of animal species, such as rodents, rabbits, dogs, sheep and primates, have been used as animal models in osteoporosis research. Their use enhanced our understanding on the etiology of osteoporosis. Additionally, many therapeutic regimes have entered clinical practice after evaluation on animal models. Experimental protocols leading to bone loss include hormonal interventions (ovariectomy, orchidectomy, hypophysectomy, parathyroidectomy), immobilization, alcohol abuse osteoporosis and osteoporosis induced by food manipulation. Methods of bone mass evaluation, used on animal models, are biochemical markers, densitometry, magnetic resonance imaging, histomorphometry and bone mechanical testing.

Application of luminescent ATP rapid checks at ready-to-eat foods producing plant

Bioluminescent ATP determination has been applied at a ready-to-eat meals producer plant as a screening tool to evaluate the cleaning procedures and identify possible sources of microbial contamination. Luminescent ATP test revealed the risk situations in few minutes, any time it was supposed useful, and on site. All data were confirmed by the plate count method and immediate interventions were undertaken in risk situations, concerning not perfectly cleaned surfaces and cross-contamination between the areas for different types of foods. Various departments have been checked: cold stores, raw food manipulation areas, kitchens, coolers, and packaging areas. Critical situations were revealed in the fresh foods cold storage areas, which were consequently treated by more intensive cleaning procedures, and the raw food manipulation areas, which were physically separated by walls, were more intensively cleaned with exchanges between the various areas strictly regulated. Intervention effectiveness was confirmed by repeated controls using portable ATP assay, since the evaluation of the relationship between CFU and RLU gave good results, with an r² value of 0.83.