The objective of this study was to determine the effects of dominance hierarchy in a dairy cattle herd on milk yield. Observations of social behaviors in a group of 126 Polish Holstein-Friesian cows were carried out for seven days, starting from the first grazing day. In order to estimate the position of each animal in the herd, the interactions and relationships between cows were studied. The indices of aggression, dominance and social rank were calculated. These data were used to calculate the competitive index, which enabled to divide all animals into the following subgroups of dominance: dominant cows, subdominant cows, subordinate cows, submissive cows and marginal cows.All dairy cows were at a similar age. Their social rank was found to be positively correlated with body weight and condition. Higher-ranking animals were characterized by a higher milk yield. Both social status and performance parameters may provide a basis for selecting animals and placing them into groups, so as to optimize milk production. | Celem pracy było poznanie hierarchii w stadzie krów oraz określenie jej związku z wydajnością mleczną. Obserwacje behawioralne dotyczące 126 krów rasy polskiej holsztyńsko-fryzyjskiej prowadzono przez siedem dni, począwszy od pierwszego wyjścia krów na pastwisko. W celu określenia miejsca w stadzie dla każdego osobnika sporządzono siatkę współzależności, a następnie na podstawie współczynników: agresywności, dominacji i wzajemnych współzależności obliczono współczynnik hierarchiczny, który pozwolił podzielić stado na krowy dominanty, subdominanty, osobniki podporządkowane, opanowane i marginesowe.W zbliżonym wiekowo stadzie krów mlecznych wykazano dodatni wpływ masy ciała i kondycji na pozycję w hierarchii. Zwierzęta z wyższych poziomów hierarchii charakteryzowały się większą wydajnością mleczną. Informacje dotyczące hierarchii w stadzie i parametrów użytkowości mlecznej poszczególnych sztuk powinny być uwzględniane w czasie tworzenia optymalnych grup technologicznych, jak również prowadzenia selekcji.

The milk yield of 24 934 cows from herds monitored by the National Animal Breeding Center, Branch in Olsztyn, was analyzed. The data were collected in the years 1997-2006. The cows were divided into three groups, based on herd size: group I of up to 20 cows, group II of 21-50 cows and group III of more than 50 cows. Additional criteria for the above division were the number of successive 305-day lactations and full lactations as well as the length of inter-calving intervals. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of herd size on the yield and proximate composition of milk in active cattle populations in farms in north-eastern Poland over a ten-year period, taking into account lactations of normal length and full lactations, inter-calving interval (ICI) duration and lifetime cow productivity. The average yield over 305-day lactations was 6579 kg milk (6723 kg FCM), 273 kg fat (4.15%), 213 kg protein (3.24%), 309 kg lactose (4.70%) and 841 kg dry matter (12.78%). Cows in the largest herds (> 50 head) were characterized by the highest productivity, and cows in the smallest herds (≤ 20 head) - by the lowest. The latter produced milk with the highest fat content (4.16%) and the lowest protein content (3.21%). In herds comprising more than 50 animals, cows with the longest ICI (> 525 days) were marked by the highest milk production in full lactations (11 010 kg). As regards lifetime productivity, the highest values were noted in cows used for 3.44 years in the smallest herds (19 809 kg milk). In the largest herds cows were used for the shortest period of time (3.31 years), and their lifetime productivity reached 17 185 kg milk. | Do analizy posłużyły wyniki oceny użytkowości mlecznej 24 934 krów pochodzących ze stad kontrolowanych przez KCHZ oddział w Olsztynie w latach 1997-2006. Materiał badawczy podzielono na 3 grupy, uwzględniając wielkość stad: w I grupie (gr. I) było do 20 krów, w II (gr. II): 21-50, w III (gr. III) - ponad 50 krów. Dodatkowymi kryteriami podziału były: kolejne 305-dniowe i pełne laktacje oraz długość okresów międzywycieleniowych. Celem pracy była analiza wpływu wielkości stada na wydajność i podstawowy skład mleka populacji aktywnej krów utrzymywanych w gospodarstwach północno-wschodniej Polski w okresie dziesięciolecia, z uwzględnieniem laktacji standardowych i pełnych, długości okresów międzywycieleniowych (OMW) i wydajności życiowej krów. W badaniach wykazano, że przeciętna wydajność krów w laktacjach 305-dniowych wynosiła: 6579 kg mleka (6723 kg mleka FCM), 273 kg tłuszczu (4,15%), 213 kg białka (3,24%), 309 kg laktozy (4,70%) i 841 kg suchej masy (12,78%). Największa produkcyjność charakteryzowała krowy użytkowane w stadach najliczniejszych (> 50 szt.), a najmniejsza była u zwierząt ze stad najmniej licznych (≤ 20 szt.), dających mleko o największej zawartości tłuszczu (4,16%), ale najmniejszej zawartości białka (3,21%). W stadach o liczebności ponad 50 sztuk krowy o najdłuższym OMW (> 525 dni) osiągały największą produkcję mleka za laktacje pełne (11 010 kg). Pod względem wydajności życiowej najbardziej efektywne były krowy użytkowane przez 3,44 lata w stadach najmniejszych (19 809 kg mleka). W stadach największych krowy użytkowane były najkrócej (3,31 lat), a ich życiowa wydajność wyniosła 17 185 kg mleka. Translated by Aleksandra Poprawska

The quality of food has always been evaluated by the five senses of human. It is possible for a sensory evaluation with no special device for anyone anywhere anytime. The evaluation is only result information, but it is not possible by evaluation to obtain cause information for quality control. Among evaluation information by the five senses for the food, sight has been developed most as the scientific method. The next development is texture, and then taste, odor and hearing are just developing. Deterioration of food becomes economic loss then results in environment load, so quality control is important. Instrumental analyses of the qualities of taste and flavor have not been very developed. Actually, the sensory evaluations for sight, odor, taste, hearing and texture examination are performed by the senses, but it is only evaluation. The evaluation is results information and there is a limit to know cause information. Sensory evaluation is subjective, vague and may become arbitrary. Quality control is difficult by non experts with knowledge and experience. Therefore, cause information for scientific quality control was integrated with result information as evaluation. Objective cause information for the quality control is obtained by computer connected with the instrument having sensory sensor. In this report, first, differences of evaluation and quality control for meat quality are explained. Successively, automatic analysis of characteristics of color quality and quality control, human interface of texture quality, inhibition of cells DNA damage by heme protein, the method of color development without nitrous acid and inhibition with fig protease against ACE, angiotensin-I converting enzyme were described.

P>The development of cheaper technical tools and the availability of well established assay kits provide today the spermatologists with several devices for objective and quantifying assessment of sperm quality. The present paper reviews modern methods on sperm concentration assessment, morphometry, motility processes through flagellum studies, motility objective assessment by computer assisted sperm analysis (CASA), sperm integrity and energetic state measurements.

The world tendencies are pronounced to attach significance to production of natural fermentation alcohol drinks. The fanciers of drinks take interest in the production of homemade drinks, and especially healthy drinks.Production of original and even health friendly drinks has been recently a matter of increased interest among amateur producers and drink manufacturers in Europe as well. Dandelion wine is one of the drinks produced by use of different amounts of various ingredients and available equipment in the fermentation laboratory. The following characteristics are determined upon the main fermentation in the matured and clarified wine:- sensory indicators (color, appearance and clearness; aroma and bouquets, taste and texture, and aftertaste),- analytical indicators (alcoholic strength by volume, determination of sugars, total acidity, volatile acidity).Dandelions wine is most distinguished by its flavor characteristics.

Water quality evaluation is important because it could provide guidance when determining water utility. But many interacting impact factors are involved in water quality evaluation systems, making water quality evaluation difficult. Principal component analysis (PCA) is widely used in water quality evaluation because it can eliminate the correlation among factors. However, PCA ignores the degree of data dispersion, which is considered by information entropy (IE). To solve this problem, a model combined PCA and IE methods to obtain the weights of indicators is proposed in this paper, and the proposed model was applied to assess the reused water quality of Jinshui River in Zhengzhou City in 2009. The evaluation results were compared with those using PCA and IE methods for the same data. The results proved that the method is feasible and practical, and it can provide a theoretical basis and decision reference for the utility of unconventional water.

This paper discusses the need for critically evaluating regional-scale (~200-2,000 km) three-dimensional numerical photochemical air quality modeling systems to establish a model's credibility in simulating the spatio-temporal features embedded in the observations. Because of limitations of currently used approaches for evaluating regional air quality models, a framework for model evaluation is introduced here for determining the suitability of a modeling system for a given application, distinguishing the performance between different models through confidence-testing of model results, guiding model development and analyzing the impacts of regulatory policy options. The framework identifies operational, diagnostic, dynamic, and probabilistic types of model evaluation. Operational evaluation techniques include statistical and graphical analyses aimed at determining whether model estimates are in agreement with the observations in an overall sense. Diagnostic evaluation focuses on process-oriented analyses to determine whether the individual processes and components of the model system are working correctly, both independently and in combination. Dynamic evaluation assesses the ability of the air quality model to simulate changes in air quality stemming from changes in source emissions and/or meteorology, the principal forces that drive the air quality model. Probabilistic evaluation attempts to assess the confidence that can be placed in model predictions using techniques such as ensemble modeling and Bayesian model averaging. The advantages of these types of model evaluation approaches are discussed in this paper.

Whey as a by-product of the cheese industry is a source of biological and functional valuable proteins. The aim of this research was to evaluate the commercial potential of whey-based dairy beverages containing a definite amount of semi-skimmed milk addition. The purpose of this paper was to improve the whey flavour via its fermentation by commercial yogurt starter cultures, and via 25 % and 50 % of milk addition. The course of fermentation was monitored by pH and titratable acidity changes. The sensory profile of non-fermented and fermented drinks was assessed using unstructured graphical scales. No significant differences in acidity were found between the samples which were fermented for 3 or 4 hours, but a significant difference was found between samples of whey drinks without milk and samples with milk addition. Fermentation by yoghurt culture did not bring statistically significant improvement of the whey drink organoleptic properties, while the addition of milk was the most important factor influencing not only the total sensory quality of the whey drinks but also their flavour, appearance, colour, viscosity and homogeneity.