A study was undertaken to compare and correlate the myofibril fragmentation index (MFI) of fresh buffalo longissimus steaks with Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) and the subjective measurement of overall tenderness to suggest the suitability of MFI as a predictor of cooked buffalo meat tenderness. The study revealed a significant positive correlation (P < 0.01) between MFI and WBSF from day 1 to 8. The mean correlation coefficients (r 2 ) of overall tenderness with MFI and WBSF were 0.61 and 0.73, respectively. This indicates that MFI could be used as an objective method of evaluation of tenderness of buffalo meat as it is strongly correlated with the overall tenderness and WBSF. Therefore, MFI of raw aged buffalo longissimus steaks can be used as a predictor of cooked buffalo meat tenderness enabling selection of tender meat for retail sale and processing. Furthermore, the results imply that significant tenderization occurs during the first 24 h postmortem. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSMyofibril fragmentation index appears to be an effective tool in predicting meat tenderness early postmortem as it was found to correlate with both Warner-Bratzler shear force values and objective measures of tenderness of cooked meat. This index is a very useful indicator of meat tenderness, particularly for muscles not big enough to determine shear force or sensory tenderness. This can be of special promise to the meat industry or retailers in developing countries where there is a need for early postmortem measurements to assess meat quality as early as possible after slaughter. A significant amount of tenderization occurs during the first 24 h postmortem as is obvious from the results; the industry can equip themselves to further enhance this early postmortem proteolysis so that the consumer acceptance of the final product can be improved.

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Fully grown third stage larvae (LIII) of Chrysomya albiceps were recovered from aberrant sites viz. trachea and rumen during necropsy of a free-range sambar deer that had been observed to bear an inflamed tongue infested with maggots and subsequently died due to starvation. Five dead maggots of C. bezziana were also recovered from rumen. The aberrant locations of the recovery of the maggots indicated that they might have reached these sites accidentally. This is the first report of LIII of C. albiceps from a sambar deer from Kerala, South India.

Background: We aimed to focus on the ixodid ticks parasitizing wild mammals and reptiles from Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, Western Ghat, southern India. Methods: The taxonomic identification of ticks collected from wild mammals and reptiles was performed based on the morphology of adults. Results: We revealed eight species of ticks including, Amblyomma integrum, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus, Haemaphysalis (Kaiseriana) spinigera, H. (K.) shimoga, H. (K.) bispinosa, H. (Rhipistoma) indica, Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides and R. sanguineus  s.l. collected from nine species of wild mammals while four tick species Ablyomma kraneveldi, A. pattoni, A. gervaisi and A. javanense parasitizing on four species of reptiles. The highest host rich­ness was shown by H. (K.) bispinosa and R. haemaphysaloides parasitizing six and five different host species, re­spectively.  Reports of R. (B.) annulatus on sambar deer, A. javanense and A. kraneveldi on python as well as A. pat­toni on Indian rat snake are the new host records from this region. Conclusion: Eight species of ticks parasitizing on nine species of wild mammals and four species of parasitizing on four species of reptiles were identified. The highest host richness was shown by H. (K.) bispinosa and R. haemaphy­saloides. H. spinigera as the vector of KFD was also identified in this study.

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