Color vision in horses (Equus caballus): Deficiencies identified using a pseudoisochromatic plate test.

In the past, equine color vision was tested with stimuli composed either of painted cards or photographic slides or through physiological testing using electroretinogram flicker photometry. Some studies produced similar results, but others did not, demonstrating that there was not yet a definitive answer regarding color vision in horses (Equus caballus). In this study, a pseudoisochromatic plate test--which is highly effective in testing color vision both in small children and in adult humans--was used for the first time on a nonhuman animal. Stimuli consisted of different colored dotted circles set against backgrounds of varying dots. The coloration of the circles corresponded to the visual capabilities of different types of color deficiencies (anomalous trichromacy and dichromacy). Four horses were tested on a 2-choice discrimination task. All horses successfully reached criterion for gray circles and demonstration circles. None of the horses were able to discriminate the protan-deutan plate or the individual protan or deutan plates. However, all were able to discriminate the tritan plate. The results suggest that horses are dichromats with color vision capabilities similar to those of humans with red-green color deficiencies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Di- and triesters of the lipids of steer and human meibomian glands

Three groups of diesters have been isolated and identified in the lipids of steer meibomian glands. The first group, designated as α Type I, with the abbreviated formula FA-αOHFA-FA1c, consisted of α-hydroxy fatty acids esterified to fatty acids and fatty alcohols in the approximate molar ratio 1∶1∶1. The second group, designated as ω Type I-St, with the abbreviated formula FA-ωOHF A-St, consisted of ω-hydroxy fatty acids esterified to fatty acids and sterols in the approximate molar ratio 1∶1∶1. The third group, designated as α,ω Type II, with the abbreviated formula FA-α,ωdiol-FA, consisted of α,ω-diols esterified to 2 moles of fatty acids. The sum of the different diesters comprised about 9% of total steer meibomian lipids. Capillary GLC of the fatty acids of αType I diesters showed the fatty acids to be a family with a two-cluster profile, one at C₁₂ to C₂₀ and the other at C₂₁ to C₃₁, with anteiso chains predominating. Fatty acids from ωType I-St and α,ωType II diesters gave mainly a one-cluster profile in the short long chain, C₂₃ to C₃₀, with anteiso chains predominating, while the α-hydroxy fatty acids were short chain C₁₃ to C₁₈ acids with C₁₆ predominating. The sterols in diesters ωType I-St were cholesterol (∼60%), Δ7 cholestenol (∼35%) and an unidentified compound (∼5%) with a GLC retention time slightly longer than Δ7 cholestenol on SE-30 phase. The ω-hydroxy fatty acids and α,ω-diols both were of exceedingly long chain lengths, C₂₉−C₃₈, and showed similar GLC profiles. Two types of triesters comprising approximately 1% of total steer meibomian lipids have been isolated but incompletely characterized. In terms of molar ratios, one group of triesters gave fatty acids:ω-hydroxy fatty acids:α-hydroxy fatty acids:sterols + fatty alcohols as approximately 1∶1∶1∶1. The other contained fatty acids, α-hydroxy fatty acids and α,ω-diols in what appears to be a complex mixture of several triesters. Diesters ωType I and α,ωType II also were found in human meibum. Hitherto these two diesters have not been found in any animal tissue.     

护肤品的功效性评价方法综述

现代科学技术,尤其是生物技术和计算机技术的飞速发展和广泛应用,给化妆品行业带来了全新的发展机遇,赋予化妆品以一定的功效性是新世纪化妆品发展的重要趋势.近20年来,人们对化妆品的要求已从洁肤、润肤为目的的基础护肤品向美白、祛皱为目的的功效性化妆品方向发展.     

Developing an Automated Enzyme Immunoassay for High-Throughput Screening of Bovine Serum Antibodies to Neospora Caninum

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for Neospora caninum antibodies was automated with a robotic workstation, the Beckman Coulter Biomek 2000, to screen 200 bovine sera. Comparing these results with manually run ELISA data, a 95.92% agreement (K = 0.9592) between the two assays was obtained. The automated assay was specific and sensitive with excellent positive and negative predictive values. The results were repeatable and reproducible. The automation flexibility was high and the operation complexity was minimal. High-throughput screening (HTS) for bovine antibodies to Neospora caninum was achieved. The assay was developed according to the internationally recognized ISO17025 standard requirements.     

Downstream environmental effects of dam operations: Changes in habitat quality for native fish species

Hydropeaking dam operation and water extractions for irrigation have been broadly stated as alterations to natural flow regimes, which have also been noticed in the Biobío Watershed, in Central Chile, since 1996. In the Biobío River, most of native fish species are endemic and very little is known about them. Their ecological and social values have never been estimated, and there is lack of information about their habitat preferences. Furthermore, changes on fish habitat availability due to natural and/or man‐made causes have not been evaluated. In this study, eight native fish species, in a representative reach of the Biobío River, were studied and their preferred habitats were surveyed and characterized. A hydrodynamic model was built and linked to the fish habitat simulation model CASiMiR. Fuzzy rules and fuzzy sets were developed for describing habitat preference of the native fish species. CASiMiR was then used to simulate how physical habitat conditions vary due to flow control (i.e. upstream dams). Results show how overall habitat quality, expressed as weighted usable area (WUA) and hydraulic habitat suitability (HHS), changes and fluctuates due to the dam operation and how the daily hydropeaking is influencing quantity, quality and location of different habitats. The study suggests that the analysed fish are highly susceptible to flow control, as dams are currently operated, and fish habitat improvement suggestions are proposed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The impact of childhood symptoms of conduct disorder on driver aggression in adulthood

Background

Despite limited empirical investigation, existing scientific literature suggests that individuals with a history or current diagnosis of conduct disorder (CD) may be more likely to demonstrate reckless and aggressive driving. Much of the limited research in this field examines the impact of childhood CD on driver behaviour and collision risk in young adults. Few if any, studies assess the impact of this disorder on driver behaviour beyond age 21 years. The current research is a population-based study of the impact of CD symptoms during childhood on the risk of engaging in driver aggression during adulthood.

Methods

Data are based on telephone interviews with 5230 respondents who reported having driven in the past year. Data are derived from the 2011–2013 cycles of the CAMH Monitor, an ongoing cross-sectional survey of adults in Ontario, Canada aged 18 years and older. A binary logistic regression analysis of self-reported driver aggression in the previous 12 months was conducted, consisting of measures of demographic characteristics, driving exposure, problem substance use, alcohol- and drug-impaired driving, symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and childhood (before age 15) symptoms of CD.

Results

When entered with demographic characteristics, driving exposure, and other potential confounders, childhood symptoms of CD increased the odds of reporting driver aggression more than two-fold (adjusted OR = 2.12). Exploratory analyses of the interaction between childhood symptoms of CD and age was not a significant predictor of driver aggression.

Conclusions

Results suggest that symptoms of CD during childhood are associated with significantly increased odds of self-reported driver aggression during adulthood. Limitations and future directions of the research are discussed.     

On the reduction of dodging in mice: A comparison of food wrenching and dodging in rats (Rattus norvegicus) and mice (Mus musculus).

Rats attempt to steal food from conspecifics by approaching them from the side to wrench the food from the victims' paws, but victims dodge laterally away to protect their food. Given the pervasive necessity of obtaining food, it might be expected that the behaviors of food wrenching and dodging would be common to many animals, but this idea has not been examined. In the present study, food wrenching and dodging were compared in Long-Evans and Sprague-Dawley rats (Rattus norvegicus) and out-crossed CDF1 and inbred C57b mice (Mus musculus). Mice stole food using a strategy very similar to that of rats, but they did not dodge in an open field test and dodged less in a home cage test and ran away or fought more than rats. There were no strain differences in rats, but C57b mice dodged less than CDF1 mice. Given that dodging is a component not only of food defensive behavior but also of play, sexual, and aggressive behavior, the species and strain difference may be a marker (or a key element) of changes in social behaviors that have occurred since the evolutionary separation of rats and mice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Legal Framework for Alternative Dispute Resolution: Examination of the Singapore National Legal System for Arbitration

Effectiveness of any alternative dispute resolution (ADR) method depends on the national legal system to which it is subjected. In Singapore, the increasing growth in the use of ADR methods may be adduced to developments in the Singapore legal environment. This paper reviews the characteristics of the Singapore national legal system for arbitration. It examines how the legal system facilitates effective use of ADR. By its features, the Singapore national legal system ensures parties’ autonomy but deters parties from taking opportunistic advantage of the voluntary nature of ADR. It enables procedural flexibility, and confidentiality of arbitration proceedings. It insulates the arbitration process from intervention from the Singapore courts and from corruption; and it provides maximum judicial support in the arbitral process. Hence, it ensures that disputes can be brought to a conclusion within a reasonable amount of time, at a reasonable cost, as well as preserving business relationships. The Singapore legal system insures the integrity of arbitration and the independence of arbitrators and arbitral institutions by immunity provisions. In addition, the legal system enhances the use of mediation and conciliation in a sequential tier with arbitration by providing a time limit for mediation or conciliation to terminate should they fail to produce a mutually acceptable settlement. In Singapore, the court system is generally known to be efficient; hence, ADR faces the practical challenge of becoming lengthier than court proceedings. The continuing search for and use of expedited arbitration procedures by arbitral institutions such as the Singapore International Arbitration Centre should reduce this challenge. This paper provides useful information on how a national legal system may be designed to support the use of ADR methods and facilitate their effectiveness.