Blood parameters of young calves at abattoirs are related to distance transported and farm of origin

Nonreplacement dairy calves, or bobby calves, are fasted and transported to abattoirs from as young as 5 d of age in Australia. The aims of this cross-sectional observational study were (1) to assess the welfare status, as measured by blood parameters, of bobby calves in the commercial supply chain after transport and lairage, and (2) to assess whether distance and duration of transport are risk factors for poor bobby calf welfare, as measured by blood parameters. We hypothesized that bobby calves transported greater distances would be more likely to show evidence of compromised welfare, as measured by blood indicators of hydration, energy status, and muscle fatigue or damage. We also hypothesized that there would be a large amount of variability in indicators of energy status between calves from different farms. We analyzed blood samples collected at slaughter over a spring and an autumn calving period from 4,484 Australian bobby calves aged approximately 5 to 14 d old from 3 different states, after transport, fasting, and lairage. Packed cell volume (PCV), plasma glucose, and serum urea, total protein, β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), and creatine kinase (CK) were measured. Radio frequency identification ear tag data were used to estimate the distance that the calves were transported and to identify the farm of origin. Data were analyzed using linear mixed models, except for BHB, which was analyzed using a Goodman-Kruskal gamma test due to left censoring of the data. Twelve percent of calves showed evidence of anemia (PCV less than 0.23 L/L), and 11% had urea concentrations consistent with dehydration (urea more than 7.7 mmol/L). Thirty-six percent of calves had CK activity above normal resting values, and 1% of calves had CK >2,000 U/L, indicating muscle fatigue or damage. Distance transported had significant effects on all blood variables except urea and BHB. With increasing distance transported, calves were more likely to show evidence of a negative energy balance (low plasma glucose) or dehydration (high PCV or total protein). The estimated effect of distance overall was small, but for calves transported more than 500 km, plasma glucose concentration declined more per kilometer. The calves' farm of origin accounted for a reasonable amount of the random variation between calves for plasma glucose (20%). Our results suggest that longer transport distances may increase the risk of poor calf welfare (dehydration, negative energy balance) after transport, and on-farm calf management (e.g., nutrition, timing of feeding before transport) may affect transported calves' energy status; improving this area could result in better energy availability during fasting.     

Application of a glyphosate-based herbicide to Phragmites australis: Impact on groundwater and near-shore lake water at a beach on Georgian Bay

During the past decade, the invasive Phragmites australis (common reed) has established itself along beaches of the Great Lakes, causing detrimental impacts to both the natural ecological integrity of the shoreline and the recreational value of beaches. The herbicide Roundup®, containing the active ingredient glyphosate, was applied to Phragmites along a beach on the southern shore of Georgian Bay, Canada, to eradicate the Phragmites which was destroying the natural beach ecosystem. Groundwater and lake water were tested to determine if glyphosate enters the groundwater and lake at the beach and how long glyphosate will persist. Two days after application, the geometric mean concentration of glyphosate in the groundwater below the Phragmites was 0.060 μg/L with a maximum of 12.50 μg/L. Concentrations rapidly declined over the next two to three weeks to below minimum detection limits (< 0.020 μg/L). Glyphosate was also detected in the nearshore lake water with concentrations peaking at a geometric mean of 0.14 μg/L one week after application, and declining to 0.039 μg/L four weeks after application. Concentrations of glyphosate never exceeded the Canadian water quality guideline for the protection of aquatic life (65 μg/L) in either the groundwater or lake water. An approximate half-life for the dissipation of glyphosate by degradation and dilution/flushing as groundwater flows toward the lake, assuming a first order kinetic reaction, yielded a half-life of 3.5 during the 4 weeks after the herbicide was applied. The application of Roundup® resulted in an 90% reduction in the size of the stand of Phragmites.     

The three roles of a project portfolio management office: Their impact on portfolio management execution and success

Project portfolio management offices (PPMOs) are a subset of project management offices (PMOs) that handle collections of multiple single projects and programmes, i.e. portfolios. PPMOs are centralised organisational units that cater to the demands of various stakeholders by performing specialised tasks. They are initiated by their organisation's leadership in response to increasing management challenges originating from project portfolios. Although there has been considerable research on PMOs in general, not only a clear understanding of multi-project PMOs' activity patterns set in specific contexts like project portfolio management, but also both existence and mode of multi-project PMOs' contribution to successful performance are still lacking. By quantitatively analysing PPMOs in 278 portfolios, we identify three different activity patterns, which are interpreted as distinctive roles. We show a significant positive effect of PPMOs' coordinating and controlling roles on performance in terms of project portfolio management quality, which is a predictor of portfolio success.     

Glass-Related Injuries in Oklahoma City Bombing

When a terrorist bomb explodes in an urban area, it produces devastating effects, including structural and nonstructural damage to buildings, injuries, and deaths. Numerous injuries in explosions result directly and indirectly from window glass failure. Direct glass-related injuries occur when glass shards flying and falling from fractured windows cause lacerations and abrasions. Secondary glass-related injuries occur when the shock front of the blast wave passes into buildings through fenestrations vacated by fractured glazing. The Oklahoma city bombing killed 167 people and caused numerous injuries. Most of the deaths and many of the injuries occurred in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, the target of the bomb. This event focused the attention of the engineering and security communities on two major issues: the prevention of progressive structural collapse and the design of blast-resistant glazing. This paper discusses glass-related injuries that occurred away from the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. In particular, it provides information concerning locations of glass-related injury victims in other buildings with respect to their position in proximity to outside walls with glazing. Location data indicate that more than one-quarter of the glass-related injury victims in buildings were positioned within 1.5 m (5 ft) of a wall with glazed fenestrations and nearly one-half of the glass-related injury victims were positioned within 3.0 m (10 ft) of a wall with glazed fenestrations. In addition to suffering lacerations and abrasions, a large number of victims in buildings suffered hearing damage because glazing that failed to maintain closure of fenestrations exposed them to the shock front of the blast wave. Consideration of the injury data justifies a requirement for design of blast-resistant glazing to protect building inhabitants.     

手机电视迫使运营商重定基调

业务模式的缺陷、运营商的谨慎及标准的冲突阻碍了手机电视发挥其真正的潜力。由于媒体公司很快就获得了其移动性法案(或有或无电信公司的支持),因此这项技术将引领用户驱动的视频革命。     

Intentional and incidental memory: Order effects in clinical testing.

Clinicians sometimes worry that the administration of intentional memory tests early in a clinical battery might artificially enhance performance on subsequent incidental memory tests, with possible differential effects for younger vs. older adults. Eighty-one healthy adults (ages 30–80) were blindly assigned to 1 of 2 testing conditions (incidental followed by intentional and vice versa). Contrary to the concerns of some, administration of intentional tests prior to incidental tests did not affect performance on any measures, and there was no interaction with age. Order of administration did not affect performance in older or younger adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Short forms in psychological assessment--Ethical and forensic concerns for school psychology: Comment on Thompson, LoBello, Atkinson, Chisholm, and Ryan (2004).

Whereas psychological assessment remains a critical skill, it can demand considerable time and effort. In fact, it can often feel tedious and even laborious. As a partial outgrowth, short forms in psychological testing are intrinsically appealing. Unfortunately, many concerns can be raised regarding this practice. This article represents a response to A. P. Thompson, S. G. LoBello, L. Atkinson, V. Chisholm, and J. J. Ryan (see record 2004-95164-011) and is intended to strengthen the discussion on this practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The great asymmetric divide: An empirical investigation of the link between indigenous and non‐indigenous economic systems in Northern Australia

This empirical study explores financial links between indigenous and non‐indigenous economic systems in a remote river catchment in Northern Australia (the Mitchell). It finds evidence of a profound and asymmetric ‘disconnect’ between these economies: an exogenous increase in indigenous incomes raises the incomes of non‐indigenous people, but the reverse is not true. Evidently, those seeking to improve the incomes of indigenous people in Northern Australia cannot simply seek to (i) increase payments to indigenous people, or (ii) expand the non‐indigenous sector hoping that some benefits will ‘trickle down’. Instead, structural change is required.