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.     

Nursing home food services linked with risk of malnutrition.

PURPOSE: Links between food service characteristics and residents' risk of malnutrition were examined. METHODS: Cognitively intact residents meeting inclusion criteria and living in one of 38 participating nursing homes were randomly sampled. The final sample consisted of 132 residents, who were screened for risk of malnutrition and completed a face-to-face interview questionnaire about dining experiences. Additional data came from participants' medical charts, and each institution's food service manager completed a written questionnaire. Frequencies and logistic regressions were used to describe the sample and to examine relationships between risk of malnutrition and food service characteristics. RESULTS: Overall, 37.4% of participants were at risk of malnutrition. Food service factors, including food packages, lids, and dishes that were difficult to manipulate (b=0.285, p=0.009), bulk food-delivery systems (b=1.329, p=0.036), overall food satisfaction (b=0.253, p=0.044), menu cycle length (b=-2.162, p=0.003), and porcelain dishes (b=-0.345, p=0.052), all were significantly associated with risk of malnutrition. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings clearly show a need for nursing homes to modify certain aspects of food service that may increase the risk of malnutrition among cognitively intact residents.     

Contextual determinants of hypnotizability and of relationships between hypnotizability scales.

Two experiments examined the role of situational variables on responsiveness to hypnotizability and correlations between measures of hypnotizability. Experiment 1 found that the correlation between the Creative Imagination Scale (CIS) of T. X. Barber and S. C. Wilson (see record 1980-22417-001) and the Carleton University Responsiveness to Suggestion Scale (CURSS) was significantly stronger when the CIS was defined as a test of hypnotizability rather than as a set of imagination. Experiment 2 informed Ss who had scored high or low on the CURSS that their CIS performance would either match their earlier hypnotic performance or that it would differ from their earlier performance. Ss' CIS performance was consistent with their administered instructions. These findings suggest that the high correlations typically obtained between different hypnotizability scales may be more strongly influenced by situation-specific attitudes and interpretational sets than is usually acknowledged. (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.     

Short-term exposures to chronically toxic copper concentrations induce HSP70 proteins in midge larvae (Chironomus tentans)

In the present study, we investigated the induction of HSP70 proteins in Chironomus tentans in response to copper exposure. Larvae were exposed for 24 h to 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 mgl(-1) copper, concentrations that were previously shown to cause growth reduction or mortality in 10 d bioassays. The induction of HSP70 was evaluated by Western blotting, and we observed a significant increase in HSP70 proteins over controls at all tested concentrations. The results suggest that short-term laboratory exposures to chronically toxic but acutely sublethal copper concentrations induce HSP70 proteins in C. tentans larvae.     

A glutamate-sensitizing activity in conditioned media derived from rat cerebellar granule cells

When cerebellar granule cells that had been cultured in vitro for 8 days were subjected to a cytotoxic glutamate pulse (100 microM, 30 min incubation), the response varied according to cell density and the volume of medium in which cells were grown. Thus, lowering the cell density by a factor of 4 compared with usual conditions (2.6 x 10(5) cells/cm2) or increasing the volume by an identical 4-fold factor reduced cell death from 90-95% to 20-30%. Addition of a conditioned medium derived from high-density to low-density cultures or to high-volume cultures markedly increased the sensitivity of the cells to glutamate. This glutamate-sensitizing activity, which accelerated by several days the onset of the response of cerebellar cultures to glutamate, was inhibited by actinomycin D and was not detectable in conditioned medium derived from confluent cultures of cerebellar astroglia, or from cell lines such as PC12, GT1-7, 3T3 and CHP 100. Glutamate-sensitizing activity was not mimicked by trilodo-L-thyronine, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), truncated IGF-I, GPE [a tripeptide (gly-pro-glu) derived from IGF-I], brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), basic fibroblast growth factor or tumour necrosis factor-alpha. However, IGF-I added to cultures of granule cells plated at high density and grown in basal medium Eagle's without serum or any other constituent of chemically defined media was capable of supporting production of glutamate-sensitizing activity to an extent similar to that shown by whole fetal calf serum. Under the same conditions triiodo-L-thyronine and BDNF did not support the production of glutamate-sensitizing activity. Glutamate-sensitizing activity was not mimicked by glutamate, NMDA, glycine or lactate, and was not inhibited by glucose, haemoglobin or N-omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester. At variance with the response of granule cells, the response to glutamate of GABAergic cells present in the same culture was not affected by cell density or by glutamate-sensitizing activity.     

Processing of N-terminal unnatural amino acids in recombinant human interferon-beta in Escherichia coli

Incorporation of unnatural amino acids into recombinant proteins represents a powerful tool for protein engineering and protein therapeutic development. While the processing of the N-terminal methionine (Met) residues in proteins is well studied, the processing of unnatural amino acids used for replacing the N-terminal Met remains largely unknown. Here we report the effects of the penultimate residue (the residue after the initiator Met) on the processing of two unnatural amino acids, L-azidohomoalanine (AHA) and L-homopropargylglycine (HPG), at the N terminus of recombinant human interferon-beta in E. coli. We have identified specific amino acids at the penultimate position that can be used to efficiently retain or remove N-terminal AHA or HPG. Retention of N-terminal AHA or HPG can be achieved by choosing amino acids with large side chains (such as Gln, Glu, and His) at the penultimate position, while Ala can be selected for the removal of N-terminal AHA or HPG. Incomplete processing of N-terminal AHA and HPG (in terms of both deformylation and cleavage) was observed with Gly or Ser at the penultimate position.     

In vitro attenuation of acrolein-induced toxicity by phloretin, a phenolic compound from apple

In the current study, the protective effects of phloretin were investigated in acrolein-challenged amino acid, protein, and cell models. It was found that the formation of FDP-lysine (a typical acrolein-lysine adduct) was strongly inhibited in the presence of phloretin and the remaining electrophilic site in FDP-lysine was also blocked by phloretin. Moreover, direct trapping of acrolein by phloretin was found to be responsible for inhibiting the incorporation of carbonyl groups into BSA and oligomerisation in RNase A. Subsequently, the reduction of LDH release in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells under acrolein challenge suggested the cytoprotective effects of phloretin. Such protection might be mediated through inhibiting the increased cellular protein carbonyl level as revealed by Western blotting analysis. The present study highlighted an apple phenolic compound, phloretin as a promising candidate in prevention or treatment of acrolein-associated human diseases.