Effects of pre-milking teat sanitation on the quality of raw milk

The effect of Quartermate pre-milking teat sanitation on milk quality was investigated in twelve dairy herds over a period of eight weeks. Pre-milking teat sanitation was carried out on all cows for six weeks on each of six farms and mesophile and thermophile bacteria counts of raw milks were compared before the milk line (“cluster” samples), and at various points within milking plants. Rates of mastitis, vat milk iodide levels and specific bacteria were also monitored.https://researchlibrary.agric.wa.gov.au/bulletins/1189/thumbnail.jp

Living smart homes: A Pilot Australian Sustainability Education Programme

This paper documents the rationale and experience of a pilot Australian sustainability education program, ‘Living Smart Homes’ (LSH) based on a community-based social marketing model. Inspired by the Australian ‘Land for Wildlife’ scheme, LSH is designed to engage homeowners with sustainable practices through face-to-face workshops, an interactive website with action learning modules, and a recognition scheme, a sign displayed in front of participant’s houses to which additions were made as they completed modules on energy, water, waste and transport. Participants were asked to change household behaviours and to discuss the changes and the barriers to participation in the program and to making the behavioural changes.----- More than 120 people participated in the program. This paper documents feedback from two surveys (n=103) and four focus groups (n=12). Participants enjoyed and learnt from LSH, praising the household sign as a tangible symbol of their commitment to sustainability and a talking point with visitors. Their evaluation of the LSH program, website and workshops, as well as their identification of barriers and recommendations for improvement and expansion of the program, are discussed

NeonSense: ways of seeing Bruce Nauman's neon artworks

The neon artworks of Bruce Nauman remain as original and as affecting as they were when first exhibited and are arguably the facet of his oeuvre which has been most influential to subsequent generations of artists. This paper attempts to solve the mystery of why his neon work is so affecting and so very effective in communicating the artist's message. In order to accomplish this the history of neon as an advertising medium and advertising theory are investigated as it is undoubtedly with these influences in mind that we approach the neon work of art initially, so deeply entrenched is neon in the psyche of popular culture. The playfulness and sincerity that Nauman's neon works seem to emanate in spite of, or as a direct reaction to, his chosen subject is also placed under scrutiny. Nauman's neon works, whether they be textual or figurative, are intrinsically playful. This notion is only accentuated by the candy colours of the neon and the stilted animation of the more complex works. His neon art plays with us, plays with our understanding of language and our own human nature. Neon advertising can be taken at face value. In the advertising world neon is essentially 'straight'. Unlike all other advertising media neon doesn't sell to the consumer, it informs. It would seem plausible, therefore, that neon transfigured as art would retain that reputability, at least In terms of the viewer's initial perception of the work displayed. Nauman's neon artworks are also always displayed as signs - they are always vertically displayed on walls, in windows-adding to this sublimation of the advertising form. The role of literary and philosophical influences upon the artist may also hold the key to the success of Nauman's work especially in terms of language reception. Nauman has often cited the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein as an important influence, while the affinity his work has with playwright Samuel Beckett's own obsession with the human condition is too strong to deny. Nauman also takes from French novelist Alain Robbe-Grillet his repetitive rhythm. Repetition being used by both to force the reader/viewer to pay attention. Finally, in order to ascertain whether this phenomenon is specific to Nauman or is, in fact, generally symptomatic of the use of neon as art, his work is compared with his closest contemporaries - Joseph Kosuth and Maurizio Nannucci. Both of whom also first used neon - particularly as a means to investigate language use and reception - in the mid-1960's

A review of the cognitive effects observed in humans following acute supplementation with flavonoids, and their associated mechanisms of action

Flavonoids are polyphenolic compounds found in varying concentrations in many plant-based foods. Recent studies suggest that flavonoids can be beneficial to both cognitive and physiological health. Long term flavonoid supplementation over a period of weeks or months has been extensively investigated and reviewed, particularly with respect to cognitive ageing and neurodegenerative disease. Significantly less focus has been directed towards the short term effects of single doses of flavonoids on cognition. Here, we review 21 such studies with particular emphasis on the subclass and dose of flavonoids administered, the cognitive domains affected by flavonoid supplementation, and the effect size of the response. The emerging evidence suggests that flavonoids may be beneficial to attention, working memory, and psychomotor processing speed in a general population. Episodic memory effects are less well defined and may be restricted to child or older adult populations. The evidence also points towards a dose-dependent effect of flavonoids, but the physiological mechanisms of action remain unclear. Overall, there is encouraging evidence that flavonoid supplementation can benefit cognitive outcomes within an acute time frame of 0–6 h. But larger studies, combining cognitive and physiological measures, are needed to strengthen the evidence base

High yield non-detergent isolation of photosystem I-light-harvesting chlorophyll II membranes from spinach thylakoids: Implications for the organization of the PS I antennae in higher plants

© 2015 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc. Styrene-maleic acid copolymer was used to effect a non-detergent partial solubilization of thylakoids from spinach. A high density membrane fraction, which was not solubilized by the copolymer, was isolated and was highly enriched in the Photosystem (PS) I-light-harvesting chlorophyll (LHC) II supercomplex and depleted of PS II, the cytochrome b6/f complex, and ATP synthase. The LHC II associated with the supercomplex appeared to be energetically coupled to PS I based on 77 K fluorescence, P700 photooxidation, and PS I electron transport light saturation experiments. The chlorophyll (Chl) a/b ratio of the PS I-LHC II membranes was 3.2 ± 0.9, indicating that on average, three LHC II trimers may associate with each PS I. The implication of these findings within the context of higher plant PS I antenna organization is discussed

Education for disaster resilience : lessons from El Niño

Funding: Scottish Funding Council GCRF funding enabled us to build our Peru-Scotland team. Two Arts and Humanities Research Council projects (AH/T004444/1: “Fishing and farming in the desert'? A platform for understanding El Niño food system opportunities in the context climate change in Sechura, Peru”; “El Nino a phenomenon with opportunities: learning history and valuing community assets for an empowering digital curriculum in northern Peru” AH/V012215/1) enabled us to consolidate and deepen our initial research.This paper calls for greater attention to the role of youth and children as development actors in the context of education for disaster management. Drawing on debates in disaster studies and children’s geographies, we explore the possibilities offered by everyday formal education spaces, often overlooked in disasters management practice, to engage children in disaster preparedness and resilience planning. Using the case study of Peru, we examine the extent to which national responses to the restrictions that the COVID-19 pandemic placed on in-person teaching, opened-up opportunities to engage with disaster management in new ways. We draw on the case of an innovative digital curricula that uses intergenerational storytelling about the El Niño phenomenon to investigate livelihood opportunities and climate change pressures in northern coastal Peru, exploring how the phenomenon benefits desert populations. We assess the role of participatory virtual learning in facilitating disaster knowledge and climate adaptation awareness among students and critically examine the youth subjectivities that are constructed through these processes. We conclude calling for greater engagement with children’s formal education spaces in climate adaptation strategies, while cautioning against conceptualising children and young people as only ‘adults in the making’, rather than as impacted individuals with current agency and everyday capacities.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

A study of glycaemic effects following acute anthocyanin-rich blueberry supplementation in healthy young adults

The postprandial response to ingested carbohydrate is recognised as a marker of metabolic health. Postprandial hyperglycaemia is observed in type 2 diabetes mellitus and is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Cognitive deficits are also associated with type 2 diabetes. Therefore interventions which moderate postprandial glucose profiles are desirable. Here we investigated the impact of anthocyanin-rich wild blueberries on postprandial glucose response. Seventeen healthy young adults consumed a range of doses of freeze-dried wild blueberry powder, in smoothie form, in both sugar-matched and no-added-sugar conditions. Plasma glucose was determined by a capillary sampling method at baseline and at regular intervals up to 2.5 hours postprandially. Blueberries were observed to significantly extend the postprandial glucose response beyond the period observed for a sugar-matched control, characteristic of a beneficial glycaemic response. Furthermore, blueberries were observed to reduce peak postprandial glucose levels, although statistical significance was not achieved. The findings suggest a tempering of the postprandial glucose response in the presence of anthocyanin-rich blueberry, and are discussed with reference to likely glucoregulatory mechanisms of action and their implications for cognitive and type 2 diabetes research

Photoheterotrophic growth of Physcomitrella patens

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013. Physcomitrella patens is a model bryophyte representing an early land plant in the green plant lineage. This organism possesses many advantages as a model organism. Its genome has been sequenced, its predominant life cycle stage is the haploid gametophyte, it is readily transformable and it can integrate transformed DNA into its genome by homologous recombination. One limitation for the use of P. patens in photosynthesis research is its reported inability to grow photoheterotrophically, in the presence of sucrose and the Photosystem II inhibitor 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea, which prevents linear photosynthetic electron transport. In this communication we describe the facile isolation of a P. patens strain which can grow photoheterotrophically. Additionally, we have examined a number of photosynthetic parameters for this strain grown under photoautotrophic, mixotrophic (in the presence of sucrose) and photoheterotrophic conditions, as well as the 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea-inhibited state. The ability to grow P. patens photoheterotrophically should significantly facilitate its use in photosynthetic studies

Safety and Efficacy of Oral Physostigmine in the Treatment of Alzheimer Disease

Results of therapeutic trials with physostigmine in the treatment of Alzheimer disease (AD) have been inconsistent and controversy persists concerning safety and efficacy. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study, patients received 6 weeks of oral physostigmine (OP) and placebo in random order. Twenty-nine patients with AD received as much as 16 mg/day of OP and were assessed with neuropsychological and functional measures. No significant cardiac side effects were noted, though other systemic adverse effects were noted, requiring dose reduction in four patients. There was a slight but significant improvement (12%) in performance on the selective reminding test with physostigmine and the memory performance was correlated with dosage. This improvement compares favorably with the 15% decrease in scores seen in an untreated comparison cohort followed for an equivalent time period. There was a trend toward an improvement in communication and a reduction in memory complaint. These results suggest that oral physostigmine is safe and may improve memory in AD