2,512 research outputs found
Exploratory study of the effects of intra-uterine growth retardation and neonatal energy supplementation of low birth-weight piglets on their post-weaning cognitive abilities
peer-reviewedThe present study investigated the effects of intra-uterine growth retardation (IUGR, score 0â3; i.e., ânormalâ to âsevereâ)
level at birth, and the effects of neonatal energy supplementation (dosed with 2 ml of coconut oil, commercial product or
water, or sham-dosed), on post-weaning cognitive abilities of low birth-weight piglets (<1.1 kg). In total, 184 piglets were
recruited at weaning (27±0.1 days) for habituation to the test procedures, and were either tested for spatial learning and
memory in a T-maze (n=42; 37±0.5 days) or for short-term memory in a spontaneous object recognition task (SORT;
n=47; 41±0.3 days). Neonatal supplementation did not affect performances of pigs in the T-maze task or SORT. IUGR3
pigs tended to be faster to enter the reward arm and to obtain the reward in the reversal step of the T-Maze task, suggesting
a better learning flexibility, compared to IUGR1 (entry t72.8=2.9, P=0.024; reward t80=3.28, P=0.008) and IUGR2 (entry
t70.3=2.5, P=0.068; reward t73.9=2.77, P=0.034) pigs. However, a higher percentage of IUGR1 pigs tended to approach the
novel object first (DSCF-value=3.07; P=0.076) and to interact with it more (t40=2.19, P=0.085), relative to IGUR3 pigs.
IUGR1 pigs showed a strong preference for the novel object, as they had a greater percentage time difference interacting with
the objects when the novel object was presented (t81=â3.41, P=0.013). In conclusion, some low birth-weight piglets are
able to perform a spatial task and an object recognition test, but performances in these tests may be modulated by IUGR level.Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marin
Investigating management strategies of large litters in pigs
Modern hyper-prolific sows often do not have enough teats to feed all of
their piglets. The resulting competition for colostrum and milk hampers
piglet growth and survival. This is exacerbated by low birth-weights, which
are also common in large litters. Three experiments were conducted for this
thesis; each investigated a management strategy hypothesised to improve
outcomes for piglets from large litters.
The first experiment evaluated the use of nurse sows to rear supernumerous
piglets (i.e. when there are more piglets than teats). At 1 day old,
piglets from large litters either remained with their mother or were moved
to a nurse sow who was either 7 or 21 days into lactation. Aspects of piglet
(growth, survival and suckling behaviour) and sow (salivary cortisol, back-fat
thickness, body lesions, and nursing behaviour) welfare were monitored
until weaning. Rearing by a nurse sow did not compromise pre-weaning
survival, compared to rearing by the mother, regardless of the nurse sowsâ
stage of lactation (7 or 21 days) when the piglets were transferred to her.
Piglets reared by a nurse sow were initially heavier than piglets remaining
with their dam, but all piglets were weaned at similar weights. Regardless
of whether a nurse sow or biological mother, sows in late lactation had
shorter nursing bouts and their litter showed more fighting behaviour,
compared to sows in early lactation. Despite longer lactation length, nurse
sows did not differ from biological mothers in salivary cortisol
concentration, backfat thickness and body lesion scores.
The second experiment looked at using an artificial rearing system to rear 7
day old piglets until weaning. Litters of 12 piglets were assigned at 7 days
old to be either sow-reared (SR) or artificially-reared (AR) until weaning.
Pre-weaning survival, growth and behaviour were recorded, emotional
state was assessed using Qualitative Behavioural Assessment pre- and post-weaning,
and reactivity tests were conducted post-weaning. Survival did
not differ between treatments. AR piglets were lighter than SR piglets from
the day following transfer until weaning. They performed more negative
behaviours (belly-nosing, ear and tail biting) and their emotional state was
scored lower pre-weaning, compared to SR piglets. However, post-weaning
the emotional state of AR piglets was scored higher than SR pigs and AR
piglets had a lower emotional reaction to a fear test (startling event) and
human contact.
The third experiment evaluated whether 2ml of an energy-rich neonatal
supplement (coconut oil or a commercial product) would enhance survival
and vitality of low birth-weight piglets. At three hours post-birth, low birthweight
piglets (<1.1 kg) were dosed with one of the supplements, water, or
sham-dosed. Blood glucose content, rectal temperature, and pre-weaning
survival and growth were recorded but none were affected by treatment.
Post-weaning, piglets were tested for spatial learning and memory in a T-maze
set-up, or were tested for short-term memory in a spontaneous
object recognition test. There were no treatment differences on the
performance of pigs in any of the two tests, meaning that the birth energy
supplementation did not enhance post-weaning cognitive performances.
This thesis demonstrated that a single dose of energy supplementation at
birth did not improve outcomes for low birth-weight piglets, and that the
rearing strategies to promote piglet survival in large litters do work in terms
of survival but can impair some aspects of piglet welfare and development.
The most pronounced welfare impacts were observed with artificial rearing.
Therefore management of large litters remains a significant challenge and
the strategies investigated deserve further improvements
Use of the Confusion Assessment Method in multicentre delirium trials: training and standardisation
BACKGROUND
Delirium occurs commonly in older adults and is associated with adverse outcomes. Multicentre clinical trials evaluating interventions to prevent delirium are needed. The Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) is a validated instrument for delirium detection. We hypothesised it would be possible for a large feasibility study to train a large number of research assistants, with varying experience levels, to conduct CAM assessments reliably in multiple hospital sites.
METHODS
A standardised training programme was followed, incorporating structured training at a central location and at study sites. CAM practice sessions on both delirious and non-delirious patients by research assistants were conducted and, thereafter, there was ongoing inter-rater reliability assessment on the CAM between research assistant pairs at study sites. The setting was eight acute care hospitals in England and Wales. Participants were research assistants working on a multicentre feasibility study of delirium prevention. The measurement used was the Confusion Assessment Method.
RESULTS
Thirty-seven research assistants were trained in CAM assessment and 33 returned training logs. The logs showed there was 100% overall agreement between research assistant pairs on 295 CAM assessments, of which 263 (89.2%) were negative for delirium and 32 (10.8%) were positive. In the course of the feasibility study, research assistants successfully completed 5,065 (89.7%) of the 5,645 expected CAM assessments, with minimal missing data.
CONCLUSION
Using the training methods described in this study, it is possible to achieve high quality delirium assessments for large numbers of patients with little missing data across geographically dispersed sites in multicentre studies. The standardisation of multisite delirium assessments is an important contribution to research methodology, and provides a much-needed advance for the field.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
ISRCT ISRCTN01187372. Registered 13 March 201
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