Rearing calves outdoors with and without calf jackets compared with indoor housing on calf health and live-weight performance

peer-reviewedThe objective of this study was to compare the effects of rearing calves outdoors, with and without all-weather calf jackets, with calves reared indoors on calf immunity and animal performance. In February 1999, male Holstein calves (mean (s.e.) weight 55 (1.90) kg) were randomly assigned to one of three treatments (n=30 per treatment): 1) outdoors with jacket, (J; mean age 19 (s.e. 2.0) days); 2) outdoors without jacket (NJ; mean age 19 (s.e. 1.8) days), and 3) indoors on straw (I; mean age 19 (s.e. 1.0) days). Calves received an individual allowance of 25 kg of milk replacer dry matter during the first 42 days with ad libitum access to a concentrate ration from day 0 to 63. The jackets were removed from the calves on day 42. Live-weight gain from day 0 to day 63 of the study was not significantly different between treatments (J, 0.79; NJ, 0.80; I, 0.80 kg). Sixty percent of the J calves and 53% of the NJ calves required four or more antibiotic treatments for respiratory disease while corresponding treatments were required for 97% of the I calves. The incidence of diarrhoea was significantly higher in both outdoor treatments compared to the I treatment. There was no significant difference in white blood cell counts or in serum immunoglobulin concentrations between treatments on days 0, 21, 42 and 63 or in in vitro interferon-γ production on day 63. It is concluded that using calf jackets on calves reared outdoors had no beneficial effect on calf performance or immune status. The incidence of respiratory disease was higher and diarrhoea incidence was lower in calves reared indoors compared with calves reared outdoors. There was no significant difference in incidences of diarrhoea and respiratory disease between the two outdoor treatments

The welfare of animals transported from Ireland to Spain AND The Physiological haematological and immunological responses of 9-month old bulls (250kg) to transport at two stocking densities (0.85m2 and 1.27m2 /250kg animal) on a 12-hour journey by road.

End of Project ReportFifty-two weanling continental x beef heifers (mean liveweight 269kg) were transported from Ireland to France on a roll-on roll-off ferry (RO-RO), and onwards by road for 3-hours to a French lairage, rested for 24 hours at a staging post and taken by road on an 18-hour journey through France to a feedlot in Spain. Animals transported to France lost 7.6 % of their bodyweight, and gained 3.3 % of their bodyweight by time of arrival in Spain and recovered to pre-transport liveweight values by day 6. Although there was some evidence that transport affected physiological and immunological variables, there was no evidence to suggest that it adversely affected the health or the performance of the animals post transport. Creatine kinase activities were increased but values were still within normal acceptable ranges. Increases in non-esterified fatty acids, beta-hydroxybutyrate and urea concentrations suggested that the animals' normal pattern of feeding was disrupted during transport. Increases in albumin, total plasma protein and osmolality would indicate slight dehydration during transit. However, albumin concentrations returned to control levels by day 38 of the study. While haematocrit values were decreased, they are within the range of normal referenced data (24 - 48%). Similarly, changes in the RBC numbers and haemoglobin were within the normal blood referenced ranges ((RBC; 5.0 – 10.0 x106 /ml) and (haemoglobin 8-14 g%)(Schalm, 1961)). The only time at which white blood counts increased above the upper limit of 12, was 12 hours after arrival at the French lairage. The aspartate transaminase concentrations for the transported animals at arrival in France and Spain were not significantly different from their pre-transport concentrations but were increased at day 11 when compared with baseline levels. Concanavalin-A induced interferon-g levels were lower on arrival in the Spanish feedlot and on Day 11 of the study, when compared with pre-transport baseline levels. Compared with pre-transport levels, keyhole limpet haemocyanin-induced interferon-g levels for the transported animals were significantly decreased on the day of arrival in France, with no significant difference on the day of arrival in Spain or on day 11 of the study. Interferon-g is produced by activated T lymphocytes and natural killer cells in response to antigen. The percentage (%) of lymphocytes decreased and the % neutrophils increased post-transport indicating a shift in the population of these blood cells relative to pre-transport baseline values. There was no significant change in plasma cortisol concentrations in transported animals at arrival in France and in Spain. On Day 11, the plasma cortisol concentrations of transported animals were significantly higher than control animals. There were significantly higher glucose concentrations on arrival in France, and in samples taken at 12 and 24 hours post-arrival in France, on arrival in Spain, and on days 7 and 11 compared with control levels. Transported animals had significantly higher glucose levels at sample 2 on the day of arrival in France compared with their pre-transport values. Transported animals had significantly higher fibrinogen levels at arrival in France compared with their pre-transport baseline concentrations. Inflammation resulting from stress can cause the release of acute phase proteins such as haptoglobin and fibrinogen, and acute phase proteins in cattle have been associated with immunosuppression, however, much higher levels have been reported in inflammatory conditions. Transported animals had significantly higher non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) levels on arrival in France and Spain and on day 11 compared with their pre-transport baseline concentrations. Control animals had significantly higher levels on day 5 compared with their pre-transport baseline NEFA concentrations. However, all levels were within the normal acceptable ranges. The study concluded that transport had no adverse effect on animal welfare based on the physiological, immunological and haematological measurements made

The Welfare of Animals Transported From Ireland to Italy.

End of Project ReportThe overall objective of the present study was to investigate the physiological, haematological and immunological responses of weanling bulls transported to Italy under present EU legislation and to evaluate the implications in terms of animal welfare

Effects of Pre-Journey Fasting on the Physiological Responses of Young Cattle to 8-hour Road Transport.

End of Project ReportThe present study evaluated the effects of fasting animals for 8 hours prior to an 8-hour road journey and their ability to cope with the stress of transport.There was no significant difference in rectal body temperature, pre and post transport and there were no significant differences in liveweight among treatments on days 0 (pre-transport), 1, 4 and 10 (post-transport). Bulls (230kg) undergoing an 8-h transportation at stocking densities of 0.82 m2 /animal showed physiological and haematological responses that were within normal referenced ranges. Animals that were fasted for 8-hours and then transported lost 9.4% bodyweight following the 8-hour journey, while non-fasted and transported animals (NF+T) lost 7.2%. The control animals remaining at grass and non-fasted (NF+G) gained 2%. The animals that were fasted continuously and not transported (F+F) and the non-fasted control animals that were fasted for 8 hours (NF+F) lost 6.1% and 6.2% respectively. There was no significant change in globulin, glucose, urea, haemoglobin, beta-hydroxy butyrate, fibrinogen concentrations, haematocrit and monocyte percentages, monocyte and red blood cell numbers, platelet numbers among treatments prior to or after transport. The % lymphocytes were reduced in the fasted and non-fasted transported animals and post-transport and there was no significant change in lymphocyte numbers. The % of neutrophils and the number of neutrophils were significantly increased in the fasted and non-fasted transported animals. Baseline protein concentrations were significantly lower in the non-fasted and transported and nonfasted then fasted treatments initially. Following transport, protein concentrations were significantly higher in the fasted and transported treatment compared with the non-fasted animals at grass. White blood cell (WBC) numbers were not significantly different prior to transport. Following transport, the WBC numbers were significantly higher in the fasted and transported treatment compared with the non-fasted at grass, fasted and then fasted, and the non-fasted and fasted treatments. Albumin concentrations were significantly higher following transport in the F+T treatment compared with the NF+G, F+F, and NF+F treatments and the NF+T treatment had significantly lower albumin levels than the F+T and NF+F treatments. Haptoglobin concentrations were not significantly different prior to transport. Following transport, haptoglobin concentrations were significantly higher in the F+T compared with the NF+G treatment. Lactate concentrations were significantly higher in the F+T and NF+T compared with the NF+G, F+F, and NF+F treatments following transport. In conclusion, from the physiological and haematological measurements, an 8 hour journey time, even without access to feed for 8 hours prior to transport did not impact negatively on animal welfare

XANES evidence for sulphur speciation in Mn-, Ni- and W-bearing silicate melts

Author Posting. © Elsevier B.V., 2009. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 73 (2009): 6847-6867, doi:10.1016/j.gca.2009.08.013.S K edge XANES and Mn, W and Ni XANES and EXAFS spectra of silicate glasses synthesised at 1400° C and 1 bar with compositions in the CaO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2-S plus MnO, NiO, or WO3 systems were used to investigate sulphur speciation in silicate glasses. S K-edge spectra comprised a composite peak with an edge between 2470 and 2471.4 eV, which was attributed to S2-, and a peak of variable height with an edge at 2480.2 to 2480.8 eV, which is consistent with the presence of S6+. The latter peak was attributed to sample oxidation during sample storage. W-rich samples produced an additional lower energy peak at 2469.8 eV that is tentatively attributed to the existence of S 3p orbitals hybridised with the W 5d states. Deconvolution of the composite peak reveals that the composite peak for Mn-bearing samples fits well to a model that combines three Lorentzians at 2473.1, 2474.9 and 2476.2 eV with an arctan edge step. The composite peak for W-bearing samples fits well to the same combination plus an additional Lorentzian at 2469.8 eV. The ratio of the proportions of the signal accounted for by peaks at 2473.1eV and 2476.2eV correlates with Mn:Ca molar ratios, but not with W:Ca ratios. Spectra from Ni-bearing samples were qualitatively similar but S levels were too low to allow robust quantification of peak components. Some part of the signal accounted for by the 2473.1 eV peak was therefore taken to record the formation of Mn-S melt species, while the 2469.8 peak is interpreted to record the formation of W-S melt species. The 2474.9 eV and 2476.2 eV peaks were taken to be dominated by Ca-S and Mg-S interactions. However, a 1:1 relationship between peak components and specific energy transitions is not proposed. This interpretation is consistent with known features of the lower parts of the conduction band in monosulphide minerals and indicates a similarity between sulphur species in the melts and the monosulphides. S XANES spectra cannot be reproduced by a combination of the spectra of the component element monosulphides. Mn-, W- and Ni- XANES and EXAFS for synthetic glasses without sulphide exsolution did not show any sensitivity to the presence of sulphur, which is unsurprising as S:O ratios were sufficiently low that metals would be mostly co-ordinated by O. Mn EXAFS spectra were consistent with divalent Mn in 5 co-ordinated Mn-O melt species. W spectra were consistent with tetrahedrally co-ordinated hexavalent W, most likely in scheelite-like melt species, and Ni spectra were consistent with [4] co-ordinated divalent Ni. These results indicate lower coordinations for bothWand Ni than those inferred by some previous workers. Cation coordination may reflect the proportion of non-bridging oxygens, which is lower in the Ca-rich and Al-poor samples investigated here than for previous studies.This work was performed with 814 support from the Australian Synchrotron Research Program (ASRP), which is funded by the 815 Commonwealth of Australia under the Major National Research Facilities Program

The Effect of Chemical Information on the Spatial Distribution of Fruit Flies: I Model Results

Animal aggregation is a general phenomenon in ecological systems. Aggregations are generally considered as an evolutionary advantageous state in which members derive the benefits of protection and mate choice, balanced by the costs of limiting resources and competition. In insects, chemical information conveyance plays an important role in finding conspecifics and forming aggregations. In this study, we describe a spatio-temporal simulation model designed to explore and quantify the effects of these infochemicals, i.e., food odors and an aggregation pheromone, on the spatial distribution of a fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) population, where the lower and upper limit of local population size are controlled by an Allee effect and competition. We found that during the spatial expansion and strong growth of the population, the use of infochemicals had a positive effect on population size. The positive effects of reduced mortality at low population numbers outweighed the negative effects of increased mortality due to competition. At low resource densities, attraction toward infochemicals also had a positive effect on population size during recolonization of an area after a local population crash, by decreasing the mortality due to the Allee effect. However, when the whole area was colonized and the population was large, the negative effects of competition on population size were larger than the positive effects of the reduction in mortality due to the Allee effect. The use of infochemicals thus has mainly positive effects on population size and population persistence when the population is small and during the colonization of an area

Applications of electrified dust and dust devil electrodynamics to Martian atmospheric electricity

Atmospheric transport and suspension of dust frequently brings electrification, which may be substantial. Electric fields of 10 kVm-1 to 100 kVm-1 have been observed at the surface beneath suspended dust in the terrestrial atmosphere, and some electrification has been observed to persist in dust at levels to 5 km, as well as in volcanic plumes. The interaction between individual particles which causes the electrification is incompletely understood, and multiple processes are thought to be acting. A variation in particle charge with particle size, and the effect of gravitational separation explains to, some extent, the charge structures observed in terrestrial dust storms. More extensive flow-based modelling demonstrates that bulk electric fields in excess of 10 kV m-1 can be obtained rapidly (in less than 10 s) from rotating dust systems (dust devils) and that terrestrial breakdown fields can be obtained. Modelled profiles of electrical conductivity in the Martian atmosphere suggest the possibility of dust electrification, and dust devils have been suggested as a mechanism of charge separation able to maintain current flow between one region of the atmosphere and another, through a global circuit. Fundamental new understanding of Martian atmospheric electricity will result from the ExoMars mission, which carries the DREAMS (Dust characterization, Risk Assessment, and Environment Analyser on the Martian Surface)-MicroARES (Atmospheric Radiation and Electricity Sensor) instrumentation to Mars in 2016 for the first in situ measurements

Understanding the Potential Impact of Multiple Robots in Odor Source Localization

We investigate the performance of three bio-inspired odor source localization algorithms used in non-cooperating multi-robot systems. Our performance metric is the distance overhead of the first robot to reach the source, which is a good measure for the speed of an odor source localization algorithm. Using the performance distribution of single-robot experiments, we calculate an ideal performance for multi-robot teams. We carry out simulations in a realistic robotic simulator and provide quantitative evidence of the differences between ideal and realistic performances of a given algorithm. A closer analysis of the results show that these differences are mainly due to physical interference among robots