The effect of mixing entire male pigs prior to transport to slaughter on behaviour, welfare and carcass lesions

peer-reviewedData set for article is also provided.Research is needed to validate lesions recorded at meat inspection as indicators of pig welfare on farm. The aims were to determine the influence of mixing pigs on carcass lesions and to establish whether such lesions correlate with pig behaviour and lesions scored on farm. Aggressive and mounting behaviour of pigs in three single sex pens was recorded on Day −5, −2, and −1 relative to slaughter (Day 0). On Day 0 pigs were randomly allocated to 3 treatments (n = 20/group) over 5 replicates: males mixed with females (MF), males mixed with males (MM), and males unmixed (MUM). Aggressive and mounting behaviours were recorded on Day 0 at holding on farm and lairage. Skin/tail lesions were scored according to severity at the farm (Day −1), lairage, and on the carcass (Day 0). Effect of treatment and time on behaviour and lesions were analysed by mixed models. Spearman rank correlations between behaviour and lesion scores and between scores recorded at different stages were determined. In general, MM performed more aggressive behaviour (50.4 ± 10.72) than MUM (20.3 ± 9.55, P < 0.05) and more mounting (30.9 ± 9.99) than MF (11.4 ± 3.76) and MUM (9.8 ± 3.74, P < 0.05). Skin lesion scores increased between farm (Day −1) and lairage (P < 0.001), but this tended to be significant only for MF and MM (P = 0.08). There was no effect of treatment on carcass lesions and no associations were found with fighting/mounting. Mixing entire males prior to slaughter stimulated mounting and aggressive behaviour but did not influence carcass lesion scores. Carcass skin/tail lesions scores were correlated with scores recorded on farm (rskin = 0.21 and rtail = 0.18, P < 0.01) suggesting that information recorded at meat inspection could be used as indicators of pig welfare on farm.This study was part of the PIGWELFIND project funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Ireland

Coral Disease and Health Workshop: Coral Histopathology II

The health and continued existence of coral reef ecosystems are threatened by an increasing array of environmental and anthropogenic impacts. Coral disease is one of the prominent causes of increased mortality among reefs globally, particularly in the Caribbean. Although over 40 different coral diseases and syndromes have been reported worldwide, only a few etiological agents have been confirmed; most pathogens remain unknown and the dynamics of disease transmission, pathogenicity and mortality are not understood. Causal relationships have been documented for only a few of the coral diseases, while new syndromes continue to emerge. Extensive field observations by coral biologists have provided substantial documentation of a plethora of new pathologies, but our understanding, however, has been limited to descriptions of gross lesions with names reflecting these observations (e.g., black band, white band, dark spot). To determine etiology, we must equip coral diseases scientists with basic biomedical knowledge and specialized training in areas such as histology, cell biology and pathology. Only through combining descriptive science with mechanistic science and employing the synthesis epizootiology provides will we be able to gain insight into causation and become equipped to handle the pending crisis. One of the critical challenges faced by coral disease researchers is to establish a framework to systematically study coral pathologies drawing from the field of diagnostic medicine and pathology and using generally accepted nomenclature. This process began in April 2004, with a workshop titled Coral Disease and Health Workshop: Developing Diagnostic Criteria co-convened by the Coral Disease and Health Consortium (CDHC), a working group organized under the auspices of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, and the International Registry for Coral Pathology (IRCP). The workshop was hosted by the U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) in Madison, Wisconsin and was focused on gross morphology and disease signs observed in the field. A resounding recommendation from the histopathologists participating in the workshop was the urgent need to develop diagnostic criteria that are suitable to move from gross observations to morphological diagnoses based on evaluation of microscopic anatomy. (PDF contains 92 pages

Solar and atmospheric neutrino oscillations with three flavours

We analyze the solar and the atmospheric neutrino problems in the context of three flavour neutrino oscillations. We assume a mass hierarchy in the vacuum mass eigenvalues $\mu_3^2 \gg \mu_2^2 \geq \mu_1^2$, but make no approximation regarding the magnitudes of the mixing angles. We find that there are small but continuous bands in the parameter space where the constraints imposed by the current measurements of $\ {}^{71} Ga$, ${}^{37} Cl$ and Kamiokande experiments are satisfied at $1 \sigma$ level. The allowed parameter space increases dramatically if the error bars are enlarged to $1.6 \sigma$. The electron neutrino survival probability has different energy dependence in different regions of the parameter space. Measurement of the recoil electron energy spectrum in detectors that use $\nu - e$ scattering may distinguish between some of the allowed regions of parameter space. Finally we use the results for the parameter space admitted by the solar neutrinos as an input for the atmospheric neutrino problem and show that there exists a substantial region of parameter space in which both problems can be solved.Comment: 25 pages plus eight figures. Uses Revtex. Postcript files for figures sent separately as a uuencoded fil

Common Origin for the Solar and Atmospheric Neutrino Deficits

Some typos corrected, slightly different abstract, same plots, results and conclusions.Comment: 14 Latex pages, 3 figures attached as postscript files, IFP-472-UNC, PRL-TH-93/1

Demonstration of integrated microscale optics in surface-electrode ion traps

In ion trap quantum information processing, efficient fluorescence collection is critical for fast, high-fidelity qubit detection and ion-photon entanglement. The expected size of future many-ion processors require scalable light collection systems. We report on the development and testing of a microfabricated surface-electrode ion trap with an integrated high numerical aperture (NA) micromirror for fluorescence collection. When coupled to a low NA lens, the optical system is inherently scalable to large arrays of mirrors in a single device. We demonstrate stable trapping and transport of 40Ca+ ions over a 0.63 NA micromirror and observe a factor of 1.9 enhancement in photon collection compared to the planar region of the trap.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figure

The barocaloric effect: A Spin-off of the Discovery of High-Temperature Superconductivity

Some key results obtained in joint research projects with Alex M\"uller are summarized, concentrating on the invention of the barocaloric effect and its application for cooling as well as on important findings in the field of high-temperature superconductivity resulting from neutron scattering experiments.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figure

Constraints on Three-Neutrino Mixing from Atmospheric and Reactor Data

Observations of atmospheric neutrinos are usually analyzed using the simplifying approximation that either $\nu_\mu \leftrightarrow \nu_\tau$ or $\nu_e \leftrightarrow \nu_\mu$ two-flavor mixing is relevant. Here we instead consider the data using the simplifying approximation that only one neutrino mass scale is relevant. This approximation is the minimal three-flavor notation that includes the two relevant two-flavor approximations. The constraints in the parameter space orthogonal to the usual, two-flavor analyses are studied.Comment: 15 pages, preprint IUHET-26

Element-Specific Magnetic Properties of Co2MnSi Thin Films

Co2MnSi thin films were grown on Al2O3 (a plane) and GaAs (001) substrates and on thin silicon nitride windows using pulsed laser deposition. Angle-dependent magneto-optic Kerr effect measurements reveal both a uniaxial and a fourfold magnetocrystalline anisotropy for films grown on GaAs (001). X-ray magnetic circular dichroism spectra were measured at the L2,3 edges of the thin films as a function of aluminum cap layer thickness, and transmission mode L2,3 x-ray absorption through a 1000-Å Co2MnSi film grown on a silicon nitride membrane were measured, indicating that deviations from metalliclike spectra are likely due oxidation or contamination. Element-specific moments for Co and Mn were calculated from the X-ray magnetic circular dichroism data of a nonoxidized film