Northern Ireland: how will the political stalemate end, and will there be a referendum to leave the UK?

Is Northern Ireland likely to have no government for the forseeable future? Will direct rule from London be implemented? And are demands for a referendum on leaving the UK and uniting with the Republic of Ireland becoming harder to resist in the context of Brexit? John Garry gives an overview of how events could unfold

The effect of phase-feeding on the growth performance, carcass characteristics and nitrogen balance of growing and finishing pigs.

peer-reviewedA completely randomised design experiment was conducted to determine if grouphoused grower-finisher pigs (43.9 to 95 kg) show differences in performance and nitrogen utilisation when provided with a single high lysine diet (11 g/kg) or with a mean lysine concentration of 9.5 g/kg, either as a single diet or as a series of two or four diets. Four hundred and forty pigs were assigned to four dietary treatments. The experimental treatments were (total lysine) (1) 11 g lysine/kg from day 0 to slaughter (SHD) (2) 10.5 g/kg lysine from day 0 to day 28 and 8.5 g/kg lysine from day 29 to slaughter (DFD) (3) 9.5 g/kg lysine from day 0 to slaughter (RFD) and (4) 11 g/kg lysine from day 0 to day 14, 10 g/kg lysine from day 14 to day 28, 9.0 g/kg lysine from day 28 to day 42 and 8.0 g/kg lysine from day 42 to slaughter (PFD). The estimated lysine concentration required for treatments RFD, DFD and PFD was 9.5 g/kg for group-housed pigs. All diets were pelleted and formulated to have a net energy concentration of 9.8 MJ/kg. The pigs were group fed in mixed-sex pens using single space feeders (11 pigs/feeder, 6 boars and 5 gilts). Daily feed intake was lower (P < 0.05) in treatment SHD in comparison to RFD and DFD during the overall grower-finisher period (2.08 vs 2.18 and 2.23 kg/day, respectively). Lysine conversion ratio was poorer for pigs on treatment SHD compared with DFD (P < 0.01), RFD (P < 0.01) or PFD (P < 0.001), while food conversion ratio was better for pigs on treatment SHD compared with treatments DFD (P < 0.01) and PFD (P < 0.001) during the grower-finisher period (2.31 vs 2.43 and 2.48 kg/kg, respectively). N intake and excretion were higher (P < 0.001) for pigs offered SHD compared to all other treatments (3.93 vs 3.51, 3.42, 3.40 kg and 2.56 vs 2.14, 2.03, 2.10 kg for SHD vs DFD RFD and PFD for intake and excretion, respectively). N utilisation coefficient was lower for pigs on treatment SHD than pigs on treatments DFD (P < 0.01), RFD (P < 0.001) or PFD (P < 0.01). In conclusion, phase feeding did not result in any benefit to pig performance, N excretion, N utilisation or carcass characteristics when compared with a single diet that was formulated to match the animal’s requirement for lysine (treatment RFD)

Pricing-to-market in NSW rice export markets

The Ricegrowers’ Cooperative Limited is a single‐desk seller of NSW Japonica rice on the export market. Confidential monthly price data supplied by the Cooperative were used to examine ‘pricing‐to‐market’ in four of its major export markets. The hypothesis of a competitive market was rejected. The Cooperative has been able to vary mark‐ups over different markets and with respect to the importer’s currency in each market. The exchange rate results in particular suggest that the Cooperative has been able to exercise market power to obtain price premiums.Crop Production/Industries, International Relations/Trade,

In vitro determination of hemoglobin A1c for diabetes diagnosis and management: technology update

It is fascinating to consider the analytical improvements that have occurred since glycated hemoglobin was first used in routine clinical laboratories for diabetes monitoring around 1977; at that time methods displayed poor precision, there were no calibrators or material with assayed values for quality control purposes. This review outlines the major improvements in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) measurement that have occurred since its introduction, and reflects on the increased importance of this hemoglobin fraction in the monitoring of glycemic control. The use of HbA1c as a diagnostic tool is discussed in addition to its use in monitoring the patient with diabetes; the biochemistry of HbA1c formation is described, and how these changes to the hemoglobin molecule have been used to develop methods to measure this fraction. Standardization of HbA1c is described in detail; the development of the IFCC Reference Measurement Procedure for HbA1c has enabled global standardization to be achieved which has allowed global targets to be set for glycemic control and diagnosis. The importance of factors that may interfere in the measurement of HbA1c are highlighted