Impact of carprofen administration on stress and nociception responses of calves to cautery dehorning

Citation: Stock, M. L., Barth, L. A., Van Engen, N. K., Millman, S. T., Gehring, R., Wang, C., . . . Coetzee, J. F. (2016). Impact of carprofen administration on stress and nociception responses of calves to cautery dehorning. Journal of Animal Science, 94(2), 542-555. doi:10.2527/jas2015-9510The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of carprofen administered immediately before cautery dehorning on nociception and stress. Forty Holstein calves aged approximately 6 to 8 wk old were either placebo treated and sham dehorned (n = 10) or cautery dehorned following administration of carprofen (1.4 mg/kg) subcutaneously (n = 10) or orally (n = 10) or a subcutaneous and oral placebo (n = 10) in a randomized, controlled trial. All animals were given a cornual nerve block using lidocaine before dehorning. Response variables including mechanical nociception threshold, ocular temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate were measured before and following cautery dehorning for 96 h. Blood samples were also collected over 96 h following dehorning and analyzed for plasma cortisol and substance P concentrations by RIA. Plasma carprofen concentration and ex vivo PGE2 concentrations were also determined for this time period. Average daily gain was calculated for 7 d after dehorning. Data were analyzed using a linear mixed effects model with repeated measures, controlling for baseline values by their inclusion as a covariate in addition to planned contrasts. Dehorning was associated with decreased nociception thresholds throughout the study and a stress response immediately after dehorning, following the loss of local anesthesia, and 48 h after dehorning compared with sham-dehorned calves. Carprofen was well absorbed after administration and reached concentrations that inhibited ex vivo PGE2 concentrations for 72 h (subcutaneous) and 96 h (oral) compared with placebo-treated calves (P < 0.05). Carprofen-treated calves tended to be less sensitive (P = 0.097) to nociceptive threshold tests. Overall, at the dosing regimen studied, the effect of carprofen on sensitivity and stress following cautery dehorning was minimal. Consideration of route of administration and dose determination studies may be warranted

Post COVID Foundation Biology through Interactive Online Learning

The rapid migration of courses from blended teaching to a fully online learning environment during the COVID-19 pandemic required the timely development of new, online teaching resources and re-imagined strategies, to teach practical skills to university students. The move to deliver content that was fully online challenged the assumptions and conventions about the use of face-to-face classes, especially in STEM disciplines that rely on experiential learning. This critical review uses case studies to describe the innovations that were used to adapt undergraduate, first year (foundation) biology courses which were previously delivered using a blended learning pedagogy to a fully online format. In doing so, the opportunities to enhance traditionally practical based activities have also been considered. Future innovations for blended learning, however, require inherent properties and capacity of technologies to support aligned learning tasks. &#13; Reflections on the crisis response to learning however, act as a catalyst for educational change towards more flexible models and practices in future interconnected learning environments

The effects of mild prenatal stress during mid- and late-pregnancy, on lamb vigour traits

The datasets include data gathered on both pregnant ewes and newborn lambs.&#13; In pregnant ewes we collected, health checks and blood samples which were analysed for glucose and lactate before and after the stress treatments.&#13; In newborn lambs we collected data relating to vigour traits such as body dimensions, reactivity during a behaviour test and body surface temperature using IRT during a cold challenge

The effects of mild prenatal stress during mid- and late-pregnancy, on lamb vigour traits

Shearing during pregnancy has been shown to increase lamb birthweight but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. This thesis aims to examine the effects of prenatal husbandry-like and cold stressors during mid- (pregnancy day 85–95) and late-pregnancy (pregnancy day 120–130) on lamb vigour traits. The long-term effects of prenatal mild stress on lamb vigour traits were assessed using lamb growth and body dimensions, neonatal behaviour and reactivity after a cold challenge and the lamb’s thermoregulatory abilities when exposed to cold. Maternal glucose response to the stressors and lamb metabolic responses were also examined. It was hypothesized that increased birthweights were a result of a maternal stress response to the husbandry-like stressors involved with shearing, particularly handling, and/or the subsequent cold exposure of shearing. It was also hypothesized that this maternal stress response would impact on lamb vigour traits such as behaviour and thermoregulation. This thesis examined the effects of a range of mild stressors commonly experienced by ewes during husbandry procedures during mid-pregnancy (pregnancy day 85–95) or during late-pregnancy (pregnancy day 120–130) such as yarding, handling, shearing, transport as well as cold exposure. The effects of these stressors on lamb vigour traits were assessed using a separation test for reactivity, before and after a 1 hr separation and cold challenge and thermal imaging during the cold challenge to determine the ability of the lamb to maintain body surface temperature. Shearing during mid-pregnancy increased lamb body dimensions and weight at birth while other stressors did not, which suggests that the causal mechanisms are something other than psychological and cold stress. Cold exposure during both mid- and late-pregnancy (cold exposure and/or cold exposure resulting from shearing) negatively impacted the reactivity levels of newborn lambs by increasing their latency to bleat, stand and return to ewe during a separation test. Cold exposure combined with acute stressors in keeping with husbandry procedures resulted in improved body surface temperature maintenance in newborn lambs when exposed to cold. The presence of effects of mild stressors for both stages of pregnancy on all three lamb vigour traits tested, suggests a number of alternate mechanisms are triggered by maternal-pregnancy stress impacting foetal development. Understanding how to modulate these effects could allow flock management to be modified to improve lamb survival

Student response to a multi-topic kitchen practical experience in undergraduate core biology

Development and deployment of innovative teaching materials and teaching methods are required by the university sector to maintain its relevance in a competitive and rapidly changing online world. In the last five years there has been an expansion in the digital marketplace for STEM online teaching materials, but these do not replace the acquisition of hands-on skills gained by students from experimentation in an on-campus laboratory. Further, there is a paucity of peer reviewed studies defining the efficacy of at home practical options which must be determined before these teaching innovations become adopted by the sector. The fully online restrictions imposed during COVID-19, provided an opportunity to assess the student perceptions and the effectiveness of potential tools for distance learning for STEM education in the future. This study provides insight into the student involvement and attitudes to online supported laboratory practicals, in a core first year biology unit. We compare the response from cohorts of typically on-campus and off-campus learning modes and review the efficacy of these lessons to improve the educational outcomes of students with access limitations to future face-to-face practical learning

Mid- and late-pregnancy ewe shearing affects lamb neonatal reactivity and vigour

Poor lamb survival is an important production and welfare issue, and the lamb must express complex behaviours to successfully transition to life ex-utero. Even under best management practices, sheep husbandry events, such as shearing, yarding and transport can be stressful for animals, and when they take place during pregnancy these stressors could possibly impact the neonate as well as the dam. This study examined the effects of some of the common stressors produced by shearing during pregnancy on neonatal lamb behaviour. Pregnant ewes were either subjected to shearing/cold stress or were handled (sham treatment), during mid- or late-pregnancy (four groups, n = 15 per group). Shorn ewes were wetted using sprinklers on three occasions the week following shearing to exacerbate the effect of cold. Neonatal lamb behaviour was assessed using a separation test and observance of lamb vigour related measures: Latency-to-Bleat; Latency-to-Stand; and Return-to-Ewe times, before and after a cold challenge at 4 °C of 1 h duration. Overall, lambs born to ewes shorn during pregnancy displayed higher Latency-to-Bleat than control lambs (P = 0.04). Mid-pregnancy shearing resulted in shorter Latency-to-Bleat than mid-pregnancy control treatment (P = 0.03). When shearing treatment was applied during late-pregnancy, lamb Return-to-Ewe time was higher than for lambs from ewes treated during mid-pregnancy which was in turn shorter than for control lambs (P = 0.006 &amp; P = 0.04). Regardless of treatment groups, single lambs exhibited higher Latency-to-stand than twin lambs (P = 0.02). Lambs reacted faster and had shorter latencies to display behaviour after a cold challenge than before (P = 0.004). It seems that prenatal stress due to shearing of ewes during pregnancy adversely impacted neonatal behaviours but improved the behavioural responses of lambs after a cold stress challenge. Overall, shearing of ewes during pregnancy affected neonatal lamb behaviour and responses to cold challenge; however, the effects varied depending on litter size and timing of shearing. Differences between treatment groups and particularly between different timing of the stress treatment suggest there may be different mechanisms impacting on neonatal behaviour. Exposure to physiological stressors during pregnancy may improve resilience to these specific stressors. Further work is required to understand the underlying mechanisms leading to the observed changes in lamb behaviour

Gamified lessons support molecular genetics education of first year biology students during COVID-19 lockdown

This study compared the associated impact of gamified molecular genetics lessons on undergraduate student grades for pre-COVID-19 blended delivery and COVID-19 online only delivery of a first-year biology course. When the molecular genetics gamified lessons were used by on- and off-campus students to support their learning, most students had successful learning outcomes in either blended or online only learning environments. In contrast, students who chose not to use these lessons had significantly greater failure rates for both the molecular biology and the genetics short answer questions in the final invigilated exams. Importantly, there was noticeable gamified lesson fatigue observed by both on- and off-campus students and therefore when incorporating gamified lessons into courses, curriculum design needs to be carefully considered. In conclusion, the use of gamified lessons was associated with significantly reduced student failure rates for molecular genetics concepts studied in a university foundational biology course

Impact of carprofen administration on stress and nociception responses of calves to cautery dehorning

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of carprofen administered immediately before cautery dehorning on nociception and stress. Forty Holstein calves aged approximately 6 to 8 wk old were either placebo treated and sham dehorned (n = 10) or cautery dehorned following administration of carprofen (1.4 mg/kg) subcutaneously (n = 10) or orally (n = 10) or a subcutaneous and oral placebo (n = 10) in a randomized, controlled trial. All animals were given a cornual nerve block using lidocaine before dehorning. Response variables including mechanical nociception threshold, ocular temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate were measured before and following cautery dehorning for 96 h. Blood samples were also collected over 96 h following dehorning and analyzed for plasma cortisol and substance P concentrations by RIA. Plasma carprofen concentration and ex vivo PGE2 concentrations were also determined for this time period. Average daily gain was calculated for 7 d after dehorning. Data were analyzed using a linear mixed effects model with repeated measures, controlling for baseline values by their inclusion as a covariate in addition to planned contrasts. Dehorning was associated with decreased nociception thresholds throughout the study and a stress response immediately after dehorning, following the loss of local anesthesia, and 48 h after dehorning compared with sham-dehorned calves. Carprofen was well absorbed after administration and reached concentrations that inhibited ex vivo PGE2 concentrations for 72 h (subcutaneous) and 96 h (oral) compared with placebo-treated calves (P P = 0.097) to nociceptive threshold tests. Overall, at the dosing regimen studied, the effect of carprofen on sensitivity and stress following cautery dehorning was minimal. Consideration of route of administration and dose determination studies may be warranted.This article is from Journal of Animal Science 94 (2016); 542, doi: 10.2527/jas2015-9510. Posted with permission.</p