236 research outputs found
Electroencephalographic and cardiovascular responses to castration in Bos indicus bull calves and the mitigating effects of lidocaine or meloxicam administration
Australian Bos indicus cattle are legally able to be castrated without anaesthesia or analgesia up to the age of 12 months. Castration surgery is known to cause pain to cattle, though a reliable and consistent assessment of pain must be first optimised before analgesic therapies can be tested for this procedure. Studies in conscious cattle have demonstrated the difficulty in isolating pain responses from the stress of handling and human contact.
This study aimed to investigate electroencephalographic and cardiovascular responses indicative of nociception in Bos indicus bull calves undergoing surgical castration whilst under general anaesthesia. Further, the mitigating effects of administration of local anaesthetic or systemic meloxicam on these electroencephalographic and cardiovascular responses were investigated.
A total of 36 six-to-eight month old Bos indicus bull calves were included in this prospective, randomised, experimental study. Animals were randomly allocated to three groups of twelve (groups L â 260 mg of 2% lidocaine subcutaneously and intratesticularly five minutes prior to castration, M - 0.5 mg kg-1 of meloxicam subcutaneously 30 minutes prior to castration and C â no preoperative analgesia administered). Anaesthesia was induced and maintained with halothane (0.9-1.1%) in oxygen. Electroencephalogram, heart rate (HR) and mean blood pressure (MAP) were recorded for 300 seconds prior to (baseline, B) and from the start of surgery (first testicle incision, T1). HR and MAP were compared at ten-second intervals for 90 seconds from the start of T1. Median frequency (F50), spectral edge frequency (F95) and total power of the electroencephalograph (Ptot) were analysed using area-under-the-curve comparing T1 to B.
All electroencephalographic variables were significantly different between B and T1. No differences in F50 were found between groups during T1. F95 and Ptot were significantly different between group L and groups C and M during T1. There were transient significant changes in HR and MAP in groups L and M compared to group C during the 20-50 second periods.
This study is the first description of electroencephalographic and cardiovascular responses to castration in Bos indicus cattle, and the effect of two different analgesic strategies in reducing these responses. Administration of lidocaine prior to castration significantly attenuated the acute post-operative nociceptive response. In addition, the preoperative administration of meloxicam attenuated the cardiovascular, but not the electroencephalographic, responses to castration in the peracute period. These findings provide support for the preoperative administration of lidocaine and give impetus for further research into the peracute anti-nociceptive effects of meloxicam for castration in Bos indicus bull calves
Electrical control of spins and giant g-factors in ring-like coupled quantum dots
Emerging theoretical concepts for quantum technologies have driven a
continuous search for structures where a quantum state, such as spin, can be
manipulated efficiently. Central to many concepts is the ability to control a
system by electric and magnetic fields, relying on strong spin-orbit
interaction and a large g-factor. Here, we present a new mechanism for spin and
orbital manipulation using small electric and magnetic fields. By hybridizing
specific quantum dot states at two points inside InAs nanowires, nearly perfect
quantum rings form. Large and highly anisotropic effective g-factors are
observed, explained by a strong orbital contribution. Importantly, we find that
the orbital and spin-orbital contributions can be efficiently quenched by
simply detuning the individual quantum dot levels with an electric field. In
this way, we demonstrate not only control of the effective g-factor from 80 to
almost 0 for the same charge state, but also electrostatic change of the ground
state spin
Men's and women's experiences of violence and traumatic events in rural Cote d'Ivoire before, during and after a period of armed conflict.
OBJECTIVE: We assessed men's and women's experiences of gender based violence and other traumatic events in CĂ´te d'Ivoire, a West African conflict-affected setting, before, during and after a period of active armed conflict (2000-2007). DESIGN: Cross-sectional, household survey. SETTING: 12 rural communities directly impacted by the Crisis in CĂ´te d'Ivoire, spanning regions controlled by government forces, rebels and UN peacekeepers in 2008. PARTICIPANTS: 2678 men and women aged 15-49 years. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Violence exposures measured since age 15. Questions included intimate partner physical and sexual violence; physical and sexual violence by others (including combatants) and exposure to traumatic events before, during and after the Crisis period (2000-2007). RESULTS: Physical and/or sexual violence since age 15 was reported by 57.1% women and 40.2% men (p=0.01); 29.9% women and 12.3% men reported exposure to any violence in the past year. Nearly 1 in 10 women (9.9%) and 5.9% men (p=0.03) were forced to have sex by a non-partner since age 15, and 14.8% women and 3.3% men (p=0.00) reported their first sexual experience was forced. Combatants were rarely reported as sexual violence perpetrators (0.3% women). After the Crisis, intimate partner physical violence was the most frequently reported form of violence and highest among women (20.9% women, 9.9% men, p=0.00). Fearing for their life was reported by men and women before, during and after the Crisis. CONCLUSIONS: Sexual violence in conflict remains a critical international policy concern. However, men and women experience different types of violence before, during and after conflict. In many conflict settings, other forms of violence, including intimate partner violence, may be more widespread than conflict-related sexual violence. Alongside service provision for rape survivors, our findings underscore the need for postconflict reconstruction efforts to invest in programmes to prevent and respond to intimate partner violence and trauma
Adverse articulation: Third countries in China-Australia student migration during COVID-19
Southeast Asian countries were articulated with the Australia-China value chain for educational services early in the COVID-19 outbreak, when travelers from China could enter Australia only via stopovers in third countries. The routes, advertised by migration brokers, allowed Australia to externalize risk of infection while profiting from international student mobility.The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Haugenâs research for this commentary has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Unionâs Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 802070)
Accurate quantification of selenoproteins in human plasma/serum by isotope dilution ICP-MS : focus on selenoprotein P
Acknowledgements The research leading to these results was funded by the EMRP Joint Research Project âMetrology for metalloproteinsâ (HLT-05 2012). The EMRP is jointly funded by the EMRP participating countries within EURAMET and the European Union.Peer reviewedPostprin
Women's perceptions of effects of war on intimate partner violence and gender roles in two post-conflict West African Countries: Consequences and unexpected opportunities
Background
The aim of this paper is to explore women's perceptions of the causes of intimate partner violence (IPV) in West Africa, and the ways in which they understand these causes to interact with the experiences of war.
Methods
The study was conducted in two locations in Sierra Leone and two in Liberia, using focus group discussions (N groups =14) and individual interviews (N-=-20).
Results
Women perceive the causes of IPV to be linked with other difficulties faced by women in these settings, including their financial dependence on men, traditional gender expectations and social changes that took place during and after the wars in those countries. According to respondents, the wars increased the use of violence by some men, as violence became for them a normal way of responding to frustrations and challenges. However, the war also resulted in women becoming economically active, which was said by some to have decreased IPV, as the pressure on men to provide for their families reduced. Economic independence, together with services provided by NGOs, also gave women the option of leaving a violent relationship.
Conclusions
IPV was found to be a significant problem for women in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
The interactions between war experiences and financial and cultural issues are multi-faceted and not uniformly positive or negative.sch_iih8 [12]pub3561pu
Measuring the incidence and reporting of violence against women and girls in liberia using the 'neighborhood method'
Background
This paper reports on the use of a neighborhood method- to measure the nature and incidence of violence against women and girls in post-conflict Liberia.
Methods
The study population comprised females in Montserrado and Nimba counties. Study participants were randomly selected for interviews using multi-stage cluster sampling. 30 clusters of households were sampled in each county. Information on incidents of domestic violence and rape within the preceding 18 months was collected with regard to females of all ages in the respondent's household, and those of her four closest neighbors to make up the full sample.
Findings
Households in the sample contained 7015 females (1687 girls, 4586 women, 742 age missing) in Montserrado and 6632 (2070 girls, 4167 women, 95 age missing) in Nimba. In the previous 18 months 54.1% (CI 53.1-55.1) and 55.8% (CI 54.8-56.8) of females in Montserrado and Nimba respectively were indicated to have experienced non-sexual domestic abuse; 19.4% (CI 18.6-20.2) and 26.0% (CI 25.1-26.9) of females in Montserrado and Nimba respectively to have been raped outside of marriage; and 72.3% (CI 70.7-73.9) and 73.8% (CI 72.0-75.7) of married or separated women in Montserrado and Nimba respectively to have experienced marital rape. Husbands and boyfriends were reported as the perpetrators of the vast majority of reported violence. Strangers were reported to account for less than 2% of the perpetrators of rape in either county. Incidents were most commonly disclosed to other family members or to friends and neighbors, and less often to formal authorities such as the police, court or community leaders. Incidents were approaching fifty times more likely to be reported to police if perpetrated by strangers rather than intimate partners.
Conclusions
Violence against women and girls is widespread in the areas studied. Programming needs to address the fact that this violence is primarily occurring in the household, where most incidents go unreported outside the immediate family or social circle. Police and hospital reports severely under-represent these known perpetrators. Inter-interviewer variance and differences in reports for self and neighbors for some outcomes caution the precision and validity of some estimates. However, the potential utility of the neighborhood method for estimating prevalence rates with an accuracy suitable for programmatic purposes in conflict-affected and post-conflict settings is noted.sch_iih7pub4055pub
The effect of marker types and density on genomic prediction and GWAS of key performance traits in tetraploid potato
Genomic prediction and genome-wide association studies are becoming widely employed in potato key performance trait QTL identifications and to support potato breeding using genomic selection. Elite cultivars are tetraploid and highly heterozygous but also share many common ancestors and generation-spanning inbreeding events, resulting from the clonal propagation of potatoes through seed potatoes. Consequentially, many SNP markers are not in a 1:1 relationship with a single allele variant but shared over several alleles that might exert varying effects on a given trait. The impact of such redundant âdilutedâ predictors on the statistical models underpinning genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and genomic prediction has scarcely been evaluated despite the potential impact on model accuracy and performance. We evaluated the impact of marker location, marker type, and marker density on the genomic prediction and GWAS of five key performance traits in tetraploid potato (chipping quality, dry matter content, length/width ratio, senescence, and yield). A 762-offspring panel of a diallel cross of 18 elite cultivars was genotyped by sequencing, and markers were annotated according to a reference genome. Genomic prediction models (GBLUP) were trained on four marker subsets [non-synonymous (29,553 SNPs), synonymous (31,229), non-coding (32,388), and a combination], and robustness to marker reduction was investigated. Single-marker regression GWAS was performed for each trait and marker subset. The best cross-validated prediction correlation coefficients of 0.54, 0.75, 0.49, 0.35, and 0.28 were obtained for chipping quality, dry matter content, length/width ratio, senescence, and yield, respectively. The trait prediction abilities were similar across all marker types, with only non-synonymous variants improving yield predictive ability by 16%. Marker reduction response did not depend on marker type but rather on trait. Traits with high predictive abilities, e.g., dry matter content, reached a plateau using fewer markers than traits with intermediate-low correlations, such as yield. The predictions were unbiased across all traits, marker types, and all marker densities >100 SNPs. Our results suggest that using non-synonymous variants does not enhance the performance of genomic prediction of most traits. The major known QTLs were identified by GWAS and were reproducible across exonic and whole-genome variant sets for dry matter content, length/width ratio, and senescence. In contrast, minor QTL detection was marker type dependent
Genomic prediction of starch content and chipping quality in tetraploid potato using genotyping-by-sequencing
peer-reviewedGenomic prediction models for starch content and chipping quality show promising results, suggesting that genomic selection is a feasible breeding strategy in tetraploid potato. Genomic selection uses genome-wide molecular markers to predict performance of individuals and allows selections in the absence of direct phenotyping. It is regarded as a useful tool to accelerate genetic gain in breeding programs, and is becoming increasingly viable for crops as genotyping costs continue to fall. In this study, we have generated genomic prediction models for starch content and chipping quality in tetraploid potato to facilitate varietal development. Chipping quality was evaluated as the colour of a potato chip after frying following cold induced sweetening. We used genotyping-by-sequencing to genotype 762 offspring, derived from a population generated from biparental crosses of 18 tetraploid parents. Additionally, 74 breeding clones were genotyped, representing a test panel for model validation. We generated genomic prediction models from 171,859 single-nucleotide polymorphisms to calculate genomic estimated breeding values. Cross-validated prediction correlations of 0.56 and 0.73 were obtained within the training population for starch content and chipping quality, respectively, while correlations were lower when predicting performance in the test panel, at 0.30-0.31 and 0.42-0.43, respectively. Predictions in the test panel were slightly improved when including representatives from the test panel in the training population but worsened when preceded by marker selection. Our results suggest that genomic prediction is feasible, however, the extremely high allelic diversity of tetraploid potato necessitates large training populations to efficiently capture the genetic diversity of elite potato germplasm and enable accurate prediction across the entire spectrum of elite potatoes. Nonetheless, our results demonstrate that GS is a promising breeding strategy for tetraploid potato.The Danish Council of Strategic Researc
Objective measures for the assessment of post-operative pain in bos indicus bull calves following castration
The aim of the study was to assess pain in Bos indicus bull calves following surgical castration. Forty-two animals were randomised to four groups: no castration (NC, n = 6); castration with pre-operative lidocaine (CL, n = 12); castration with pre-operative meloxicam (CM, n = 12); and, castration alone (C, n = 12). Bodyweight was measured regularly and pedometers provided data on activity and rest from day â7 (7 days prior to surgery) to 13. Blood was collected for the measurement of serum amyloid A (SAA), haptoglobin, fibrinogen, and iron on days 0, 3 and 6. Bodyweight and pedometry data were analysed with a mixed effect model. The blood results were analysed with repeated measure one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). There was no treatment effect on bodyweight or activity. The duration of rest was greatest in the CM group and lowest in the C group. There was a significant increase in the concentrations of SAA, haptoglobin, and fibrinogen in all of the groups from day 0 to 3. Iron concentrations were not different at the time points it was measured. The results of this study suggest that animals rest for longer periods after the pre-operative administration of meloxicam. The other objective assessments measured in this study were not able to consistently differentiate between treatment groups
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