Qualitative Behavioural Assessment of Bos indicus cattle after surgical castration

There are various methods to perform castration of cattle, but surgical castration is the most common. Although it is well documented that surgical procedures inflict pain, analgesic use is usually omitted for surgical castration of production animals in Australia. This study compares the behavioural responses of castrated cattle (C) with non-castrated (NC) controls, and C with those castrated and given lignocaine and meloxicam (CLM) for analgesia. Brahman bull calves (n = 8 for each treatment) were filmed in the morning pre- (day -1) and post- (day +1) castration in the paddock and feed yard (‘context’ of observation). Over four sessions, volunteer observers viewed the video footage for Qualitative Behaviour Analysis (QBA) using the Free Choice Profiling methodology comparing C and NC cattle, and C and CLM cattle under both contexts. The QBA consensus profiles explained 37.4% (C vs. NC) and 40.6% (C vs. CLM) of variation among observers for paddock sessions and 34.7% (C vs. NC) and 38.7% (C vs. CLM) for feed yard sessions. Significant treatment x day interaction effects were recorded in the paddock (P = 0.007 and P < 0.001) and yard (P =  0.004 and P =  0.025) contexts for comparisons between NC vs C, and C vs CLM respectively. Compared to NC, post-castration C cattle were described as more ‘bored’/’lethargic’ and ‘alone’ (paddock) and were more ‘calm’/’relaxed’ and ‘relaxed’/’lonely’ (yard). Similarly, compared to CLM, post-castration C cattle were described as more ‘docile’/’chilled’ and ‘curious’/’aware’ (paddock) and were less ‘hungry’/’alert’ (yard). There was only one correlation between qualitative and quantitative behaviour scoring; ruminating showed significant correlation with one dimension in each context, that reflected a positive emotion (‘calm, relaxed’). The comparison between C vs. NC suggest that C were less active and less engaged with their environment compared to the NC group following castration. The C vs. CLM comparison suggests a more subtle response whereby analgesia was associated with more positive valence (higher scores on ‘calm/comfortable’, and ‘hungry/alert’ dimensions) following castration. The interpretation of findings requires careful consideration of the emotional responses given these calves were unhabituated and reactive to their surroundings. These results suggest the body language of Bos indicus cattle may reveal indicators of pain, and that the administration of analgesia may be beneficial at the time of castration. The study highlights the complexities and challenges of identifying pain responses in Brahman cattle

Adjuvant high-dose medroxyprogesterone acetate for early breast cancer: 13 years update in a multicentre randomized trial

The authors updated their report on a randomized trial initiated in 1982 comparing, in early breast cancer, high-dose IM Medroxyprogesterone acetate (HD-MPA) adjuvant hormonotherapy during 6 months with no hormonotherapy; node-positive patients also received 6 courses of IV CMF (day 1, day 8; q.4 weeks). 246 node-negative (NN) and 270 node-positive (NP) patients had been followed for a median duration of 13 years. Previous results were confirmed in this analysis on mature data. In NN patients, relapse-free survival (RFS) was improved in the adjuvant hormonotherapy arm, regardless of age while overall survival (OAS) was also increased in younger (less then 50 years) patients. In the whole group of NP patients, no difference was seen regarding RFS or OAS. However, an age-dependant opposite effect was observed: younger patients (< 50) experienced a worse and significant outcome of relapse-free and overall survivals when receiving adjuvant HD-MPA while older patients (> = 50) enjoyed a significant improvement of their relapse-free survival. For both NN and NP patients, differences in overall survivals observed in older women with a shorter follow-up, were no longer detected. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.co

Nature of conduction in doped silicon

Via ultrafast optoelectronic THz techniques, we are able to test alternative theories of conduction by precisely measuring the complex conductivity of doped silicon from low frequencies to frequencies higher than the plasma frequency and the carrier damping rate. These results, obtained for both n and p-type samples, spanning a range of more than 2 orders of magnitude in the carrier density, do not fit any standard theory. We only find agreement over the full frequency range with the complex conductivity given by a Cole-Davidson type distribution applied here for the first time to a crystalline semiconductor, and thereby demonstrate that fractal conductivity is not just found in disordered material.Peer reviewedElectrical and Computer Engineerin

Carrier dynamics of electrons and holes in moderately doped silicon

A time-domain spectroscopic technique, based on the generation and detection of a collimated beam of subpicosecond broadband terahertz pulses, is used to measure the absorption and dispersion of n- and p-type silicon, with resistivities of 0.1, 1, and 10 Ohm-cm in the submillimeter range of 0.1-2 THz. From the transmission measurements performed at room temperature and at 80 K, the absorption and dispersion, and concomitantly the full complex conductivity, of the doped silicon could be obtained. The results provide an accurate view on the dynamics of the electrons and the holes. Although the simple Drude model, with an energy-independent relaxation time, gives a surprisingly accurate description of the observed carrier dynamics, the measurements do show that some refinements are needed. An extended model, with an energy-dependent carrier-relaxation rate, can explain most of the observed deviations from the simple Drude model.Peer reviewedElectrical and Computer Engineerin

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptor 1-IIIb is a naturally occurring functional receptor for FGFs that is preferentially expressed in the skin and the brain

International audienceFibroblast growth factors (FGFs) transmit their signals through four transmembrane receptors that are designated FGFR1-4. Alternative splicing in the extracellular region of FGFR1-3 generates receptor variants with different ligand binding affinities. Thus two types of transmembrane receptors (IIIb and IIIc isoforms) have been identified for FGFR2 and FGFR3, and the existence of analogous variants has been postulated for FGFR1 based on its genomic structure. However, only a single full-length transmembrane FGFR1 variant (FGFR1-IIIc) has been identified so far. Here we describe the cloning of a full-length cDNA encoding FGFR1-IIIb from a mouse skin wound cDNA library. This receptor isoform was expressed at the highest levels in a subset of sebaceous glands of the skin and in neurons of the hippocampus and the cerebellum. FGFR1-IIIb was expressed in L6 rat skeletal muscle myoblasts and used in cross-linking and receptor binding studies. FGF-1 was found to bind the receptor with high affinity, whereas FGF-2, -10, and -7 bound with significantly lower affinities. Despite their apparently similar but low affinities, FGF-10 but not FGF-7 induced the activation of p44/42 mitogen-activated protein kinase in FGFR1-IIIb-expressing L6 myoblasts and stimulated mitogenesis in these cells, demonstrating that this new receptor variant is a functional transmembrane receptor for FGF-10