Daily rhythms of body temperature around lambing in sheep measured non-invasively

Fifteen ewes had data-loggers affixed under the tail, programmed to record temperature (T) every 5 min, storing up to 72 h of data. Ewes were monitored to identify time of lambing (time 0). Lambing period lasted 5 d; thereafter seven ewes which yielded data for 24 h before and after lambing were selected. Mean T (±S.E.M.) was 39.03±0.02°C. Mean T in the 24 h preceding lambing (38.68±0.02°C) was lower than it was in the 24 h following parturition (39.38±0.03°C) (P< 0.0001). T was lower in the 12 h preceding lamb birth (38.56±0.10°C) than it was in the previous 12 h (-24 to -12, 38.76±0.02°C) (P<0.0001); thereafter, T was lowest precisely at parturition (mean T = 38.18±0.03°C) and increases rapidly and peaked (mean T = 39.70±0.04°C) 2 h after lambing. In the 12 h following delivery (39.28±0.02°C), T increased, especially in the window +12 to +24 h (39.51±0.03°C). In conclusion, T of ewes changed around parturition, with a reduction 12 h before lambing, followed by a rapid increase in the hours following parturition. The data-loggers used proved a high degree of sensitivity to detect physiological T changes, which confirmed that they are appropriate for use in sheep studies

Number of repetition after different rest intervals between static stretching and resistance training

AbstractObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of different intervals between static stretching for hip adductor, quadriceps and hamstring muscles and resistance training in repetition performance.MethodTwenty-two trained men were submitted to the 10 repetition maximum test and retest for leg extension, leg curl and hip adduction exercises. Three protocols were conducted in a randomized design – PWI: resistance training immediately after static stretching; P15: fifteen-minute rest interval between static stretching and resistance training; P30: thirty-minute rest interval between static stretching and resistance training.ResultsThe total number of repetition [(sets*repetitions)+exercises] performed under P30 (84.55±1.68) was significantly higher than P15 (79.73±1.89) and PWI (68.09±2.03), respectively. Significant differences were also found between P15 and P30.ConclusionsTherefore, 30-minute interval between static stretching and resistance exercises was needed to achieve greater repetition performance. Thus, static stretching for lower limbs may be avoided before a resistance training session

Perfiles de identidad en ovinos de raza Chamarita

publishedTomo I . Sección: Sistemas Ganaderos-Economía y Gestión. Sesión: Economía II. Ponencia nº 1

Spatial preferences and behavioural patterns of lambs during fattening in straw enriched pens

The study analyses spatial preferences and behavioural patterns of lambs during fattening in straw enriched pens. Lambs were allocated in three replicates with 12 lambs each and housed in 6x6 m pens partially divided in two equal areas with and without straw bedding. Each pen was video-recorded continuously from 8 am to 8 pm on days 1, 5, 7, 14, 21 and 28. The use of different pen areas and the behaviour of the lambs were evaluated and analysed. The use of the space was significantly higher (p<0.05) for the straw area, where there was also more resting and affiliative interactions (p<0.05). In the areas without straw, animals walked more, remained standing longer periods (p<0.05) and had more stereotypic and aggressive behaviour (p<0.05). The study demonstrated that, when given the choice between two areas with similar resources, lambs prefer straw bedding. Straw is suggested to promote affiliation improving the adaptation to the feedlot. This could be useful to convince system managers that the availability of straw is beneficial to lamb welfare

Welfare of horses from Mexico and the United States of America transported for slaughter in Mexico: Fitness profiles for transport and pre-slaughter logistics

Every year thousands of horses from Mexico and the United States of America (USA) are transported to slaughter in Mexico, but little is known about their welfare or pre-slaughter logistics. In this study, we recorded the origin, sex, age and condition of horses (121 journeys, 2648 animals) upon arrival to an abattoir in northern Mexico, including transport details. Horse welfare was measured indirectly via individual scores for body condition, coat quality, lameness, ocular and nasal discharge, as well as reactivity to a chute restraint test, all performed shortly after unloading. The average journey duration was 9.69 (±7.6) hours for horses from Mexico and 16.77 (±4.51) hours for horses from the USA (77 % of all journeys). The prevalence of ocular discharge, nasal discharge, skin wounds, lameness and diarrhoea, were 23 %, 12 %, 11 %, 9 %, 1 % (respectively) of all the horses observed, with no significant differences between Mexican and American horses (P = 0.05). During the chute test the American horses were calmer than the Mexican ones (P < 0.001), who were more restless and aggressive (P = 0.001). Likewise, vocalizations in their three variants during the restraint, neigh/whinny (P = 0.018), nicker (P < 0.001), and snort (P = 0.018), were more common in horses from Mexico. In order to help characterize fitness for transport, a two-step cluster analysis was applied using the welfare indicators, suggesting the existence of four clusters (C) evaluated on arrival at the abattoir (from good to very poor fitness): good (profile C4, n = 769, 29.1 %), average (profile C1, n = 799 horses, 30.2 %), poor (profile C3, n = 586, 22.1 %) and very poor (profile C2, n = 494, 18.6 %). In fact, the C4 best welfare group had 0% lame, 0% nasal discharge, 16.4 % ocular discharge, 7.9 % skin wounds. Instead, the C2 poorest welfare group had 45.8 % lame, 61.1 % nasal discharge, 42.8 % ocular discharge, and 19.9 % skin wounds. Results show potential for using nasal discharge, lameness and ocular discharge as key indicators of horse fitness and welfare on abattoir. The study provides detailed scientific data to help establish strategies regarding optimal days of recovery post-transport and fattening for homogenization of weights between animals of different origins, logistic planning, and optimization of logistic resources to minimize the biological cost of long-distance transport

Revisiting cattle temperament in beef cow-calf systems: Insights from farmers’ perceptions about an autochthonous breed

Understanding temperament is an important part of cattle production since undesirable temperament may cause serious problems associated with aggression, maternal care, and human safety. However, little is known about how farmers define or assess temperament, especially in autochthonous cattle breeds. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions of farmers about the temperament of the Pyrenean cattle breed with special attention to beef cow-calf systems in Spain. The methodology used to obtain the information was focus group discussions (FGD). Farmers defined temperament as a behavioural response to challenging situations imposed by human handling. Specific terms used were related to active or passive reactions to fear (e.g., “strong”, “aggressive”, “nervous”, “fearful”). The speed of response to stimuli was also important. Female temperament was thought to become more docile with age while bull temperament was more variable. Maternal aggressiveness was highlighted as a potential human safety problem, but also desirable in an extensively bred animal who may need to defend calves against predators. Anatomical characteristics were seen as unreliable predictors of temperament, while behavioural indicators were more widely used, such as “alertness”, which was a general trait of the breed, and “gaze”, which, when associated with an alert expression, suggests a potential threat. Sensory acuity, such as sight and smell, were thought to be related with temperament in some FGDs but there was no overall agreement as to whether different behavioural responses were due to differences in sensory acuity. The results from the study could be useful during training programs or in the development of new genetic selection schemes and evaluation protocols involving cattle temperament

Overexpression of miRNA-25-3p inhibits Notch1 signaling and TGF-β-induced collagen expression in hepatic stellate cells

During chronic liver injury hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), the principal source of extracellular matrix in the fibrotic liver, transdifferentiate into pro-fibrotic myofibroblast-like cells - a process potentially regulated by microRNAs (miRNAs). Recently, we found serum miRNA-25-3p (miR-25) levels were upregulated in children with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) without liver disease, compared to children with CF-associated liver disease and healthy individuals. Here we examine the role of miR-25 in HSC biology. MiR-25 was detected in the human HSC cell line LX-2 and in primary murine HSCs, and increased with culture-induced activation. Transient overexpression of miR-25 inhibited TGF-β and its type 1 receptor (TGFBR1) mRNA expression, TGF-β-induced Smad2 phosphorylation and subsequent collagen1α1 induction in LX-2 cells. Pull-down experiments with biotinylated miR-25 revealed Notch signaling (co-)activators ADAM-17 and FKBP14 as miR-25 targets in HSCs. NanoString analysis confirmed miR-25 regulation of Notch- and Wnt-signaling pathways. Expression of Notch signaling pathway components and endogenous Notch1 signaling was downregulated in miR-25 overexpressing LX-2 cells, as were components of Wnt signaling such as Wnt5a. We propose that miR-25 acts as a negative feedback anti-fibrotic control during HSC activation by reducing the reactivity of HSCs to TGF-β-induced collagen expression and modulating the cross-talk between Notch, Wnt and TGF-β signaling

A Coulomb gas approach to the anisotropic one-dimensional Kondo lattice model at arbitrary filling

We establish a mapping of a general spin-fermion system in one dimension into a classical generalized Coulomb gas. This mapping allows a renormalization group treatment of the anisotropic Kondo chain both at and away from half-filling. We find that the phase diagram contains regions of paramagnetism, partial and full ferromagnetic order. We also use the method to analyze the phases of the Ising-Kondo chain.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figure

Outdoor performance of organic photovoltaics at two different locations: a comparison of degradation and the effect of condensation

Tests on organic photovoltaics (OPV) mini modules, fabricated through a R2R process, in air and without hazardous solvents have been conducted in order to compare their outdoor performance, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and Bangor, North Wales, and assess the impact of the latitude and climate of the installation on the power generation and modules' lifetime. The test showed different profiles of degradation for each region and formulation, with a surprisingly faster degradation in Bangor. One of the possible sources of the increased degradation is the greater levels of condensation observed in Bangor. To verify the impact of condensation on the module stability, indoor tests have been conducted to relate the dew point depression to module degradation times. The results show that condensation is a significant stress factor in OPV and should be considered more prominently in reliability studies

Individualized prediction of illness course at the first psychotic episode: a support vector machine MRI study

To date, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has made little impact on the diagnosis and monitoring of psychoses in individual patients. In this study, we used a support vector machine (SVM) whole-brain classification approach to predict future illness course at the individual level from MRI data obtained at the first psychotic episode