Early pair housing increases solid feed intake and weight gains in dairy calves

Dairy calves have traditionally been kept in individual pens throughout the milk-feeding period. Social rearing is associated with increased solid feed intake and hence higher weight gains before and after weaning. Little is known about the effect of the age at which social housing begins. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of early versus late pairing on feeding behavior and weight gain before and after weaning. Holstein bull calves were reared individually (n=8 calves), or paired with another calf at 6 ± 3 d (n=8 pairs) or 43 ± 3 d of age (n=8 pairs). All calves were fed 8 L of milk/d for 4 wk, 6 L/d from 4 to 7 wk and then milk was reduced by 20%/d until calves were completely weaned at 8 wk of age. Calves were provided ad libitum access to calf starter and a total mixed ration (TMR). Body weight and feed intake were measured weekly from 3 to 10 wk of age. Intake of calf starter was significantly higher for the early-paired calves than for individually-reared and late-paired calves throughout the experimental period. At 10 wk of age, starter dry matter intake (DMI) averaged 2.20 ± 0.22 kg/d, 1.09 ± 0.25 kg/d and 1.26 ± 0.33 kg/d for early pair, late pair and individually housed calves, respectively. Intake of TMR did not differ among treatments, TMR dry matter intake (averaged 3.27 ± 0.72 kg/d, 3.08 ± 0.46 kg/d, and 2.89 ± 0.54 kg/d for the same three treatments). Calves in the early pair treatment also showed significantly higher average daily gain (ADG) over the experimental period (0.89 ± 0.04 kg/d versus 0.76 ± 0.04 kg/d and 0.73 ± 0.04 kg/d for the early paired, individual and late-paired calves, respectively). These results indicate that social housing soon after birth can increase weight gains and intake of solid feed

Partial gastrectomy and total splenectomy for the treatment of a gastric mass in a horse

A 9‐year‐old cob mare with a history of recurrent colic presented during an acute colic episode. Ultrasonography revealed a mass emanating from the greater curvature of the stomach and was tightly adhered to the cranial edge of the spleen. Partial gastrectomy and total splenectomy were performed via a midline celiotomy incision. The mass was subsequently confirmed to be granulomatous inflammation, postulated to be secondary to a penetrating injury to the stomach. Post‐operatively, the mare had episodes of recurrent colic that were successfully managed with optimisation of the horse's diet and feeding regime. At 10 months’ post‐operatively the mare was managed on full turn out, with no evidence of colic and had returned to the previous level of ridden work. The horse then presented 14 months post‐operatively with severe colic due to a large colon impaction and displacement and was euthanased. This is the first report to describe successful partial gastrectomy as a treatment option for a gastric mass in the horse

Search for high-energy neutrinos from gravitational wave event GW151226 and candidate LVT151012 with ANTARES and IceCube

The Advanced LIGO observatories detected gravitational waves from two binary black hole mergers during their first observation run (O1). We present a high-energy neutrino follow-up search for the second gravitational wave event, GW151226, as well as for gravitational wave candidate LVT151012. We find two and four neutrino candidates detected by IceCube, and one and zero detected by Antares, within ±500 s around the respective gravitational wave signals, consistent with the expected background rate. None of these neutrino candidates are found to be directionally coincident with GW151226 or LVT151012. We use nondetection to constrain isotropic-equivalent high-energy neutrino emission from GW151226, adopting the GW event's 3D localization, to less than 2×1051-2×1054 erg. © 2017 American Physical Society

Reconceptualizing informal work practices: Some observations from an ethnic minority community in urban UK

Whilst paid informal work has been conceptualized as a form of paid employment imbued with solely economic motivations, this article critically argues that such a market‐­oriented reading fails to take into account alternative explanations for the existence of informal work practices. Using evidence from 50 interviews conducted within a Pakistani urban community in a northern UK city, this article, uses a mixed‐embeddedness perspective to highlight the importance of predominantly socially and culturally driven motives in the decision to engage in informal work. The findings highlight that participation in informal work, whilst a product of marginalization due to certain institutional and structural factors, is also driven by a range of non‐monetary motives—a result of certain socially embedded work relations between ethnic minority workers and their employers. It is this social embeddedness of the employer–employee relationship in the Pakistani ethnic minority community that explains the continuation of informal work practices in the face of prevailing laws and regulations. The findings add weight to the understanding of informal work as being about more than just economics and constraints, offering these ethnic minority workers opportunities, even status, and giving them agency in an otherwise disempowered situation

Prevalence of abnormal radiographic findings in 2-year-old Thoroughbreds at in-training sales and associations with racing performance

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of radiographic abnormalities (lesions) in Thoroughbred racehorses at 2-year-old in-training sales and determine whether these lesions and 1-furlong presale workout times were associated with subsequent racing performance. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Animals: 953 Thoroughbreds. Procedures: Repository radiographs of carpal, metacarpophalangeal and metatarsophalangeal (fetlock), stifle, and tarsal (hock) joints were examined. Horses with lesions were classified by lesion type and location. Race performance variables were compared between horses with and without lesions and between horses categorized by 1-furlong presale workout times (< or ≥ 11 seconds). Results: 299 horses had ≥ 1 lesion, and 654 had no lesion detected. Odds of starting a race and of earning money racing were lower for horses with any lesion and lower for horses with proximal phalangeal dorsoproximal articular margin chip fracture, proximal sesamoid bone fracture or sesamoiditis, or wedge-shaped central or third tarsal bones, compared with horses that had no lesion. For horses that raced, proximal phalangeal dorsoproximal articular margin chip fractures were associated with lower lifetime earnings, and flattening of the medial femoral condyle was associated with fewer 3-year-old racing starts, compared with values for horses that had no lesion. Horses with workout times < 11 seconds had greater odds of having lifetime starts, lifetime earnings, and maximum purse above threshold (median) values than did horses with slower workout times. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: No radiographic lesions prevented all affected horses from racing. Among horses that raced, few differences were found in performance for horses with and without lesions