A New Direction for the Payment of Milk: Technological and Seasonality Considerations in Multiple Component Milk Pricing of Milk (Liquid and Manufacturing) for a Diversifying Dairy Industry

End of project reportThe main objectives of this study were to compare a Multiple Component Pricing system with the current milk pricing practice in Ireland and to estimate the marginal values of the three main milk components (fat, protein and lactose) in the context of the Irish milk processing industry. A representative linear programming model of an average Irish milk processor was developed in order to determine the marginal values of the milk components and to compare the value of milk under the Multiple Component Pricing system with the value under the current milk pricing practice. This study also examined the effect of product mix, milk supply and milk composition on the marginal value of the milk components

In two minds: executive functioning versus theory of mind in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia

Background: The relationship of executive function (EF) and theory of mind (ToM) deficits in neurodegeneration is still debated. There is contradicting evidence as to whether these cognitive processes are overlapping or distinct, which has clear clinical relevance for the evaluation of their associated clinical symptoms. Aim: To investigate the relationship of EF and ToM deficits via a data-driven approach in a large sample of patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). Methods: Data of 46 patients with bvFTD were employed in a hierarchical cluster analysis to determine the similarity of variance between different EF measures (verbal abstraction, verbal initiation, motor programming, sensitivity to interference, inhibitory control, visual abstraction, flexibility, working memory/attention) and ToM (faux pas). Results: Overall results showed that EF measures were clustered separately from the ToM measure. A post hoc analysis revealed a more complex picture where selected ToM subcomponents (empathy; intention) showed a relationship to specific EF measures (verbal abstraction; working memory/attention), whereas the remaining EF and ToM subcomponents were separate. Conclusions: Taken together, these findings suggest that EF and ToM are distinct components; however, ToM empathy and intention subcomponents might share some functions with specific EF processes. This has important implications for guiding diagnostic assessment of these deficits in clinical conditions

Separatism in Brittany

The introduction to the thesis attempts to place the separatist movement in Brittany into perspective as one of the various separatist movements with in France, It contains speculation on some possible reasons for the growth of separatist feeling, and defines terms that are frequently used in the thesis. Chapter One gives an account of Breton history, tracing Brittany's evolution as an independent state, its absorption by France, the disappearance of its remaining traces of independence, and the last spasms of action to regain this independence after having become merely part of a centralised state. Chapter Two examines the beginnings and development of a renewed effort to regain some measure of independence, and covers in some detail the period from the early nineteenth century to the end of the Second World War, known in Brittany as that of the first and second emsavs. To clarify a complicated period of development, a lexicon, a list of parties, groupings and devices of the Breton movement, and two flow charts summarising the movement's development from 1914 to I939 are given at the beginning of this chapter. Chapter Three deals with the period from I945 to the present day, known in Brittany as that of the third emsav, and examines in some detail the present state of the Breton movement. Chapter Four examines the work of various Breton writers who have played some part in expressing or shaping the Bretons' awareness of their separate identity, and shows to what extent their writings reflect the historical and political development of Brittany, Chapter Five contains the writer's conclusions and one detailed examination of Breton attitudes to the Breton movement, which helps to put it into its overall Breton perspective. The most important of the appendices to the thesis is the latest available detailed breakdown of the movement

Behaviour and accidents in young children and adolescents

The Mater-University Study of Pregnancy recruited a cohort of 8,458 Brisbane women during pregnancy. Subsequent follow-ups of mother and child occurred a few days, 6 months, 5 years and 14 years after birth, with the collection of a wide range of biological, sociological and behavioural information as well as measures of mental and physical health. In anticipation of a further cohort follow-up (funded by CARRS-Q) aimed specifically at examining risk-taking behaviour and road crashes in young drivers, the present paper examines the relationship between child and adolescent behaviour and the occurrence of accidents. This indicates that children with behaviour problems, particularly social and attentional disorders at age 5 years are nearly twice as likely to have had an accident in the past three months. While there is some evidence of continuity of accident occurrence (27% of children whose mother’s reported an accident at age 5 years also were also reported to have had an accident requiring medical attention in the last year) this association was weak. Behaviour problems, as measured by the Child Services, police or Juvenile Aid Bureau at age 14 also predict accident occurrence at age 14. ‘Binge drinking’ (consumption of seven or more alcoholic drinks at a time), while rare in this sample (2%) was associated with a doubling of accident risk. The next phase of MUSP will involve administering a questionnaire focused on risk taking behaviour to adolescents, followed up by later record linkage to accident reports and medical records to obtain end-points of road crashes and accident morbidity

A quantitative PCR method for measuring absolute telomere length

We describe a simple and reproducible method to measure absolute telomere length (aTL) using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). This method is based on the Cawthon method for relative measurement of telomere length (TL) but modified by introducing an oligomer standard to measure aTL. The method describes the oligomer standards, the generation of the standard curve and the calculations required to calculate aTL from the qPCR data. The necessary controls and performance characteristics of the assay are described in detail and compared relative to other methods for measuring TL. Typical results for this assay for a variety of human tissue samples are provided as well as a troubleshooting schedule. This method allows high throughput measurement of aTL using small amounts of DNA making it amenable for molecular epidemiological studies. Compared to the traditional relative TL qPCR assays, the aTL method described in this protocol enables a more direct comparison of results between experiments within and between laboratories

Latitudinal and cross-shelf patterns of size, age, growth, and mortality of a tropical damselfish Acanthochromis polyacanthus on the Great Barrier Reef

Patterns of age and growth of a sedentary damsel fish Acanthochromis polyacanthus were tested over a latitudinal range of approximately 10 degrees (1200 km) on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Australia. Within latitudes, these patterns were also compared on reefs in distance strata (inner, mid, and outer) across a continental shelf that ranged in width from 52 to 128 km. Although variation in length-max (SLMAX), growth, age-max (AMAX), and the von Bertalanffy metrics of Linf and K were found within and among latitudes, the greatest variation in some demographic characteristics was found among distance strata across the shelf regardless of latitude. Fish were always relatively smaller at inner shelf reefs and grew more slowly when compared to mid and outer shelf reefs; this was true regardless of the color morph of fish. The oldest fish collected was 11 years old, and there was no consistent variation in age-max among distances from shore. On outer reefs, there was a negative linear relationship with age-max and latitude. This "tropical gradient" of age only explained 34% of the variation; furthermore, this was not found when only the oldest group of fish was considered (top 10%). Fish only reached an age-max of six years on the southernmost reefs. There was a trend for a smaller Linf with latitude but it was not significant and Linf did not vary predictably with water temperature. The sampling ofmarine protected areas (MPAs) and fished zones did not confound the resultant patterns in that fish were not consistently larger or older inMPAs or fished zones. Instantaneous mortality rates were 0.245-0.685; they were highest at inner reefs and also showed no consistentMPA-related patterns. Our study suggested that the mid and outer shelf waters of the GBR appeared best suited for growth of A. polyacanthus. In conclusion, the position on continental shelves dominated other geographical patterns and needs to be considered in spatial models of growth. We suggest that local environmental conditions such as turbidity and the quality and quantity of plankton likely have a strong influence on distance across the shelf-based demographic patterns of planktivores

Self-regulation: A new perspective on learning problems experienced by children born extremely preterm

Survival rates are increasing for children born extremely preterm, yet despite the majority of these children having IQ scores within the average range, 50-70% of these children have later school difficulties. This paper reviews factors associated with academic difficulties in these children, emphasizing the contributions of executive functions (EF) and self-regulation. The roles of EF are examined separately, and also under the unifying construct of self-regulation; that is, the integration of various behavioural, cognitive, and affective elements. Improving self-regulatory skills could moderate the negative effects of EF deficits and inform interventions to improve the educational outcomes of these childre

Brain damage and maternal medication

Michael E. O’Callaghan, Alastair H. MacLenna

Fronto-striatal atrophy in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia & Alzheimer’s disease

Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) has only recently been associated with significant striatal atrophy, whereas the striatum appears to be relatively preserved in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Considering the critical role the striatum has in cognition and behavior, striatal degeneration, together with frontal atrophy, could be responsible of some characteristic symptoms in bvFTD and emerges therefore as promising novel diagnostic biomarker to distinguish bvFTD and AD. Previous studies have, however, only taken either cortical or striatal atrophy into account when comparing the two diseases. In this study, we establish for the first time a profile of fronto-striatal atrophy in 23 bvFTD and 29 AD patients at presentation, based on the structural connectivity of striatal and cortical regions. Patients are compared to 50 healthy controls by using a novel probabilistic connectivity atlas, which defines striatal regions by their cortical white-matter connectivity, allowing us to explore the degeneration of the frontal and striatal regions that are functionally linked. Comparisons with controls revealed that bvFTD showed substantial fronto-striatal atrophy affecting the ventral as well as anterior and posterior dorso-lateral prefrontal cortices and the related striatal subregions. In contrast, AD showed few frontostriatal atrophy, despite having significant posterior dorso-lateral prefrontal degeneration. Direct comparison between bvFTD and AD revealed significantly more atrophy in the ventral striatal–ventromedial prefrontal cortex regions in bvFTD. Consequently, deficits in ventral fronto-striatal regions emerge as promising novel and efficient diagnosis biomarker for bvFTD. Future investigations into the contributions of these fronto-striatal loops on bvFTD symptomology are needed to develop simple diagnostic and disease tracking algorithms