A review on the involvement of catecholamines in animal behaviour

Animal temperament and individual animal personalities in combination with an animal’s ability to cope with stressful situations have been studied in the past. There are clear differences between cattle breeds in urinary catecholamine concentration. Individual differences in behaviour exist in a large number of species and breeds within species. This review gives an overview of the involvement of catecholamines in the expression of stress in animals. Domestication, the heritability of stress and terms currently used in animal personality research are discussed. This includes animals used for production. The aim of this review is to consolidate and present current knowledge on the function of an activated catecholamine system and to question whether behavioural changes of animals are tending towards increased aggressiveness or towards improved coping mechanisms.Keywords: Animal welfare, domestication, fear, personality, stres

Concentrations of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites in South African Mutton Merino sheep fed various sources of roughage

The objective of this study was to determine whether various sources of roughage in nutritionally balanced feedlot diets would evoke a stress response in sheep. A nutritional stress response test was performed on 20 ewes, randomly divided into four treatment groups with 5 ewes per group. Ewes were kept individually in metabolic crates for thirty days. Rations were balanced nutritionally, and various sources of roughage were included; T1: alfalfa hay, T2: maize stover, T3: soya hulls; and T4: Eragrostis tef. Faeces was removed manually from the caudal rectum of each ewe at 05h00 and 19h00. Samples were frozen at -20°C until analyses. A total of 520 faecal samples were analysed to determine the concentrations of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (fGCM) by enzyme immunoassay (EIA). These concentrations were expressed as mass/g dry weight (ng/g DW). Baseline values were determined, and those greater than the mean plus 2 standard deviations were removed. Baseline values were compared between the groups with one-way ANOVA analysis. The average concentrations of fGCM were 178.77 ± 21.7 in the morning and 183.2 ± 14.4 in the evening. Sheep fed T4 had significantly higher fGCM concentrations in both morning (302.0 ± 86.1 ng/g DW) and evening (237.0 ± 48.1 ng/g DW) compared with the other treatment groups. Thus, fGCM concentrations in sheep were related to the source of roughage, and Eragrostis tef caused a stress response. Keywords: animal welfare, cortisol, dietary fibre, selective grazer, stress respons

Effects of short and extended fasting periods and cattle breed on glycogenolysis, sarcomere shortening and Warner-Bratzler shear force

The effects of short (three hours) and extended (24 hours) feed withdrawal periods and three cattle breeds on muscle energy metabolism, sarcomere length, and meat quality were investigated. Brahman (Br), Nguni (Ng), and Simmental (Sm) bulls were subjected to ante-mortem feed withdrawal of three hours (Br3, n = 10; Ng3, n = 10; and Sm3, n = 10) or 24 hours (Br24, n = 10; Ng24, n = 10; and Sm24, n = 10). M. longissimus was used as the reference muscle for sampling. pH, and temperature was recorded at 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, and 24 hours post mortem. Samples for energy metabolites were removed at 3, 6, 9 and 24 hours post mortem. Glycogen, glucose-6-phosphate and creatine phosphate concentration were determined at each time interval as glycosyl units after hydrolysis. Samples to determine sarcomere length were removed at one and three days post mortem. Homogenates of the samples were placed under a 31,000 magnification microscope and sarcomere lengths were measured. Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) was measured with an Instron meter at 1, 7 and 14 days post mortem. Glycogen was lower for Br24 and Ng24. There were no differences in glucose-6-phosphate, rate of creatine phosphate decline, average sarcomere length, or WBSF for Br24 and Ng24 compared with Br3 and Ng3. There were no differences for WBSF between Br3, Ng3 and Sm3. Glycogen concentration was higher for Sm24 compared with Sm3; glucose-6-phosphate was lower for Sm24 compared with Sm3; and the rate of creatine phosphate decline was higher for Sm24 compared with Sm3. Average sarcomere length was shorter and WBSF was higher for Sm24 compared with Sm3. The effect of prolonged ante-mortem feed withdrawal on tenderness is breed specific. Warner-Bratzler shear force was affected significantly by an extended feed withdrawal period in Simmental cattle only.Keywords: Acidification, creatine phosphate depletion, fasting, hypometabolism, meat tendernes

Assessment of genetic variation in Bapedi sheep using microsatellite markers

This study was conducted to assess genetic variation in Bapedi sheep using 14 microsatellite markers. Blood samples were collected from 174 unrelated Bapedi sheep on six farms in various districts of Limpopo and from the Agricultural Research Council Animal Production Institute (ARC-API) in Gauteng. Genotypes from other South African indigenous sheep, namely Zulu (N = 14), Damara (N = 11), Dorper (N = 8), and Namaqua (N = 11), were included to represent reference populations. The effective number of alleles averaged 5.6 for across the Bapedi flocks and was 4.9 for the reference breeds. Among the Bapedi flocks, the observed heterozygosity (Ho) ranged from 0.56 ± 0.05 to 0.69 ± 0.03 and expected heterozygosity (He) values were between 0.75 ± 0.04 and 0.88 ± 0.01. Thus, there is considerable genetic diversity within the Bapedi sheep populations. However, the fixation index was high, indicating the possibility of inbreeding becoming a problem for these flocks. A neighbour-joining tree was constructed from the estimates of Nei’s genetic distances among flocks. The presence of Bapedi sheep flocks on all of the main branches of the tree along with one of the reference breeds suggests the present-day Bapedi is not an entirely distinct breed and that there are genetic differences between flocks of these South African indigenous sheep. Sustainable breeding and conservation programmes are needed to control inbreeding and to foreclose possible genetic dilution of Bapedi sheep. Keywords: genetic diversity, germplasm conservation, inbreeding, indigenous shee

Effects of short and extended fasting periods and cattle breed on glycogenolysis, sarcomere shortening and Warner-Bratzler shear force

The effects of short (three hours) and extended (24 hours) feed withdrawal periods and three cattle breeds on muscle energy metabolism, sarcomere length, and meat quality were investigated. Brahman (Br), Nguni (Ng), and Simmental (Sm) bulls were subjected to ante-mortem feed withdrawal of three hours (Br3, n = 10; Ng3, n = 10; and Sm3, n = 10) or 24 hours (Br24, n = 10; Ng24, n = 10; and Sm24, n = 10). M. longissimus was used as the reference muscle for sampling. pH, and temperature was recorded at 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, and 24 hours post mortem. Samples for energy metabolites were removed at 3, 6, 9 and 24 hours post mortem. Glycogen, glucose-6-phosphate and creatine phosphate concentration were determined at each time interval as glycosyl units after hydrolysis. Samples to determine sarcomere length were removed at one and three days post mortem. Homogenates of the samples were placed under a 31,000 magnification microscope and sarcomere lengths were measured. Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) was measured with an Instron meter at 1, 7 and 14 days post mortem. Glycogen was lower for Br24 and Ng24. There were no differences in glucose-6-phosphate, rate of creatine phosphate decline, average sarcomere length, or WBSF for Br24 and Ng24 compared with Br3 and Ng3. There were no differences for WBSF between Br3, Ng3 and Sm3. Glycogen concentration was higher for Sm24 compared with Sm3; glucose-6-phosphate was lower for Sm24 compared with Sm3; and the rate of creatine phosphate decline was higher for Sm24 compared with Sm3. Average sarcomere length was shorter and WBSF was higher for Sm24 compared with Sm3. The effect of prolonged ante-mortem feed withdrawal on tenderness is breed specific. Warner-Bratzler shear force was affected significantly by an extended feed withdrawal period in Simmental cattle only.The Red Meat Research and Development Trusthttp://www.sasas.co.za/journalsam2018Animal and Wildlife Science

Associations between neutering and idiopathic epilepsy in Labrador retrievers and Border collies under primary veterinary care in the UK

There are sparse published scientific data on associations between neutering and the severity and survival of dogs with idiopathic epilepsy. This study aimed to explore the timing of neutering with respect to onset of seizures in dogs with idiopathic epilepsy. Associations between neutering and both age of onset of seizures and the occurrence of cluster seizures or status epilepticus were examined. Survival analysis investigated the effects of sex-neuter categories. The median survival time of Border collies was compared with data previously reported in literature. The study included veterinary primary-care clinical data on 117 Labrador retrievers and 57 Border collies diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy from the VetCompass project in the UK. The majority (74.2%; P ≤ 0.001) of neutered cases were neutered before the onset of seizures. Age (years) at onset of seizures did not differ between dogs intact at time of onset and dogs neutered before onset of seizures (males 3.6 vs. 3.7; P = 0.468 and females 3.4 vs. 4.1; P = 0.154). Neuter status was not associated with the occurrence of cluster seizures (males P = 0.947 and females P = 0.844). Dogs intact at onset of seizures had longer median survival times than dogs neutered before onset of seizures (males, 1436 days vs. 1234 days; P = 0.019; females, 1778.5 days vs. 1261 days; P = 0.027). Median survival time of 1393 days for Border collies was longer than previously reported (P ≤ 0.001). These results do not support recommendations to neuter dogs with idiopathic epilepsy within an evidence-based treatment plan

A multicentre randomised feasibility STUdy evaluating the impact of a prognostic model for management of BLunt chest wall trauma patients : STUMBL Trial

Objective: A new prognostic model has been developed and externally validated, the aim of which is to assist in the management of the blunt chest wall trauma patient in the emergency department (ED). The aim of this trial is to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a definitive impact trial investigating the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a new prognostic model for the management of patients with blunt chest wall trauma in the ED. Design: Stepped wedge feasibility trial. Setting: Four EDs in England and Wales. Participants: Adult blunt chest wall trauma patients presenting to the ED with no concurrent, life-threatening injuries. Intervention: A prognostic model (the STUMBL score) to guide clinical decision-making. Outcome measures: Primary: participant recruitment rate and clinicians’ use of the STUMBL score. Secondary: composite outcome measure (mortality, pulmonary complications, delayed upgrade in care, unplanned representations to the ED), physical and mental components of quality of life, clinician feedback and health economic data gathering methodology for healthcare resource utilisation. Results: Quantitative data were analysed using the intention-to-treat principle. 176 patients were recruited; recruitment targets were achieved at all sites. Clinicians used the model in 96% of intervention cases. All feasibility criteria were fully or partially met. After adjusting for predefined covariates, there were no statistically significant differences between the control and intervention periods. Qualitative analysis highlighted that STUMBL was well-received and clinicians would support a definitive trial. Collecting data on intervention costs, health-related quality of life and healthcare resource use was feasible. Discussion: We have demonstrated that a fully powered randomised clinical trial of the STUMBL score is feasible and desirable to clinicians. Minor methodological modifications will be made for the full trial. Trial registration number: ISRCTN95571506; Post-results

Repositioning of the global epicentre of non-optimal cholesterol

High blood cholesterol is typically considered a feature of wealthy western countries1,2. However, dietary and behavioural determinants of blood cholesterol are changing rapidly throughout the world3 and countries are using lipid-lowering medications at varying rates. These changes can have distinct effects on the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol, which have different effects on human health4,5. However, the trends of HDL and non-HDL cholesterol levels over time have not been previously reported in a global analysis. Here we pooled 1,127 population-based studies that measured blood lipids in 102.6 million individuals aged 18 years and older to estimate trends from 1980 to 2018 in mean total, non-HDL and HDL cholesterol levels for 200 countries. Globally, there was little change in total or non-HDL cholesterol from 1980 to 2018. This was a net effect of increases in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreases in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe. As a result, countries with the highest level of non-HDL cholesterol—which is a marker of cardiovascular risk—changed from those in western Europe such as Belgium, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Malta in 1980 to those in Asia and the Pacific, such as Tokelau, Malaysia, The Philippines and Thailand. In 2017, high non-HDL cholesterol was responsible for an estimated 3.9 million (95% credible interval 3.7 million–4.2 million) worldwide deaths, half of which occurred in east, southeast and south Asia. The global repositioning of lipid-related risk, with non-optimal cholesterol shifting from a distinct feature of high-income countries in northwestern Europe, north America and Australasia to one that affects countries in east and southeast Asia and Oceania should motivate the use of population-based policies and personal interventions to improve nutrition and enhance access to treatment throughout the world.</p

Search for single production of vector-like T quarks decaying into Ht or Zt in pp collisions at s√ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper describes a search for the single production of an up-type vector-like quark (T) decaying as T → Ht or T → Zt. The search utilises a dataset of pp collisions at s√ = 13 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector during the 2015–2018 data-taking period of the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1. Data are analysed in final states containing a single lepton with multiple jets and b-jets. The presence of boosted heavy resonances in the event is exploited to discriminate the signal from the Standard Model background. No significant excess above the Standard Model expectation is observed, and 95% CL upper limits are set on the production cross section of T quarks in different decay channels. The results are interpreted in several benchmark scenarios to set limits on the mass and universal coupling strength (κ) of the vector-like quark. For singlet T quarks, κ values above 0.53 are excluded for all masses below 2.3 TeV. At a mass of 1.6 TeV, κ values as low as 0.35 are excluded. For T quarks in the doublet scenario, where the production cross section is much lower, κ values above 0.72 are excluded for all masses below 1.7 TeV, and this exclusion is extended to κ above 0.55 for low masses around 1.0 TeV