Developing a Diet Authentication System from the Composition of Meat in Ruminants

As consumer interest in the link between diet and human health and in the ethics of food production increases assurances about the background origin of food are sought. In the case of animal-derived foods, such as meat, the animal’s diet is an intrinsic component of the food’s production and of its subsequent nutritional quality. Thus, there is a need to develop ways of validating the authenticity of the animal diet. Among the approaches to authenticate the background diet of ruminants is the measurement of components in meat (muscle and adipose tissue) and other tissues that are directly influenced by the diet, including fatty acids, carotenoids, vitamins, volatile organic compounds and elemental stable isotope ratios, as well as measurement of indirect indices such as spectral properties. While each is useful in its own right, the reliability of different measurements, for diet authentication purposes, depends on the sensitivity of the analytes measured to changes in diet, and on tissue turnover in response to changes in dietary constituents. Of the analyses discussed, stable isotope analysis in muscle and incremental tissues is presented as a particularly powerful tool for diet reconstruction

Service users as the key to service change? The development of an innovative intervention for excluded young people

Background. Excluded young people, especially those affected by street gangs, often have complex unmet needs and high levels of health and social inequalities. This paper outlines the development of Music & Change, an innovative and comprehensive intervention accessible to young people, which aimed to holistically meet the mental health and other needs of its participants and ultimately to reduce offending rates. Its central principle was co-production and partnership with its potential users. Method. The setting was an inner-city housing estate; the core group of participants was 15 young people aged 16-22. The intervention used contemporary music skills (e.g. DJing and lyric writing) and other co-produced project activities as a vehicle to build relationships with practitioners and address young people’s multiple needs. Data was gathered using a focused ethnography, largely from field notes, and analysed using thematic analysis in order to ascertain users’ perceptions of its delivery. Results. Young people identified six key principles of the intervention, such as the need for, consistent relationships with trusted staff, mental health support to be wrapped round other youth-led activities and local service delivery within their safe territories. Discussion. Music & Change was valued by young people who do not easily engage with professionals and services. The findings led to the development of the ‘Integrate’ model, which is using these co-produced principles to underpin several new pilot projects that aim to address the health and social inequalities of excluded young people

Nutritive Value for Finishing Beef Steers of Wheat Grain Conserved by Different Techniques

Wheat grain harvested at dry matter (DM) concentrations above 860 g/kg is slow to deteriorate during long-term storage. However, high moisture grain (HMG) ranging from below 600 to 750 g DM/kg is conserved on some farms in the form of anaerobic storage of acid-treated, rolled wheat (AR) and urea-treated whole-wheat (UN) (Stacey et al., 2003). This experiment quantified the nutritive value for beef cattle of standard wheat grain (propionic acid-treated and rolled:PR) compared to AR and UN at different levels of intake

Timing, frequency and environmental conditions associated with mainstem-tributary movement by a lowland river fish, golden perch (Macquaria ambigua)

Tributary and mainstem connections represent important links for the movement of fish and other biota throughout river networks. We investigated the timing, frequency and environmental conditions associated with movements by adult golden perch (Macquaria ambigua) between the mainstem of the mid-Murray River and a tributary, the Goulburn River, in south-eastern Australia, using acoustic telemetry over four years (2007–2011). Fish were tagged and released in autumn 2007–2009 in the mid-Murray (n = 42) and lower Goulburn (n = 37) rivers within 3–6 km of the mid-Murray-lower Goulburn junction. 38% of tagged fish undertook mainstem–tributary movements, characterised mostly by temporary occupation followed by return of fish to the original capture river. Approximately 10% of tagged fish exhibited longer-term shifts between the mainstem and tributary. Movement of fish from the tributary into the mainstem occurred primarily during the spawning season and in some years coincided with the presence of golden perch eggs/larvae in drift samples in the mainstem. Many of the tributary-to-mainstem movements occurred during or soon after changes in flow. The movements of fish from the mainstem into the tributary were irregular and did not appear to be associated with spawning. The findings show that golden perch moved freely across the mainstem–tributary interface. This demonstrates the need to consider the spatial, behavioural and demographic interdependencies of aquatic fauna across geographic management units such as rivers

Effects of Supplementary Concentrate Level and Separate or Mixed Feeding of Grass Silage and Concentrates on Carcass Tissue Colour Traits in Steers

The level of supplementary concentrates fed with grass silage and the method of feeding (separate or mixed) may affect carcass tissue colour in steers. The objectives were to determine the effects of (1) supplementary concentrate level with grass silage, and (2) separate or mixed feeding of silage and concentrates, on muscle and fat colour

Efficient Implementation of Elliptic Curve Point Operations Using Binary Edwards Curves

This paper presents a deterministic algorithm for converting points on an ordinary elliptic curve (defined over a field of characteristic 2) to points on a complete binary Edwards curve. This avoids the problem of choosing curve parameters at random. When implemented on a large (512 bit) hardware multiplier, computation of point multiplication using this algorithm performs significantly better, in terms of code complexity, code coverage and timing, than the standard implementation. In addition, we propose a simple modification to the birational equivalence detailed in the paper by Bernstein et al. which both reduces the number of inversions required in the affine mapping and has fewer exceptional points. Finally, we compare software implementations using this efficient point multiplication for binary Edwards curves with computations on elliptic curves in Weierstrass form

An Assessment of Contamination Fingerprinting Techniques for Determining the Impact of Domestic Wastewater Treatment Systems on Private Well Supplies

Private wells in Ireland and elsewhere have been shown to be prone to microbial contamination with the main suspected sources being practices associated with agriculture and domestic wastewater treatment systems (DWWTS). While the microbial quality of private well water is commonly assessed using faecal indicator bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, such organisms are not usually source-specific, and hence cannot definitively conclude the exact origin of the contamination. This research assessed a range of different chemical contamination fingerprinting techniques (ionic ratios, artificial sweeteners, caffeine, fluorescent whitening compounds, faecal sterol profiles and pharmaceuticals) as to their use to apportion contamination of private wells between human wastewater and animal husbandry wastes in rural areas of Ireland. A one-off sampling and analysis campaign of 212 private wells found that 15% were contaminated with E. coli. More extensive monitoring of 24 selected wells found 58% to be contaminated with E. coli on at least one occasion over a 14-month period. The application of fingerprinting techniques to these monitored wells found that the use of chloride/bromide and potassium/sodium ratios is a useful low-cost fingerprinting technique capable of identifying impacts from human wastewater and organic agricultural contamination, respectively. The artificial sweetener acesulfame was detected on several occasions in a number of monitored wells, indicating its conservative nature and potential use as a fingerprinting technique for human wastewater. However, neither fluorescent whitening compounds nor caffeine were detected in any wells, and faecal sterol profiles proved inconclusive, suggesting limited suitability for the conditions investigated

Integronlike Structures in Campylobacter spp. of Human and Animal Origin

Resistance to antimicrobial agents used to treat severe Campylobacter spp. gastroenteritis is increasing worldwide. We assessed the antimicrobial resistance patterns of Campylobacter spp. isolates of human and animal origin. More than half (n = 32) were resistant to sulphonamide, a feature known to be associated with the presence of integrons. Analysis of these integrons will further our understanding of Campylobacter spp. epidemiology

Using airborne LiDAR Survey to explore historic-era archaeological landscapes of Montserrat in the eastern Caribbean

This article describes what appears to be the first archaeological application of airborne LiDAR survey to historic-era landscapes in the Caribbean archipelago, on the island of Montserrat. LiDAR is proving invaluable in extending the reach of traditional pedestrian survey into less favorable areas, such as those covered by dense neotropical forest and by ashfall from the past two decades of active eruptions by the Soufrière Hills volcano, and to sites in localities that are inaccessible on account of volcanic dangers. Emphasis is placed on two aspects of the research: first, the importance of ongoing, real-time interaction between the LiDAR analyst and the archaeological team in the field; and second, the advantages of exploiting the full potential of the three-dimensional LiDAR point cloud data for purposes of the visualization of archaeological sites and features

A population-based study of skin cancer incidence and prevalence in renal transplant recipients

Summary Background Cancers occurring following solid organ transplantation are a rapidly growing public health concern. Defining the extent of the problem has been limited by surveillance systems with incomplete registration of cases and the paucity of reliable national incidence data. Objectives To determine the incidence of all cancers following renal transplantation and to make a detailed examination of trends and patterns associated with postrenal transplant skin cancers. Methods Integration of data from the national renal transplant database and the national cancer registry in Ireland enabled accurate determination of the number of renal transplant recipients (RTRs) with skin cancers and other malignancies in the time period 1 January 1994 to 31 December 2001. Results We demonstrated a biphasic increase in skin cancer incidence following renal transplantation, determined by the age at transplantation. There was a steady increase in risk for older RTRs (age 50+ years) from year 2 post-transplant, whereas the increased risk in younger RTRs (age < 50 years) occurred later but much more significantly, reaching 200 times the risk for an age-matched nontransplanted population by year 6 post-transplant. The number of nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) registered in RTRs accounted for 1% of all NMSCs registered nationally over the study period. The standardized incidence rates for invasive NMSC (33-fold increase) and in situ carcinoma of the skin (65-fold increase) were significantly increased (P < 0AE05). The risk for invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) was increased 82-fold compared with the nontransplanted population. Male RTRs were at particular risk of invasive SCC at sun-exposed sites such as the scalp and the external ear. Risk of malignant melanoma and Kaposi sarcoma were also increased relative to the nontransplanted population. Conclusions This comprehensive national study illustrates how rates of skin cancer in Irish RTRs have influenced the national incidence of skin cancer. The high incidence of SCC, basal cell carcinoma and Bowen's disease in the early posttransplant period for older patients and the cumulative risk in younger patients with increased duration of transplantation highlight the importance of implementing early and continued cancer surveillance regimens post-transplant