Essential oils in the diet of young bulls: Effect on animal temperament.

Plant extracts and essential oils can be alternative products to antibiotics, because several plants produce secondary metabolites with antimicrobial properties. Additionally, they may act on the olfactory system, which sends signals to the central nervous system releasing endorphins that may affect the feeling of an animal''s welfare while altering an animal''s temperament. This study was conducted to evaluate the animal temperament of 40 young crossbred bulls (one-half Brown Swiss and one-half Nellore) 10 ± 2.2 mo old with an average BW of 219 ± 11.7 kg. Young bulls were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 diets: control, which had no clove or cinnamon; clove leaf included to supply 3, 500 mg/animal per day; clove leaf included to supply 7, 000 mg/animal per day; essential oil of leaf cinnamon to supply 3, 500 mg/animal per day; or essential oil of leaf cinnamon to supply 7, 000 mg/animal per day. The animal temperament was evaluated by calculating the chute score, exit score, and temperament score for periods (each 28 d during 6 periods) and among diets. The data were submitted to an ANOVA using GLM procedures with SAS version 9.0. The diet and period were considered fixed effects, whereas the animals were considered a random effect. Differences between means were evaluated using a Tukey test of 5% of significance. The addition of clove or cinnamon essential oils did not alter (P > 0.05) animal temperament. The analysis of temperament score (P = 0.55), chute score (P = 0.71), and exit score (P = 0.06) did not show significant differences among the diets. The exit score was similar among the 6 periods (1.57, 1.80, 2.98, 2.02, 2.73, and 2.66, respectively); however, chute score and temperament score were greater (P < 0.001) in the first period compared with other periods. The values for chute score were 1.85, 1.40, 1.35, 1.33, 1.20, 1.17, respectively, and the values for temperament score were 2.31, 1.81, 1.67, 1.69, 1.50, and 1.56, respectively, for periods 1 to 6. The results of this study suggest that clove and cinnamon essential oils can be added as an additive in high-grain finished diets without changing the animal temperament

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Rol de los cereales de invierno y su sistema de manejo en la dinámica poblacional de Delphacodes kuscheli, insecto vector del MRCV

El Mal de Río Cuarto es la enfermedad virósica más importante del maíz en la Argentina. El virus pertenece al género Fijivirus (Reoviridae). Es transmitido en forma persistente propagativa por Delphacodes kuscheli Fennah (Hemíptera-Delphacidae). Varios cultivos son reservorios naturales del virus y hospedantes del vector. El objetivo de este trabajo fue determinar el rol de la avena, cebada,centeno, triticale y trigo (pastoreados y no pastoreados) en la dinámica poblacional de D. kuscheli. El ensayo se realizó dentro del área endémica de la enfermedad,bajo un diseño en franjas en 1998, 1999 y 2000. Se estudió la variacióndel número de individuos en el tiempo, utilizando como unidad de muestreo los individuos colectados semanalmente en cien golpes de red. Éstos fueron clasificados en ninfas y adultos (macrópteros y braquípteros). Los resultados muestran la importancia del manejo sobre las poblaciones del vector, ya que éstas son mayores en los cultivos pastoreados. La avena registró el mayor número de individuos,seguida por trigo y cebada. El momento del pico poblacional de adultos macrópteros en avena es diferente a los otros cultivos evaluados. La tasa de crecimiento poblacional de ninfas y adultos braquípteros fue mayor en avena, mientras que no se registraron diferencias entre los otros cultivos

Rol de los cereales de invierno y su sistema de manejo en la dinámica poblacional de Delphacodes kuscheli, insecto vector del MRCV Role of winter cereals and their management system in the population dynamics of Delphacodes kuscheli, the MRCV vector insect

El Mal de Río Cuarto es la enfermedad virósica más importante del maíz en la Argentina. El virus pertenece al género Fijivirus (Reoviridae). Es transmitido en forma persistente propagativa por Delphacodes kuscheli Fennah (Hemíptera- Delphacidae). Varios cultivos son reservorios naturales del virus y hospedantes del vector. El objetivo de este trabajo fue determinar el rol de la avena, cebada, centeno, triticale y trigo (pastoreados y no pastoreados) en la dinámica poblacional de D. kuscheli. El ensayo se realizó dentro del área endémica de la enfermedad, bajo un diseño en franjas en 1998, 1999 y 2000. Se estudió la variación del número de individuos en el tiempo, utilizando como unidad de muestreo los individuos colectados semanalmente en cien golpes de red. Éstos fueron clasificados en ninfas y adultos (macrópteros y braquípteros). Los resultados muestran la importancia del manejo sobre las poblaciones del vector, ya que éstas son mayores en los cultivos pastoreados. La avena registró el mayor número de individuos, seguida por trigo y cebada. El momento del pico poblacional de adultos macrópteros en avena es diferente a los otros cultivos evaluados. La tasa de crecimiento poblacional de ninfas y adultos braquípteros fue mayor en avena, mientras que no se registraron diferencias entre los otros cultivos.<br>The Mal de Río Cuarto is the most important disease in maize in Argentina. The virus belongs to the Genus Fijivirus (Reoviridae). It is transmitted in a persistent propagative manner by Delphacodes kuscheli Fennah (Hemíptera- Delphacidae). Several grain crops are virus reservoirs and insect vector hosts. The objective of this work was to study the role of grazed and non grazed oat, barley, wheat, rye and triticale in the population dynamics of Delphacodes kuscheli. The experimental plots were sown in the endemic MRC area under a strip design during the 1998, 1999 and 2000 seasons. Vector insect populations were evaluated weekly using a sweep net (100 net sweeps). The collected material was classified into nymphs and adults (macropters and brachypters). Results highlight the importance of crop management on vector population because grazed cereal winter crops show the highest vector insect number. Oat crop shows the largest number of vector insect, followed by wheat and barley. The peak occurrence of adult macropter population in oat is clearly different from that in the other cereals evaluated. The rate of population growth of nymphs and adult brachypters was more important in oat, showing no differences among the others crops

The inverted CD4:CD8 ratio is associated with cytomegalovirus, poor cognitive and functional states in older adults

Background: Some premature features of immunosenescence have been associated with persistent viral infections and altered populations of T cells. In particular, the inverted T CD4:CD8 ratio has been correlated with increased morbidity and mortality across different age groups. Objective: Here, we investigated the role of persistent viral infections, cognitive and functional states as predictors of inverted CD4:CD8 ratio of older adults in a developing country. Methods: Three hundred and sixty community-dwelling older adults (aged 60-103 years) were recruited. Cognitive function was evaluated by the Instrument of Brief Neuropsychological Assessment and Mini-Mental State Examination inventory. Functional Activities Questionnaire was used to determine activities of daily living. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) serologies were determined by ELISAs. Peripheral blood was assessed for lymphocyte subsets by flow cytometry (CD4+, CD8+, NK, NKT, B and CD8+CD28-). Results: Fifty-nine individuals were identified with CD4:CD8 ratio 1. The older adults with inverted CD4:CD8 ratio had impairments in some cognitive dimensions and had more functional disability and dependency (p = 0.01) than subjects with CD4:CD8 ratio >1. The lymphocyte subsets did not vary between groups. The increased CMV-IgG titers alone contributed to 8× higher chance to invert CD4:CD8 T cell ratio (OR 8.12, 95% CI 1.74-37.88, p < 0.01). Conclusion: Our data further indicate the role of CMV on circulating T cells, poor cognition and functional disability/dependency during aging