Effect of Varying Dietary Selenium Levels on Tissue Composition, Blood Composition and Performance of Growing Swine Fed Seleniferous Grains

It is established that selenium is an essential micronutrient as well as a natural toxicant for domestic livestock. However, reports of selenium toxicosis in swine are limited and not well documented. The level at which selenium becomes toxic to swine is thought to be about 8 ppm. This value was derived from the initial selenium research of the 1930\u27s, with considerable extrapolation from other species used in this determination. Since that time, diet composition has become much more complex, nutrient level of diets has increased and feed additives are commonly used. It is not known what effect these factors or other nutritional interrelationships may have on the level at which selenium becomes toxic. Due to the variability of selenium content in feedstuffs and because selenium is now approved as a feed additive, it is important to better define the level at which selenium becomes toxic to swine. This research was conducted to determine the effect of varying dietary selenium levels on tissue and blood composition and performance of growing swine fed seleniferous grains

Seasonal variations in Greenland Ice Sheet motion : Inland extent and behaviour at higher elevations

Peer reviewedPreprin

Developing professionalism in new IT graduates? Who needs it?

A new graduate may require a period of ‘acclimatisation’ through a process of ‘developing their professionalism’ to fit into their work environment. The e-Skills UK Technology Counts Insights 2010 report suggests that 110,500 new entrants a year are required to fill IT & Telecoms professional job roles, with 20,800 coming from education (predominantly graduate level and higher). However, 43% of recruiters were reporting a lack of suitable candidates for IT & Telecoms posts where growing importance will be placed on relationship management, business process analysis and design, project and programme management. IT & Telecoms professionals are increasingly expected to be multi-skilled, with sophisticated business and interpersonal skills as well as technical competence. As the report also says: ‘UK growth will continue to be primarily in high-value roles with an increasing need for customer and business-oriented skills as well as sophisticated technical competencies.’ The diverse needs and requirements of the IT sector, as specified by various employer groups and professional bodies including BCS, IET, eSkills, the CBI and the SFIA Foundation, are discussed. According to the CBI, ‘62% of entrants to the IT sector need to draw on managerial and professional business skills almost immediately.’ For organisations to succeed, their IT graduate recruits must supplement their IT skills with managerial and professional business skills. Well considered CPD will ensure that recent graduates can enhance their ‘academic’ skills with the necessary work-based skills for the benefit of both themselves and their new employer. The focus of the improvement will balance the student-centred needs for development and the engaging employer’s commercial needs

Child Exploitation and the FIFA World Cup: A review of risks and protective interventions

This review was commissioned by the Child Abuse Programme (CAP) of Oak Foundation, a large international philanthropic organisation. It forms part of CAP’s effort to win societal rejection of practices such as the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents around major sporting events (MSEs), and to embed prevention and protection from exploitation as a permanent concern for global sports-related bodies. This review is intended to inform action in countries that host MSEs and to provide some suggestions on how hosting countries can avoid past pitfalls and mistakes in relation to child exploitation, especially economic and sexual exploitation. Importantly, it also acts as a call to action by those responsible for commissioning and staging MSEs, such as FIFA and the IOC, to anticipate, prepare for and adopt risk mitigation strategies and interventions. Positive leadership from these culturally powerful bodies could prove decisive in shifting hearts, minds and actions in the direction of improved safety for children

Nutritional status of a nereidid polychaete cultured in sand filters of mariculture wastewater

This study examined the nutritional composition of the intertidal marine polychaete Perinereis helleri (Nereididae)when artificially cultured in sand filters treating mariculture wastewater. Moisture levels in harvested P. helleri ranged from 758 to 855 g kg1, and ash, from 23 to 61 g kg1 wet matter (WM). Stocking density and graded size after harvest significantly affected their composition. Higher total lipid contents were found in large (>0.6 g) P. helleri(16–19 g kg1 WM) and those grown at the lowest density(1000 m2: 18 g kg 1 WM) than in small (≤0.6 g) ones (14 g kg1 WM) and those grown at the highest densities (4000–6000 m2: 13–16 g kg1 WM). Several fatty acids within a very broad profile (some 30 identified) reflected this pattern, yet their ARA/EPA/DHA ratios were relatively unaffected. Feeding the polychaete-assisted sand filters (PASF) with fish meal to increase worm biomass productivity significantly increased their DHA content. Other components (e.g. protein, phospholipids, cholesterol, carbohydrate, amino acids, nitrogen, minerals and bromophenols) and nutritional factors (e.g. maturity, feeding seaweed and endemic shrimp viral content) were also investigated. Results suggest that PASF-produced P. helleri have a well-balanced nutritional profile for penaeid shrimp and fish broodstock

Seasonal and interannual variability of North American isoprene emissions as determined by formaldehyde column measurements from space

Formaldehyde (HCHO) columns measured from space by solar UV backscatter allow mapping of reactive hydrocarbon emissions. The principal contributor to these emissions during the growing season is the biogenic hydrocarbon isoprene, which is of great importance for driving regional and global tropospheric chemistry. We present seven years (1995-2001) of HCHO column data for North America from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME), and show that the general seasonal and interannual variability of these data is consistent with knowledge of isoprene emission. There are some significant regional discrepancies with the seasonal patterns predicted from current isoprene emission models, and we suggest that these may reflect flaws in the models. The interannual variability of HCHO columns observed by GOME appears to follow the interannual variability of surface temperature, as expected from current isoprene emission models

Gravitational Laser Back-Scattering

A possible way of producing gravitons in the laboratory is investigated. We evaluate the cross section electron + photon $\rightarrow$ electron + graviton in the framework of linearized gravitation, and analyse this reaction considering the photon coming either from a laser beam or from a Compton back-scattering process.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures (available upon request), RevTeX, IFT-P.03/9

Cognitive improvement following repair of a basal encephalocele.

We report the case of a 55-year-old woman presenting with progressive memory impairment secondary to a transsphenoidal encephalocele involving her dominant medial temporal lobe. Her clinical deterioration was accompanied by radiological progression in the encephalocele's size and associated encephalomalacia. Through a temporal craniotomy, her encephalocele was resected and the defect closed. Baseline neuropsychological assessment indicated global cognitive impairment, but post-operatively, she reported improved memory and concentration. Standardized assessment reflected an improvement in perceptual skills and an associated improved recall of a complex figure. This is the first case report to date of a patient's memory improving following treatment of a basal encephalocele