Consequences of low electrical currents on the welfare of dairy cattle. Emphasis on individual variability

When heifers were exposed to an electrical current which voltage was increased daily, a short-term persistent reaction threshold of 2.3 V (3.5 mA) was observed, despite a large individual variability. In the medium-term, a multi-criteria experimental approach in dairy cows exposed to a permanent (predictable) or random (unpredictable) voltage of 1.8 V (3.6 mA) on the water trough showed no modification of the amount and composition of milk, although a transient acute stress response was observed. Cows exposed permanently to the voltage became habituated to it, whereas those exposed unpredictably may have shown signs of a mild chronic stress. The individual variability of the cow resistance could explain the differences in behavioural responses. In farms, it is important to reduce the presence of stray voltage, even of low level, as they may affect animal welfare.Lors de l’application d’une tension électrique augmentée progressivement chaque jour, un seuil de réaction persistante de 2,3 V (3,5 mA) a été mis en évidence à court terme chez des génisses, malgré une forte variabilité individuelle. À moyen terme, une analyse multicritère a montré que l’exposition de vaches laitières, de manière permanente (prévisible) ou aléatoire (imprévisible), à une tension de 1,8 V (3,6 mA) au niveau de l’abreuvoir n’a pas modifié la quantité de lait produite ni sa composition, bien qu’une réponse de stress aigu transitoire ait été observée. Les vaches exposées de manière permanente se sont habituées, contrairement aux vaches exposées de manière imprévisible chez lesquelles la présence d’un stress chronique modéré est envisagée. La variabilité individuelle de résistance des vaches pourrait expliquer la variabilité des réponses comportementales. En élevage, il est important de limiter la présence de tensions parasites, même de faible niveau, qui pourraient perturber le bien-être des animaux

Challenges in physician supply planning: the case of Belgium

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Planning human resources for health (HRH) is a complex process for policy-makers and, as a result, many countries worldwide swing from surplus to shortage. In-depth case studies can help appraising the challenges encountered and the solutions implemented. This paper has two objectives: to identify the key challenges in HRH planning in Belgium and to formulate recommendations for an effective HRH planning, on the basis of the Belgian case study and lessons drawn from an international benchmarking.</p> <p>Case description</p> <p>In Belgium, a numerus clausus set up in 1997 and effective in 2004, aims to limit the total number of physicians working in the curative sector. The assumption of a positive relationship between physician densities and health care utilization was a major argument in favor of medical supply restrictions. This new regulation did not improve recurrent challenges such as specialty imbalances, with uncovered needs particularly among general practitioners, and geographical maldistribution. New difficulties also emerged. In particular, limiting national training of HRH turned out to be ineffective within the open European workforce market. The lack of integration of policies affecting HRH was noteworthy. We described in the paper what strategies were developed to address those challenges in Belgium and in neighboring countries.</p> <p>Discussion and evaluation</p> <p>Planning the medical workforce involves determining the numbers, mix, and distribution of health providers that will be required at some identified future point in time. To succeed in their task, health policy planners have to take a broader perspective on the healthcare system. Focusing on numbers is too restrictive and adopting innovative policies learned from benchmarking without integration and coordination is unfruitful. Evolving towards a strategic planning is essential to control the effects of the complex factors impacting on human resources. This evolution requires an effective monitoring of all key factors affecting supply and demand, a dynamic approach, and a system-level perspective, considering all healthcare professionals, and integrating manpower planning with workforce development.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>To engage in an evidence-based action, policy-makers need a global manpower picture, from their own country and abroad, as well as reliable and comparable manpower databases allowing proper analysis and planning of the workforce.</p

Antiretroviral-naive and -treated HIV-1 patients can harbour more resistant viruses in CSF than in plasma

Objectives The neurological disorders in HIV-1-infected patients remain prevalent. The HIV-1 resistance in plasma and CSF was compared in patients with neurological disorders in a multicentre study. Methods Blood and CSF samples were collected at time of neurological disorders for 244 patients. The viral loads were >50 copies/mL in both compartments and bulk genotypic tests were realized. Results On 244 patients, 89 and 155 were antiretroviral (ARV) naive and ARV treated, respectively. In ARV-naive patients, detection of mutations in CSF and not in plasma were reported for the reverse transcriptase (RT) gene in 2/89 patients (2.2%) and for the protease gene in 1/89 patients (1.1%). In ARV-treated patients, 19/152 (12.5%) patients had HIV-1 mutations only in the CSF for the RT gene and 30/151 (19.8%) for the protease gene. Two mutations appeared statistically more prevalent in the CSF than in plasma: M41L (P = 0.0455) and T215Y (P = 0.0455). Conclusions In most cases, resistance mutations were present and similar in both studied compartments. However, in 3.4% of ARV-naive and 8.8% of ARV-treated patients, the virus was more resistant in CSF than in plasma. These results support the need for genotypic resistance testing when lumbar puncture is performe

Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study

Background Huntington's disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, HTT. Age at onset has been used as a quantitative phenotype in genetic analysis looking for Huntington's disease modifiers, but is hard to define and not always available. Therefore, we aimed to generate a novel measure of disease progression and to identify genetic markers associated with this progression measure. Methods We generated a progression score on the basis of principal component analysis of prospectively acquired longitudinal changes in motor, cognitive, and imaging measures in the 218 indivduals in the TRACK-HD cohort of Huntington's disease gene mutation carriers (data collected 2008–11). We generated a parallel progression score using data from 1773 previously genotyped participants from the European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY study of Huntington's disease mutation carriers (data collected 2003–13). We did a genome-wide association analyses in terms of progression for 216 TRACK-HD participants and 1773 REGISTRY participants, then a meta-analysis of these results was undertaken. Findings Longitudinal motor, cognitive, and imaging scores were correlated with each other in TRACK-HD participants, justifying use of a single, cross-domain measure of disease progression in both studies. The TRACK-HD and REGISTRY progression measures were correlated with each other (r=0·674), and with age at onset (TRACK-HD, r=0·315; REGISTRY, r=0·234). The meta-analysis of progression in TRACK-HD and REGISTRY gave a genome-wide significant signal (p=1·12 × 10−10) on chromosome 5 spanning three genes: MSH3, DHFR, and MTRNR2L2. The genes in this locus were associated with progression in TRACK-HD (MSH3 p=2·94 × 10−8 DHFR p=8·37 × 10−7 MTRNR2L2 p=2·15 × 10−9) and to a lesser extent in REGISTRY (MSH3 p=9·36 × 10−4 DHFR p=8·45 × 10−4 MTRNR2L2 p=1·20 × 10−3). The lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TRACK-HD (rs557874766) was genome-wide significant in the meta-analysis (p=1·58 × 10−8), and encodes an aminoacid change (Pro67Ala) in MSH3. In TRACK-HD, each copy of the minor allele at this SNP was associated with a 0·4 units per year (95% CI 0·16–0·66) reduction in the rate of change of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score, and a reduction of 0·12 units per year (95% CI 0·06–0·18) in the rate of change of UHDRS Total Functional Capacity score. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age of onset. Interpretation The multidomain progression measure in TRACK-HD was associated with a functional variant that was genome-wide significant in our meta-analysis. The association in only 216 participants implies that the progression measure is a sensitive reflection of disease burden, that the effect size at this locus is large, or both. Knockout of Msh3 reduces somatic expansion in Huntington's disease mouse models, suggesting this mechanism as an area for future therapeutic investigation

No evident effect of domestication on the anti-predator behaviour of European abalone (Haliotis tuberculata): implications for stock enhancement programs

Stock-enhancement programs for the European abalone (Haliotis tuberculata) might be an efficient way to restore collapsed natural populations or preserve fishing activities. Specifically, this practice consists of releasing hatchery-reared juveniles from wild or farmed broodstock into natural environments. However, the process of selection and adaptation to farming conditions may result in domestication, thus leading to genetic and behavioural changes in farmed animals. Therefore, evaluating the effects of the domestication process on juveniles is a critical first step toward the development of successful abalone stock-enhancement programs. To this end, the behaviour and survival of sixteen-month-old H. tuberculata juveniles from wild and from farmed broodstock (the product of three generations of shell-length based selection) were compared. We used three assays at different spatial and temporal scales: (1) short-term responses to simulated contact with predators, (2) the activity pattern in the presence of a natural predator (the velvet crab Necora puber) in aquariums during a 2-week trial, and (3) survival in large mesocosms in the presence of predators during a 3-week trial. No significant effects of the broodstock origin of the juveniles were detected on any of the studied parameters (P > 0.05). In addition, the estimated size effects were small compared to the overall mean for most of the variables, suggesting that the domestication process was too recent to induce important behavioural changes in juveniles from farmed broodstock. Introducing crabs into the mesocosms significantly decreased abalone survival rates (P < 0.05). In the activity pattern trial, most of the abalone mortality in aquariums with crabs (55%) occurred within the first three days, which was largely attributed to initial exploration of areas outside of shelters by the abalone. In the second week, abalone spent much less time moving when crabs were present (P < 0.05). These results suggest that juveniles from both origins would likely have the same survival rates if released in the wild. The commonly reported high abalone mortality immediately after seeding is likely due to a lack of hiding behaviour or exploration of the new environment during the first few days of exposure to predators in the wild. Therefore, current release systems may need to be adjusted to the ethological characteristics of abalone juveniles to avoid high mortalities due to an initial lack of predator avoidance

Growth of the European abalone (Haliotis tuberculata L.) in situ: Seasonality and ageing using stable oxygen isotopes

International audienceThe ormer, Haliotis tuberculata is the only European abalone species commercially exploited. The determination of growth and age in the wild is an important tool for fisheries and aquaculture management. However, the ageing technique used in the past in the field is unreliable. The stable oxygen isotope composition (18O/16O) of the shell depends on the temperature and oxygen isotope composition of the ambient sea water. The stable oxygen isotope technique, developed to study paleoclimatological changes in shellfish, was applied to three H. tuberculata specimens collected in north-west Brittany. For the specimens collected, the oxygen isotope ratios of the shell reflected the seasonal cycle in the temperature. From winter-to-winter cycles, estimates of the age and the annual growth increment, ranging from 13 to 55 mm per year were obtained. This study shows that stable oxygen isotopes can be a reliable tool for ageing and growth studies of this abalone species in the wild, and for validating other estimates