Effect of previous handling experiences on responses of dairy calves to routine husbandry procedures

The nature of human–animal interactions is an important factor contributing to animal welfare and productivity. Reducing stress during routine husbandry procedures is likely to improve animal welfare. We examined how the type of early handling of calves affected responses to two common husbandry procedures, ear-tagging and disbudding. Forty Holstein–Friesian calves (n = 20/treatment) were exposed to one of two handling treatments daily from 1 to 5 weeks of age: (1) positive (n = 20), involving gentle handling (soft voices, slow movements, patting), and (2) negative (n = 20), involving rough handling (rough voices, rapid movements, pushing). Heart rate (HR), respiration rate (RR) and behaviour (activity, tail flicking) were measured before and after ear-tagging and disbudding (2 days apart). Cortisol was measured at −20 (baseline), 20 and 40 min relative to disbudding time. There were no significant treatment differences in HR, RR or behaviour in response to either procedure. However, the following changes occurred across both treatment groups. HR increased after disbudding (by 14.7 ± 4.0 and 18.6 ± 3.8 bpm, positive and negative, respectively; mean ± s.e.m.) and ear-tagging (by 8.7 ± 3.1 and 10.3 ± 3.0 bpm, positive and negative, respectively). After disbudding, there was an increase in RR (by 8.2 ± 3.4 and 9.3 ± 3.4 breaths/min, positive and negative, respectively), overall activity (by 9.4 ± 1.2 and 9.9 ± 1.3 frequency/min, positive and negative, respectively) and tail flicking (by 13.2 ± 2.8 and 11.2 ± 3.0 frequency/min, positive and negative, respectively), and cortisol increased from baseline at 20 min post procedure (by 10.3 ± 1.1 and 12.3 ± 1.1 nmol/l positive and negative, respectively). Although we recorded significant changes in calf responses during ear-tagging and disbudding, the type of prior handling had no effect on responses. The effects of handling may have been overridden by the degree of pain and/or stress associated with the procedures. Further research is warranted to understand the welfare impact and interaction between previous handling and responses to husbandry procedures

Controls on the location of compressional deformation on the NW European margin

The distribution of Cenozoic compressional structures along the NW European margin has been compared with maps of the thickness of the crystalline crust derived from a compilation of seismic refraction interpretations and gravity modelling, and with the distribution of high-velocity lower crust and/or partially serpentinized upper mantle detected by seismic experiments. Only a subset of the mapped compressional structures coincide with areas susceptible to lithospheric weakening as a result of crustal hyperextension and partial serpentinization of the upper mantle. Notably, partially serpentinized upper mantle is well documented beneath the central part of the southern Rockall Basin, but compressional features are sparse in that area. Where compressional structures have formed but the upper mantle is not serpentinized, simple rheological modelling suggests an alternative weakening mechanism involving ductile lower crust and lithospheric decoupling. The presence of pre-existing weak zones (associated with the properties of the gouge and overpressure in fault zones) and local stress magnitude and orientation are important contributing factors

Communication and trust in the bounded confidence model

The communication process in a situation of emergency is discussed within the Scheff theory of shame and pride. The communication involves messages from media and from other persons. Three strategies are considered: selfish (to contact friends), collective (to join other people) and passive (to do nothing). We show that the pure selfish strategy cannot be evolutionarily stable. The main result is that the community structure is statistically meaningful only if the interpersonal communication is weak.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, RevTeX, for ICCCI-201

Damping of Tensor Modes in Cosmology

An analytic formula is given for the traceless transverse part of the anisotropic stress tensor due to free streaming neutrinos, and used to derive an integro-differential equation for the propagation of cosmological gravitational waves. The solution shows that anisotropic stress reduces the squared amplitude by 35.6 % for wavelengths that enter the horizon during the radiation-dominated phase, independent of any cosmological parameters. This decreases the tensor temperature and polarization correlation functions for these wavelengths by the same amount. The effect is less for wavelengths that enter the horizon at later times. At the longest wavelengths the decrease in the tensor correlation functions due to neutrino free streaming ranges from 10.7% for $\Omega_Mh^2=0.1$ to 9.0% for $\Omega_Mh^2=0.15$. An Appendix gives a general proof that tensor as well as scalar modes satisfy a conservation law for perturbations outside the horizon, even when the anisotropic stress tensor is not negligible.Comment: 14 pages. The original version of this paper has been expanded to deal with perturbations of any wavelength. While for wavelengths short enough to enter the horizon during radiation dominance, temperature and polarization correlations are damped by 35.6%, at the longest wavelengths the damping is from 9.0% to 11%. An added Appendix gives a general proof that tensor as well as scalar modes satisfy a conservation law outside the horizon, even during neutrino decoupling. Some references are also adde

Stochastic Vehicle Routing with Recourse

We study the classic Vehicle Routing Problem in the setting of stochastic optimization with recourse. StochVRP is a two-stage optimization problem, where demand is satisfied using two routes: fixed and recourse. The fixed route is computed using only a demand distribution. Then after observing the demand instantiations, a recourse route is computed -- but costs here become more expensive by a factor lambda. We present an O(log^2 n log(n lambda))-approximation algorithm for this stochastic routing problem, under arbitrary distributions. The main idea in this result is relating StochVRP to a special case of submodular orienteering, called knapsack rank-function orienteering. We also give a better approximation ratio for knapsack rank-function orienteering than what follows from prior work. Finally, we provide a Unique Games Conjecture based omega(1) hardness of approximation for StochVRP, even on star-like metrics on which our algorithm achieves a logarithmic approximation.Comment: 20 Pages, 1 figure Revision corrects the statement and proof of Theorem 1.

Spin-Glass State in CuGa2O4\rm CuGa_2O_4

Magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, specific heat and positive muon spin relaxation (\musr) measurements have been used to characterize the magnetic ground-state of the spinel compound $\rm CuGa_2O_4$. We observe a spin-glass transition of the S=1/2 $\rm Cu^{2+}$ spins below $\rm T_f=2.5K$ characterized by a cusp in the susceptibility curve which suppressed when a magnetic field is applied. We show that the magnetization of $\rm CuGa_2O_4$ depends on the magnetic histo Well below $\rm T_f$, the muon signal resembles the dynamical Kubo-Toyabe expression reflecting that the spin freezing process in $\rm CuGa_2O_4$ results Gaussian distribution of the magnetic moments. By means of Monte-Carlo simulati we obtain the relevant exchange integrals between the $\rm Cu^{2+}$ spins in this compound.Comment: 6 pages, 16 figure

An aggravated trajectory of depression and anxiety co-morbid with hepatitis C: : A 21 to 62 month follow-up study in 61 South Australian outpatients

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to explore the course of depression and anxiety in chronic hepatitis C patients. METHODS:   Data were combined from two studies: (1) Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) scores in 395 consecutive Australian outpatients from 2006 to 2010 formed the baseline measurement; and (2) Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) scores in a survey of a sub-sample of these patients in 2011 formed the follow-up measurement. After converting DASS to HADS scores, changes in symptom scores and rates of case-ness (≥8), and predictors of follow-up symptoms were assessed. RESULTS:   Follow-up data were available for 61 patients (70.5% male) whose age ranged from 24.5 to 74.6 years (M=45.6). The time to follow-up ranged from 20.7 to 61.9 months (M=43.8). Baseline rates of depression (32.8%) and anxiety (44.3%) increased to 62.3% and 67.2%, respectively. These findings were confirmed, independent of the conversion, by comparing baseline HADS and follow-up DASS scores with British community norms. Baseline anxiety and younger age predicted depression, while baseline anxiety, high school non-completion, and single relationship status predicted anxiety. CONCLUSION:  This study demonstrated a worsening trajectory of depression and anxiety. Further controlled and prospective research in a larger sample is required to confirm these findings

Gauge-ready formulation of the cosmological kinetic theory in generalized gravity theories

We present cosmological perturbations of kinetic components based on relativistic Boltzmann equations in the context of generalized gravity theories. Our general theory considers an arbitrary number of scalar fields generally coupled with the gravity, an arbitrary number of mutually interacting hydrodynamic fluids, and components described by the relativistic Boltzmann equations like massive/massless collisionless particles and the photon with the accompanying polarizations. We also include direct interactions among fluids and fields. The background FLRW model includes the general spatial curvature and the cosmological constant. We consider three different types of perturbations, and all the scalar-type perturbation equations are arranged in a gauge-ready form so that one can implement easily the convenient gauge conditions depending on the situation. In the numerical calculation of the Boltzmann equations we have implemented four different gauge conditions in a gauge-ready manner where two of them are new. By comparing solutions solved separately in different gauge conditions we can naturally check the numerical accuracy.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figures, revised thoroughly, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Inflation, cold dark matter, and the central density problem

A problem with high central densities in dark halos has arisen in the context of LCDM cosmologies with scale-invariant initial power spectra. Although n=1 is often justified by appealing to the inflation scenario, inflationary models with mild deviations from scale-invariance are not uncommon and models with significant running of the spectral index are plausible. Even mild deviations from scale-invariance can be important because halo collapse times and densities depend on the relative amount of small-scale power. We choose several popular models of inflation and work out the ramifications for galaxy central densities. For each model, we calculate its COBE-normalized power spectrum and deduce the implied halo densities using a semi-analytic method calibrated against N-body simulations. We compare our predictions to a sample of dark matter-dominated galaxies using a non-parametric measure of the density. While standard n=1, LCDM halos are overdense by a factor of 6, several of our example inflation+CDM models predict halo densities well within the range preferred by observations. We also show how the presence of massive (0.5 eV) neutrinos may help to alleviate the central density problem even with n=1. We conclude that galaxy central densities may not be as problematic for the CDM paradigm as is sometimes assumed: rather than telling us something about the nature of the dark matter, galaxy rotation curves may be telling us something about inflation and/or neutrinos. An important test of this idea will be an eventual consensus on the value of sigma_8, the rms overdensity on the scale 8 h^-1 Mpc. Our successful models have values of sigma_8 approximately 0.75, which is within the range of recent determinations. Finally, models with n>1 (or sigma_8 > 1) are highly disfavored.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures. Minor changes made to reflect referee's Comments, error in Eq. (18) corrected, references updated and corrected, conclusions unchanged. Version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D, scheduled for 15 August 200

Crystal structure, electronic, and magnetic properties of the bilayered rhodium oxide Sr3Rh2O7

The bilayered rhodium oxide Sr3Rh2O7 was synthesized by high-pressure and high-temperature heating techniques. The single-phase polycrystalline sample of Sr3Rh2O7 was characterized by measurements of magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity, specific heat, and thermopower. The structural characteristics were investigated by powder neutron diffraction study. The rhodium oxide Sr3Rh2O7 [Bbcb, a = 5.4744(8) A, b = 5.4716(9) A, c = 20.875(2) A] is isostructural to the metamagnetic metal Sr3Ru2O7, with five 4d electrons per Rh, which is electronically equivalent to the hypothetic bilayered ruthenium oxide, where one electron per Ru is doped into the Ru-327 unit. The present data show the rhodium oxide Sr3Rh2O7 to be metallic with enhanced paramagnetism, similar to Sr3Ru2O7. However, neither manifest contributions from spin fluctuations nor any traces of a metamagnetic transition were found within the studied range from 2 K to 390 K below 70 kOe.Comment: To be published in PR