Housing of horses in Swedish breeding farms for warm-blooded riding horses

Young riding horses should be able to move freely in large areas when growing up to develop a sustainable body for the future. The Swedish breed warm blooded riding horses are seen as healthy and durable in the sport. The structure of Swedish breeders back to 25 years ago is well known. However, their choice of housing system of young riding horses has not been investigated. Therefore, the aim was to identify and investigate today’s structure of Swedish breeders and their choice of housing system for young and growing horses. This work can be a basis for future investigations of housing system for young horses and the young horses’ future health. Further, this work can be used in education for Swedish breeders in housing systems for young horses. Three questions were answered in this essay: How has the structure of Swedish breeders changed over the last 25 years? How do the Swedish breeders choose a housing system for their youngster looks and how do the access to outdoor living look for Swedish breed young horses? This essay is based on a survey sent to breeders of Swedish warm blooded riding horses. The survey contained 22 questions of different character. The questions were chosen according to breeders, housing of horses, outdoor living for youngsters and marketing. For statistical analysis Microsoft Excel 2019 and chi2-test was used. The result showed that 79% of Swedish breeders were women and the majority were in the age 31 to 50 years. Most of the breeders, independent of age, had learned about breeding from friends. According to the answers of the survey breeders in the age group 31-60 years often used individual housing in stable. Individual housing in stable was also the choose for majority of the men and for breeders in the northern and the west part of Sweden. In the summer, 85% of the breeders had their horses out in pasture and kept in groups of two to four and five to eight horses. Availability of free movement and social contact among horses were the most important criteria for the breeders choose of housing system for young horses. The structure of Swedish breeders for warm blooded riding horses was similar to the structures of 1995 and 2010. Women in middle age (31-50 years and 51-60 years) is dominating the Swedish breeding meanwhile the men become fewer and older. Half of the Swedish breeders are housing their young horses in loose housing systems in the winter. In summertime four out of five breeders had their young horses out in pasture. In summertime, the horses were placed in pastures with a size of most commonly three to five hectares. In the winter, the horses were placed in paddocks with a size of most commonly one to two hectares. All the time during outdoor living the horses had social contact with other conspecifics.Den svenska varmblodiga ridhästen marknadsförs som hållbar. Någonting som även är beskrivet i dess avelsmål. För att uppnå detta är det bland annat viktigt att ge den unga hästen så bra förutsättningar som möjligt, tidigt i livet, med fri rörelse på stora öppna ytor. Hur ser det ut bland uppfödarna i Sverige? Inhyses hästarna i Sverige som det marknadsförs? För att undersöka hur inhysningen av den unga varmblodiga ridhästen ser ut idag och hur den kan påverkas undersöktes uppfödarstrukturen. Idag kan vi se att uppfödarstrukturen domineras av kvinnor i medelåldern (31–50 år till 51–60 år). Resultatet visade även att männen har blivit färre och äldre under de senaste 25 åren. Uppfödningen bedrivs i de flesta fall på landsbygden som hobbyverksamhet. Cirka hälften av uppfödarna i Sverige håller idag sina hästar på lösdrift under vinterhalvåret och drygt fyra av fem uppfödare har hästarna på bete sommartid. På vintern är det mest vanligt förekommande med en hagstorlek på en till två hektar. På sommarhalvåret är hagar med en storlek på tre till fem hektar mest vanligt förekommande. Vid utevistelse har samtliga individer sällskap av artfränder i mindre grupper. I Norra Sverige och Västsverige är inhysning enskilt på box det mest vanliga inhysningssystemet. Uppfödare i medelåldern inhyser till största del sina unghästar enskilt på box. Med detta resultat visas att det är i dessa målgrupper kunskapen om inhysning behöver utvecklas. Detta för att belysa kunskap om inhysning kopplat till hållbarhet samt att öka möjligheten att uppnå det uppsatta avelsmålet samt underbygga marknadsföringen. För att komma fram till resultatet i arbetet skickades en enkät ut vilken innefattade 22 frågor om uppfödarstrukturen och uppfödarnas val av inhysningssystem. Enkäten skickades ut med hjälp av SWB till deras medlemmar. För delar av resultatet användes även tidigare forskning

Consideration of predicted small-molecule metabolites in computational toxicology

Xenobiotic metabolism has evolved as a key protective system of organisms against potentially harmful chemicals or compounds typically not present in a particular organism. The system's primary purpose is to chemically transform xenobiotics into metabolites that can be excreted via renal or biliary routes. However, in a minority of cases, the metabolites formed are toxic, sometimes even more toxic than the parent compound. Therefore, the consideration of xenobiotic metabolism clearly is of importance to the understanding of the toxicity of a compound. Nevertheless, most of the existing computational approaches for toxicity prediction do not explicitly take metabolism into account and it is currently not known to what extent the consideration of (predicted) metabolites could lead to an improvement of toxicity prediction. In order to study how predictive metabolism could help to enhance toxicity prediction, we explored a number of different strategies to integrate predictions from a state-of-the-art metabolite structure predictor and from modern machine learning approaches for toxicity prediction. We tested the integrated models on five toxicological endpoints and assays, including in vitro and in vivo genotoxicity assays (AMES and MNT), two organ toxicity endpoints (DILI and DICC) and a skin sensitization assay (LLNA). Overall, the improvements in model performance achieved by including metabolism data were minor (up to +0.04 in the F1 scores and up to +0.06 in MCCs). In general, the best performance was obtained by averaging the probability of toxicity predicted for the parent compound and the maximum probability of toxicity predicted for any metabolite. Moreover, including metabolite structures as further input molecules for model training slightly improved the toxicity predictions obtained by this averaging approach. However, the high complexity of the metabolic system and associated uncertainty about the likely metabolites apparently limits the benefit of considering predicted metabolites in toxicity prediction

Biased M1-muscarinic-receptor-mutant mice inform the design of next-generation drugs

Cholinesterase inhibitors, the current frontline symptomatic treatment for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), are associated with low efficacy and adverse effects. M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (M1 mAChRs) represent a potential alternate therapeutic target; however, drug discovery programs focused on this G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) have failed, largely due to cholinergic adverse responses. Employing novel chemogenetic and phosphorylation-deficient, G protein-biased, mouse models, paired with a toolbox of probe molecules, we establish previously unappreciated pharmacologically targetable M1 mAChR neurological processes, including anxiety-like behaviors and hyper-locomotion. By mapping the upstream signaling pathways regulating these responses, we determine the importance of receptor phosphorylation-dependent signaling in driving clinically relevant outcomes and in controlling adverse effects including ‘epileptic-like’ seizures. We conclude that M1 mAChR ligands that promote receptor phosphorylation-dependent signaling would protect against cholinergic adverse effects in addition to driving beneficial responses such as learning and memory and anxiolytic behavior relevant for the treatment of AD

Incidence, risk factors and re-exacerbation rate of severe asthma exacerbations in a multinational, multidatabase pediatric cohort study

Background: There are sparse real-world data on severe asthma exacerbations (SAE) in children. This multinational cohort study assessed the incidence of and risk factors for SAE and the incidence of asthma-related rehospitalization in children with asthma. Methods: Asthma patients 5-17 years old with ≥1 year of follow-up were identified in six European electronic databases from the Netherlands, Italy, the UK, Denmark and Spain in 2008-2013. Asthma was defined as ≥1 asthma-specific disease code within 3 months of prescriptions/dispensing of asthma medication. Severe asthma was defined as high-dosed inhaled corticosteroids plus a second controller. SAE was defined by systemic corticosteroids, emergency department visit and/or hospitalization all for reason of asthma. Risk factors for SAE were estimated by Poisson regression analyses. Results: The cohort consisted of 212 060 paediatric asthma patients contributing to 678 625 patient-years (PY). SAE rates ranged between 17 and 198/1000 PY and were higher in severe asthma and highest in severe asthma patients with a history of exacerbations. Prior SAE (incidence rate ratio 3-45) and younger age increased the SAE risk in all countries, whereas obesity, atopy and GERD were a risk factor in some but not all countries. Rehospitalization rates were up to 79% within 1 year. Conclusions: In a real-world setting, SAE rates were highest in children with severe asthma with a history of exacerbations. Many severe asthma patients were rehospitalized within 1 year. Asthma management focusing on prevention of SAE is important to reduce the burden of asthma

Renal Sodium Gradient Orchestrates a Dynamic Antibacterial Defense Zone.

Lower urinary tract infections are among the most common human bacterial infections, but extension to the kidneys is rare. This has been attributed to mechanical forces, such as urine flow, that prevent the ascent of bladder microbes. Here, we show that the regional hypersalinity, required for the kidney's urine-concentrating function, instructs epithelial cells to produce chemokines that localize monocyte-derived mononuclear phagocytes (MNPs) to the medulla. This hypersaline environment also increases the intrinsic bactericidal and neutrophil chemotactic activities of MNPs to generate a zone of defense. Because MNP positioning and function are dynamically regulated by the renal salt gradient, we find that patients with urinary concentrating defects are susceptible to kidney infection. Our work reveals a critical accessory role for the homeostatic function of a vital organ in optimizing tissue defense

Visual cues of oviposition sites and spectral sensitivity of Cydia strobilella L.

We investigated whether the spruce seed moth (Cydia so-obilella L., Tortricidae: Grapholitini), an important pest in seed orchards of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.), can make use of the spectral properties of its host when searching for flowers to oviposit on. Spectral measurements showed that the flowers, and the cones they develop into, differ from a background of P. abies needles by a higher reflectance of long wavelengths. These differences increase as the flowers develop into mature cones. Electroretinograms (ERGs) in combination with spectral adaptation suggest that C. strobilella has at least three spectral types of photoreceptor; an abundant green-sensitive receptor with maximal sensitivity at wavelength lambda(max) = 526 nm, a blue-sensitive receptor with kr a = 436 nm, and an ultraviolet-sensitive receptor with lambda(max) = 352 nm. Based on our spectral measurements and the receptor properties inferred from the ERGs, we calculated that open flowers, which are suitable oviposition sites, provide detectable achromatic, but almost no chromatic contrasts to the background of needles. In field trials using traps of different spectral properties with or without a female sex pheromone lure, only pheromone-baited traps caught moths. Catches in baited traps were not correlated with the visual contrast of the traps against the background. Thus, visual contrast is probably not the primary cue for finding open host flowers, but it could potentially complement olfaction as a secondary cue, since traps with certain spectral properties caught significantly more moths than others

Management and outcomes of gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low, middle and high income countries: Protocol for a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Introduction Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of death in children <5 years of age globally, contributing an estimated half a million deaths per year. Very limited literature exists from low and middle income countries (LMICs) where most of these deaths occur. The Global PaedSurg Research Collaboration aims to undertake the first multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of a selection of common congenital anomalies comparing management and outcomes between low, middle and high income countries (HICs) globally. Methods and analysis The Global PaedSurg Research Collaboration consists of surgeons, paediatricians, anaesthetists and allied healthcare professionals involved in the surgical care of children globally. Collaborators will prospectively collect observational data on consecutive patients presenting for the first time, with one of seven common congenital anomalies (oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation and Hirschsprung''s disease). Patient recruitment will be for a minimum of 1 month from October 2018 to April 2019 with a 30-day post-primary intervention follow-up period. Anonymous data will be collected on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions and outcomes using REDCap. Collaborators will complete a survey regarding the resources and facilities for neonatal and paediatric surgery at their centre. The primary outcome is all-cause in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes include the occurrence of postoperative complications. Chi-squared analysis will be used to compare mortality between LMICs and HICs. Multilevel, multivariate logistic regression analysis will be undertaken to identify patient-level and hospital-level factors affecting outcomes with adjustment for confounding factors. Ethics and dissemination At the host centre, this study is classified as an audit not requiring ethical approval. All participating collaborators have gained local approval in accordance with their institutional ethical regulations. Collaborators will be encouraged to present the results locally, nationally and internationally. The results will be submitted for open access publication in a peer reviewed journal

Research and Innovation for and with Adolescent Young Carers to Influence Policy and Practice—The European Union Funded “ME-WE” Project

Young carers are children and adolescents who provide care to other family members or friends, taking over responsibilities that are usually associated with adulthood. There is emerging but still scarce knowledge worldwide about the phenomenon of young carers and the impact of a caring role on their health, social and personal development spheres. This paper provides an overview of the main results from the ME-WE project, which is the first European research and innovation project dedicated to adolescent young carers (AYCs) (15–17 years). The project methods relied on three main activities: (1) a systematization of knowledge (by means of a survey to AYCs, country case studies, Delphi study, literature review); (2) the co-design, implementation and evaluation of a primary prevention intervention addressing AYCs’ mental health (by means of Blended Learning Networks and a clinical trial in six European countries); (3) the implementation of knowledge translation actions for dissemination, awareness, advocacy and lobbying (by means of national and international stakeholder networks, as well as traditional and new media). Project results substantially contributed to a better understanding of AYCs’ conditions, needs and preferences, defined tailored support intervention (resilient to COVID-19 related restrictions), and significant improvements in national and European policies for AYCs