Associations between hoof lesions and locomotion score in 1098 unsound dairy cows

To investigate the association between locomotion score and types of hoof lesion, cows from 91 selected dairy herds in southern Chile were studied. The locomotion score was recorded for all of the lactating cows (n = 10,699). The mean prevalence of lame cows, when all locomotion scores >1 were included was 33.2% in large herds and 28.7% in small herds. There were 39.7%, 42%, 17.9% and 0.4% cows with locomotion scores of 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively. Feet (with locomotion scores representative of all severities of lameness) were examined on 676 cows from 34 large herds and 422 cows from 57 small herds. The prevalence of lesions by type ranged from 65% of cattle with at least one white line lesion to 2% of cattle with an interdigital growth. The lesions linked with increasingly poor locomotion were sole ulcer, double sole and interdigital purulent inflammation. There was correlation between claw skin lesions and also between sole ulcer and double sole within cows. It was concluded that the presence of a lesion does not imply that it is necessarily associated with increasing locomotion score. The lack of association between certain lesions and poor locomotion scores indicates either that these lesions are causing different severities of lameness, or that the case definitions used were not sufficiently precise. Locomotion score may not be sensitive enough to detect all lesions (and possibly discomfort)

Citizens’ attitudes and perceptions towards genetically modified food in Chile: Special emphasis in CRISPR technology

To date, there has been an increase in genome modification biotechnologies that improve production and food security but the process has not been accompanied by the delivery of information about them intended for citizens. This is essential considering that to achieve better health, food security and sustainability these biotechnologies need to be incorporated into production systems. This study aimed to explore perceptions and attitudes of Chilean citizens towards the use of genome modifications with an emphasis on transgenes and genome editing (CRISPR). An electronic questionnaire was applied, and afterwards the results were analysed through descriptive statistics, GLM, Spearman’s correlation and Wilcoxon Signed Rank test. A total of 702 questionnaires were analysed. High awareness of concepts such as transgenic and cloning was reported with CRISPR being the least known term. Most respondents perceived negative effects on health regarding the consumption of genetically modified products, with women having a significantly more negative attitude. Still, a high willingness to use CRISPR for improving animal and human health was reported. When comparing vegetable and animal products that underwent CRISPR or transgenes, the willingness to consume these products was higher for vegetables. The results show that changes in perception can be achieved after providing the definition of CRISPR and transgenic, therefore, consumer education seems to be essential. Science communication focused on making information about genome modification biotechnologies available to citizens could promote more positive attitudes and perceptions and facilitate their future implementation in the country

Use of thermography and pressure sensors to evaluate the effect of load on pack mules

Mules performing pack work can develop skin wounds and lesions on harness related areas of the body, but also muscular and bone damage that are not always visible during clinical examination. Thermographic imaging and pressure sensors have emerged as non-invasive diagnostic alternatives that can provide valuable information about the welfare of working equids. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of different loads on the back of mules through thermographic images and pressure sensors. A crossover design was used with twelve mules carrying three different loads (80, 105, and 130 kg) for two kilometers. Four pressure sensors were placed in the harnessing system to assess the pressure (N) of the loads. Thermographic images of the back were taken daily before and up to five days after the harnessing work. The results show that the heavy loads (105 and 130 kg) generated a significant increase of temperature in all the analysed areas of the mules’ back, with no significant differences between anatomical areas. The pressure sensors did not reveal significant differences between treatments or between anatomical areas and no evidence of a correlation between pressure and temperature. Further studies including physiological and behavioral measures to assess the effect of different loads are required to better understand the effect on working equids welfare.Keywords: mule, load, pressure, inflammation, welfare, working equid

Student engagement in the middle years: A year 8 case study

Various explanations and solutions have been proposed over the last ten years in relation to the ongoing problem of student lack of engagement with the middle years' curriculum in Australia. Identified contributors to this problem include an irrelevant or trivial curricular focus and ineffectual teaching and learning strategies. In this paper we report on a case study of a group of Year 8 teachers' beliefs and practices about what promotes or constrains this engagement. We found that while the teachers sought to introduce less directive approaches to topics, and were trying to encourage students' sense of task ownership and direction, they struggled to develop effective student self-regulatory practices. We conclude by identifying some practical strategies that support the growth of these practices as one aspect of student engagement

Tricofagia en chinchillas (chinchilla lanígera): un problema de bienestar animal

Las estereotipias son desórdenes conductuales que se desarrollan en los animales como consecuencia de ambientes sub-óptimos, sobre los cuales no tienen control. Al estar asociadas con problemas de manejo que afectan el bienestar de los animales, y muchas veces resultar en un deterioro del fitness del animal estas pueden ser utilizadas como un indicador directo (basado en el animal) de bienestar animal. En el caso de la chinchilla la conducta de tricofagia (chinchillas come-pelo) ha sido asociada con problemas de manejo cuando estas son mantenidas en criaderos con fines comerciales y algunos factores individuales. A pesar de que se le ha dado menos atención en los estudios de estereotipias a la chinchilla, es importante su estudio ya que aún existe un importante número de criaderos de esta especie con fines peleteros, y la conducta de tricofagia no sólo afecta el bienestar del individuo, si no que además afecta su producto principal, la piel, por lo que es una patología conductual de importancia económica para el productor. El objetivo de la presente revisión es dar a conocer algunos posibles factores causales de la conducta de tricofagia en chinchillas y las implicancias de las estereotipias sobre el bienestar animal

Consumption patterns: A proposed model for measurement of solution palatability in pigs

In animal production, the palatability of feeds or solutions has typically been inferred from measurements of preference or acceptance. However, laboratory studies in rats have demonstrated that palatability quantified through the analysis of the microstructure of licking can dissociate from simple measures of consumption. The aim of this study was to evaluate palatability in pigs by using consumption patterns. Pigs (n = 24) were exposed (in pairs, with video recording) to different sucrose solutions (0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32%) over 7 consecutive 10-min tests (1 concentration/d). Total consumption, number of consumption approaches (A), and real consumption time (RCT) were measured. Palatability was estimated through consumption pattern (RCT/A), analogous to the licks/bout measure used in rats. Data was analyzed by sucrose concentration. Spearman correlation coefficients were estimated between the logarithm of sucrose concentration and total consumption, A, RCT, and RCT/A. Total consumption and RCT showed inverted U functions relative to sucrose concentration. Consumption pattern (RCT/A) presented a dose effect (P < 0.005) and positive correlations with sucrose concentration (R = 0.23, P = 0.034). As with rats, consumption pattern could represent an interesting and novel measure of feeding behavior, reflecting palatability in pigs

Quasi free-standing epitaxial graphene fabrication on 3C-SiC/Si(111)

© 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd. Growing graphene on SiC thin films on Si is a cheaper alternative to the growth on bulk SiC, and for this reason it has been recently intensively investigated. Here we study the effect of hydrogen intercalation on epitaxial graphene obtained by high temperature annealing on 3C-SiC/Si(111) in ultra-high vacuum. By using a combination of core-level photoelectron spectroscopy, low energy electron diffraction, and near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) we find that hydrogen saturates the Si atoms at the topmost layer of the substrate, leading to free-standing graphene on 3C-SiC/Si(111). The intercalated hydrogen fully desorbs after heating the sample at 850 °C and the buffer layer appears again, similar to what has been reported for bulk SiC. However, the NEXAFS analysis sheds new light on the effect of hydrogen intercalation, showing an improvement of graphene's flatness after annealing in atomic H at 600 °C. These results provide new insight into free-standing graphene fabrication on SiC/Si thin films

Estimate of control voltage tolerances for a photo-electron analyzer of toroidal design

Sem informaçãoWe have run electron optics simulations and determined the tolerance in the control voltages of all elements (retarding input lens, analyzer, accelerating exit lens) of the La Trobe University photoelectron analyzer, recently redesigned to reach a spectral resolution of 5000, and which will be installed at LNLS (Campinas Brasil) and BESSY II (Berlin, Germany).We have run electron optics simulations and determined the tolerance in the control voltages of all elements (retarding input lens, analyzer, accelerating exit lens) of the La Trobe University photoelectron analyzer, recently redesigned to reach a spectral resolution of 5000, and which will be installed at LNLS (Campinas Brasil) and BESSY II (Berlin, Germany).We have run electron optics simulations and determined the tolerance in the control voltages of all elements (retarding input lens, analyzer, accelerating exit lens) of the La Trobe University photoelectron analyzer, recently redesigned to reach a spectral resolution of 5000, and which will be installed at LNLS (Campinas Brasil) and BESSY II (Berlin, Germany).334788791Sem informaçãoSem informaçãoSem informaçã

A graphene field-effect transistor as a molecule-specific probe of DNA nucleobases

© 2015 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved. Fast and reliable DNA sequencing is a long-standing target in biomedical research. Recent advances in graphene-based electrical sensors have demonstrated their unprecedented sensitivity to adsorbed molecules, which holds great promise for label-free DNA sequencing technology. To date, the proposed sequencing approaches rely on the ability of graphene electric devices to probe molecular-specific interactions with a graphene surface. Here we experimentally demonstrate the use of graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) as probes of the presence of a layer of individual DNA nucleobases adsorbed on the graphene surface. We show that GFETs are able to measure distinct coverage-dependent conductance signatures upon adsorption of the four different DNA nucleobases; a result that can be attributed to the formation of an interface dipole field. Comparison between experimental GFET results and synchrotron-based material analysis allowed prediction of the ultimate device sensitivity, and assessment of the feasibility of single nucleobase sensing with graphene