Housing of Pregnant Sows in Loose and Confined Systems–a Field Study 1. Vulva and Body Lesions,Culling Reasons and Production Results

A field study was carried out in 18 herds with loose housing of pregnant sows (loose herds) and in 18 herds with tethered or stalled pregnant sows (confined herds). Three of the loose herds were excluded due to different kind of flooring from the rest of the herds. The remaining 15 herds had partly slatted concrete floors and electronic sow feeding. The frequencies of sows with vulva and body lesions, thin sows as well as the culling reasons and production results were used as animal welfare indicators for the herds. Vulva lesions were found only in the loose herds and the mean prevalence proportion of sows with lesions within these herds was 15.2%. All vulva lesions observed in this study seemed to be caused by biting. The relative risk of vulva lesions was 2.6 times higher in the loose herds with no roughage feeding as compared to loose herds with appetite feeding of roughage. The sows in the loose herds, that had a feeding station with a mechanical hind gate had 1.8 greater risk of vulva lesions than sows in the loose herds that used a feeding station with an electronic gate. The mean prevalence proportion of sows with body lesions was 13.1% in the loose herds and 4.0% in the confined herds. Aggression between sows seemed to be the main cause of body lesions in the loose herds, while decubitus ulcers on the shoulders were the main cause of body lesions in the confined herds. Sows in loose herds that were not fed additional roughage feeding had 1.7 times greater risk of body lesions than sows in herds that used additional roughage feeding. The main culling reasons and production results were similar in the loose and confined herds. This study showed that there were welfare problems both in confined and loose herds, however, with improved management, many of the welfare problems associated with loose housing can be reduced.     

Watch and learn: seeing is better than doing when acquiring consecutive motor tasks

During motor adaptation learning, consecutive physical practice of two different tasks compromises the retention of the first. However, there is evidence that observational practice, while still effectively aiding acquisition, will not lead to interference and hence prove to be a better practice method. Observers and Actors practised in a clockwise (Task A) followed by a counterclockwise (Task B) visually rotated environment, and retention was immediately assessed. An Observe-all and Act-all group were compared to two groups who both physically practised Task A, but then only observed (ObsB) or did not see or practice Task B (NoB). The two observer groups and the NoB control group better retained Task A than Actors, although importantly only the observer groups learnt Task B. RT data and explicit awareness of the rotation suggested that the observers had acquired their respective tasks in a more strategic manner than Actor and Control groups. We conclude that observational practice benefits learning of multiple tasks more than physical practice due to the lack of updating of implicit, internal models for aiming in the former.     

The Effect of Claw Lesions and Claw Infections on Lameness in Loose Housing of Pregnant Sows

During a 12-month period lameness, claw lesions and claw infections were studied in 15 herds with loose housing of pregnant sows on partly slatted concrete floors. Of these herds, 12 herds had concrete slats and 3 herds had plastic slats. The mean prevalence proportion of lame sows in the herds was 13.1%. The risk of lameness increased with increasing claw lesion score and with the presence of claw infections. In the herds with concrete slats, the relative risk of lame sows was 2.4 times higher than in the herds with plastic slats. In the herds with poor floor hygiene, the relative risk of lameness was 2.8 times higher than in the herds with dry and clean floors. The mean prevalence proportion of sows with claw infections at the 3 separate examinations in the 15 herds was 3.8%. Claw infections were more prevalent in herds with dirty floors and in herds with little space per animal (<2m2). In the herds with concrete slats, the relative risk of claw infections was 2 times higher than in the herds with plastic slats.     

Lipid content and fatty acid distribution in tissues from Portuguese dogfish, leafscale gulper shark and black dogfish

The lipid characterization in tissues from the three deep-sea sharks leafscale gulper shark (Centrophorus squamosus), Portuguese dogfish (Centroscymnus coelolepis) and black dogfish (Centrocyllium fabricii) captured at Hatton Bank in the North Atlantic were examined. The objective was to determine the lipid content and the fatty acid composition in different tissues. In addition, the fatty acid composition in tissues and species was compared. The tissues examined were pancreas, heart, kidney, stomach, spleen and liver. The lipid content was high in liver (40–50%) and ranged from 1% to 5% in the other tissues. The dominant fatty acids were C16:0, C18:1 (n-9), C18:1 (n-7) and C22:6 (n-3) in all tissues. All tissues had a high content of unsaturated fatty acids.     

Ketosis in Norwegian Dairy Herds — Some Epidemiological Associations

Ketosis data from the Health Card System, and interview data regarding feeding, housing, management and care were the basis for an epidemiological study in 306 Norwegian dairy herds. Management and care were studied by means of an overall care index. The index was based on 20 questions which provided information about the general standard of management and care. Care was the factor having the most pronounced effect on the treatment rate of ketosis. Highest rates were seen in herds with a high standard of management and care, and lowest rates were seen in herds with a low standard. Most ketosis was found in the mountain valley districts Nord-Østerdal/Gudbrandsdal and Valdres, and least in the lowland coastal district Rogaland. The treatment rate decreased with increasing herd size, and with increasing number of different feedstuffs used. Extra provision of feed concentrates between the morning and evening chores was associated with a lower treatment rate. Also associated with a lower treatment rate was the participation by the farmer’s wife in the daily chores.     

Methods for investigating patterns of mortality and quantifying cause-specific mortality in sea-farmed Atlantic salmon Salmo salar

Methods for investigating patterns of mortality and quantifying cause-specific mortality in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar farming were developed. The methods were further used to investigate mortality and patterns of mortality for the first 3 mo after sea transfer in the 2006 year-class autumn smolts (SO) of Norwegian farmed Atlantic salmon. In the study population, which consisted of 20 pens at 10 sites, cause-specific mortality was examined by 11 fish health professionals during 8 visits to each pen. Cause-specific mortality proportions were used to convert crude mortality into cause-specific mortality. Cumulative mortality in the study period was 2.1% in the study population compared with 3.7% for the 2006 year-class SOs in the national database. Of this cumulative mortality, 73 and 59% took place in 20% of the pens in the study and the reference population, respectively. Daily mortality rates in the study population showed a variation from 0 to 2376 per 100,000 fish where the majority of mortality was observed during disease outbreaks. All study pens had periods of low baseline mortality and some pens had no increased mortality during the study period. Of 2088 dead fish examined, 92% (1929 fish) were assigned a specific cause of death, and in 97% of these 1929 fish the investigators reported the given cause of death to be likely or very likely. Ulcers were the main cause of death, accounting for 43% of the assigned mortality, and infectious agents were involved in 64% of the total mortality. The study shows that probable causes of death can be established in Atlantic salmon farming and their contribution to total mortality measured.     

The effect of 8 days of microgravity on regeneration of intact plants from protoplasts

The growth and development of protoplasts of rapeseed (Brassica napus L. cv Line) and carrot (Daucus carota L. cv. Navona) were studied onboard the Space Shuttle‘Discovery’during an 8-day International Microgravity Laboratory [IML-l) mission in January 1992. The Flight experiments were carried out in‘Biorack'. a fully controlled cell biological experimental facility. under microgravity conditions and in a l-g centrifuge. Parallel experiments were performed in a‘Biorack’module on the ground. After retrieval, some samples were subcultured on appropriate media and analysed for callus growth and regeneration to intact plants. The remainder were used for biochemical analysis. Samples fixed on board the Space Shuttle were kept in l% glutaraldehyde fixative at 4°C for 3–7 days for microscopy analysis after retrieval. Protoplasts exposed to microgravity conditions showed a delay in cell wall synthesis. Cells were swollen in appearance and formed cell aggregates with only few cells. Callus were obtained from protoplasts cultured under microgravity (Fogl). on the l-g centrifuge on board the shuttle (Flg), under normal l-g conditions on the ground (G1g) and on a centrifuge on the ground giving 1.4 g (Gl.4g). Regeneration of intact rapeseed plants was obtained from Flg. Glg and G1.4g. However, no plants were regenerated from protoplasts exposed to microgravity (Fog). Biochemical analysis indicated that the microgravity samples (Fog displayed a reduced packed cell volume, an increased concentration of soluble proteins per cell, and a reduced specific activity of peroxidase in the cytoplasm. Morphometric analysis of fixed samples demonstrated that 3-day old protoplasts under microgravity conditions were significantly larger than protoplasts kept on the l-g centrifuge in space. UItrastructural analysis by transmission electron microscopy showed that protoplasts exposed to microgravity conditions for 3 days had larger vacuoles and a slightly reduced starch content compared to Flg cells. Cell aggregates formed under microgravity conditions (Fog) had an average of 2–I cells per aggregate while aggregates formed under Flg had 8–12 cells.     

Housing of Pregnant Sows in Loose and Confined Systems–a Field Study. 2. Claw Lesions: Morphology,Prevalence, Location and Relation to Age

A field study of 36 Norwegian sow herds was conducted over a 12 month period, 18 herds had loose housing of pregnant sows and 18 herds had confined (stalled or tethered) dry sows. Fifteen of the loose housing herds had partly slatted concrete floors while 3 herds had other kinds of flooring. The types of claw lesions that were observed in these herds are described. The most prevalent lesions on both loose sows and confined sows were side wall cracks, heel lesions, cracks in the white line and overgrown heels. The lateral hind claws were the most frequent location for lesions and they were more severe than at other sites. These lesions tended to show a bilateral occurrence. More than 96% of slaughtered loose sows and 80% of slaughtered confined sows had at least 1 lesion on the lateral hind claws. The prevalence of claw lesions showed no obvious age pattern. However the prevalence seemed to be lower for the first litter sows and increased slightly thereafter, especially in the confined herds.     

A rapid method for preparation of the cerebrospinal fluid proteome

The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteome is of great interest for investigation of diseases and conditions involving the CNS. However, the presence of high‐abundance proteins (HAPs) can interfere with the detection of low‐abundance proteins, potentially hindering the discovery of new biomarkers. Therefore, an assessment of the CSF subproteome composition requires depletion strategies. Existing methods are time consuming, often involving multistep protocols. Here, we present a rapid, accurate, and reproducible method for preparing the CSF proteome, which allows the identification of a high number of proteins. This method involves acetonitrile (ACN) precipitation for depleting HAPs, followed by immediate trypsination. As an example, we demonstrate that this method allows discrimination between multiple sclerosis patients and healthy subjects.