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The pre-natal period is of critical importance in defining how individuals respond to their environment throughout life. Stress experienced by pregnant females has detrimental effects on offspring behaviour, health and productivity. The sheep (Ovis ariesj has been used as a model to inform human studies; however, in a farming context, the consequences for the lamb of stress experienced by the ewe have received less attention. The stressors that pregnant ewes are most frequently exposed to include sub-optimal nutrition and acute and chronic stressors related to husbandry and the environment. This review focuses upon the young sheep, from around 100 days old until adulthood and uses material identified from a systematic survey of the literature relating to production-relevant maternal stressors and lamb outcomes. Overall, the results demonstrated that stressors imposed upon the ewe altered progeny behavioural and physiological responses. However, detailed analysis of the literature shows several deficiencies in the field, as a whole, which greatly limit the ability to draw conclusions as to how welfare may be affected by pre-natal challenges in commercial sheep. These deficiencies included a lack of consistency in response due to the variety of both stressors imposed and responses measured. Key gaps in knowledge include the impact of ewe disease during pregnancy on outcomes for their progeny and more generally how different commercially relevant stressors interact. Furthermore, there is a need to develop a systematic series of behavioural and physiological measures that can be integrated to provide a holistic and practically applicable picture of offspring welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farrowing is an important period in pig production, with sow health and piglet mortality representing a welfare issue and an economic loss. Sow health and welfare is critical for piglet survival and good management can improve welfare and productivity. This study investigated the management of sows around farrowing and attitudes of UK pig farmers towards sow pain and difficulty farrowing. Farmers were asked how often they provided night checks, used farrowing induction and administered pharmaceutical products during and after farrowing. Farmers and veterinarians were asked if they used or prescribed anti-inflammatories for farrowing-related health issues. Farmers were asked if pain at farrowing was a problem for gilts and sows and what percentage they considered to have difficulty farrowing. Convenience sampling using a number of distribution methods was used. Sixty-one farmers and 52 veterinarians responded. Of the farmer respondents, ten worked on outdoor and 51 on indoor farms. Night checks were reported as frequently provided and farrowing induction was rare. Many respondents reported using oxytocin substitutes at least sometimes during (74%) or after (54%) farrowing. Azaperone was reported to be used at least sometimes by 45% of respondents during and 33% after farrowing. Farmers indicated that pain at farrowing was more often a problem for gilts than sows and 5% of gilts and 4% of sows were considered to have farrowing difficulty. The high level of supervision around farrowing, with the use of night checks, is encouraging and could improve welfare. Frequent use of oxytocin substitutes, which promote farrowing and milk let-down may negatively impact sow and piglet welfare and could be masking poor mothers that fail to perform well without intervention. This study provides interesting information regarding the management of sows around farrowing, which could inform future research and education to improve sow and piglet welfare in the periparturient period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pigs are mixed into new social groups at various stages of production, and this study investigated the response of gilts to mixing with older unfamiliar sows. Four groups of 6 gilts and 1 group of 5 gilts were housed in stable groups until the most recently bred female reached d 39 of gestation. Then, stable groups were split such that 15 gilts remained in their home pens (CON) and 14 gilts were mixed (MIX) with 3 multiparous sows for 1 wk (M1), returned to the home pen for 1 wk, and then mixed with 3 different sows for 1 wk (M2). Continuous behavioral observations of gilt location in the pen, posture, aggressive, and other social interactions were made from the start of M1 and M2 for 5 h. Five-minute scans of location, posture, and behavior as well as salivary cortisol measurements were taken before, during, and after each mix week, whereas skin lesions were counted before and after each mix. During the mixed period, MIX gilts spent more (P≤ 0.009) time in the individual feeding stalls, ventral lying, sitting, involved in aggression, and idle and less (P< 0.001) time in the straw-bedded area, lateral lying, and performing exploratory behavior (chewing, nosing, and rooting) than CON gilts. Additionally, MIX gilts had greater (P< 0.001) salivary cortisol concentrations and accumulated more (P< 0.001) skin lesions during mixing sessions compared to CON gilts. Mixed gilts in M2 spent more (P≤ 0.013) time in the feeding stalls and ventral lying and less (P≤ 0.029) time standing and in the dunging passageway compared to M1. Compared to M1, gilts had lower (P< 0.001) salivary cortisol concentrations and fewer (P≤ 0.027) lesions in front and middle regions of the body during M2. During M2, salivary cortisol concentration was positively correlated with time spent in the dunging passageway (Spearman's rank correlation [rs] = 0.650, P= 0.022) and negatively correlated with time spent in the feeding stalls (rs= –0.762, P= 0.004). Results indicated that gilts adapted their behavior during M2 by using the feeding stalls more, and they became less active, especially when interacting with the sows. Despite this adaptation in M2, lesions and salivary cortisol in M IX gilts were much greater than in CON gilts, highlighting the severity of mixing gilts with multiparous sows.

The article focuses on a study which examined the welfare implications of increasing litter size for both the piglets and sow. Several management interventions that are used when litter size increased include tooth reduction, split suckling, cross-fostering and the use of nurse sow systems. A diagram is presented illustrating possible management interventions for large litters based on the opportunities to cross-foster.

The article focuses on a study which examined evidence on biological factors affecting sow and piglet welfare in relation to large litter size. Several effects of increased litter size include increased piglet mortality and more piglets with low birth weight. A definition of litter size is presented, referring to all piglets born alive plus all piglets born dead that appear normally developed and colored.

The prenatal period is of critical importance in defining how individuals respond to their environment throughout life. Stress experienced by pregnant females has been shown to have detrimental effects on offspring biology in humans and a variety of other species. It also is becoming increasingly apparent that prenatal events can have important consequences for the behavior, health, and productivity of offspring in farmed species. Pregnant cattle may experience many potentially important stressors, for instance, relating to their social environment, housing system and physical environment, interactions with humans and husbandry procedures, and their state of health. We examined the available literature to provide a review of the implications of prenatal stress for offspring welfare in cattle. The long-term effects of dystocia on cattle offspring also are reviewed. To ensure a transparent and repeatable selection process, a systematic review approach was adopted. The research literature clearly demonstrates that prenatal stress and difficult births in beef and dairy cattle both have implications for offspring welfare and performance. Common husbandry practices, such as transport, were shown to influence offspring biology and the importance of environmental variables, including thermal stress and drought, also were highlighted. Maternal disease during pregnancy was shown to negatively impact offspring welfare. Moreover, dystocia-affected calves suffer increased mortality and morbidity, decreased transfer of passive immunity, and important physiological and behavioral changes. This review also identified considerable gaps in our knowledge and understanding of the effects of prenatal stress in cattle.

The article discusses the possible contribution of variation in the prenatal environment to the outcomes of animal welfare in a variety of farmed species. It talks about studies depicting how early life factors can result to changes during later life that are relevant to animal welfare. It provides an overview of the progress in terms of the animal welfare interest in early life experience. It also outlines the importance of extending the focus on animal welfare to include the prenatal period.

Amorphous alloys, and the partially or fully crystallised materials derived from them, can have properties attractive for a diverse range of applications. In some cases, their wear resistance can be of primary concern, in others, it is an important secondary property. The distinctive mechanical properties of amorphous alloys make their wear resistance of fundamental interest also. This review focuses on the influence of a variety of factors in wear testing, on the mechanisms of wear, on the characteristics of different categories of amorphous alloy, and on the effects of partial or complete crystallisation. It is shown that amorphous alloys can have very good resistance to sliding and abrasive wear. The wear resistance of related quasicrystalline phases is also considered.

A two-stage model has been developed to describe the penetration of liquid into a submerged porous particle. In the first stage liquid flow is driven by capillary pressure and resisted by viscous losses and the pressure of the air trapped inside the pores. This initial flow ceases when the trapped air pressure equals the capillary pressure. In the second stage the pressurized air slowly dissolves and diffuses through the pore liquid into the bulk fluid; this continues until all the air has dissolved. Novel but simple experiments were performed to measure directly the time required for liquid to soak into porous iron ore particles. The trends of the measured penetration times supported the predictions of the model. Quantitatively, however, the model under-predicted the penetration times. This is probably due to the heterogeneous nature of the pore networks in the iron ore particles, which are poorly described by a single, average pore diameter. The results show that the time taken for iron ore particles to saturate with liquid can be of the order of hours—much longer than the typical residence time during drum granulation in sinter plants. This provides a plausible explanation of why some pre-wetted ores require a higher total mixture moisture content to agglomerate satisfactorily than partially dried ores.

Cyclopentadienylidenecarbonyl, the principle thermolytic fragment of methyl salicylate in the vapor phase, undergoes a rapid recombination with the methanol liberated in the initial fragmentation to yield monomeric methyl cyclopentadienecarboxylate. Reaction of this last ester with some dienophiles is reported, and, in the case of dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate, adducts are obtained that suggest that the ester exists as a mixture of 1- and 2-substituted cyclopentadienes. No trace is found of a neutral fragment of mass 120 corresponding to the base peak in the 70 eV spectrum of methyl salicylate.

A method is presented which enables a micro-scale abrasion test to be used to measure the wear performance of a coating over a small region, typically of millimetre dimensions, on a curved surface. The method is also applicable to studies of the wear resistance of any bulk material with a surface having complex curvature. The technique is illustrated by measurement of the intrinsic abrasion resistance of thin PVD coatings of TiZrN, ZrNbN and TiNbN on both flat and cylindrical tool steel and flat stainless steel substrates. The ability to measure the wear resistance of both a coating and its substrate, independently of each other and by a single test, is confirmed by experiment.

The synthesis and pyrolysis of the methyl phthalate esters of diphenylmethylsilyl, t-butylsilyl, benzyldiphenylsilyl, and optically active 2-octanol yielded corresponding silyl ethers and phthalic anhydride. In the case of the latter compound, almost complete retention of configuration was observed about the asymmetric carbon atom. A mechanism is proposed for this rearrangement.

The hydrogen phthalate ester of 4-bromo-4′-nitrobenzhydrol has been subjected to base-catalyzed methanolysis and hydrolysis. In both cases the BAC2 mechanism has been observed. There is no evidence of ortho-carboxylate anion participation (BAC1 mechanism). The results have been substantiated by kinetics, stereochemistry, and 18O isotope studies.

A new method for the resolution of potentially optically active trityl alcohols is reported. Three trityl alcohols as pilot compounds were converted to hydracrylic acid derivatives. Esterification with diazo-methane was followed by degradation (reverse Michael reaction) to the original alcohols with sodium hydride. The resolution of phenyl-α-naphthyl-p-tolylcarbinol was effected conveniently by this route.

A study of the pyrolysis of a series of neopentyl-type xanthate esters was carried out at 250 °C. The formation of olefins and dithiolcarbonates were found to be two competing processes. The olefin formation process became more important when the number of β-phenyl groups increased and when there was an electron donating group substituted at the para-position of the β-phenyl ring. Kinetics studies supported the proposal that the transition state of the olefin formation process involved a stabilized phenonium ion. However the dithiolcarbonate formation became more important when there was the least number of β-phenyl substituents and this rearrangement appeared to proceed through a concerted four-membered cyclic transition state.

Some hydrogen phthalate esters of tertiary alcohols have been subjected to liquid phase pyrolysis. Olefinic mixtures and phthalic acid are the only products of the reaction. A study of the olefin distribution for each of the compounds pyrolyzed was made. Evidence of ionic character in liquid phase pyrolysis is presented.

Some commercially available aromatic acids have been treated with sodium azide using a mixture of trifluoroacetic acid and trifluoroacetic anhydride as the reaction medium. Benzoic, ortho-, meta-, and para-toluic, ortho-bromo-, and ortho-nitro-benzoic acids were converted to corresponding N-substituted trifluoroacetamides in good yields. 1-Naphthoic acid was converted to N-(1-naphthyl)-trifluoroacetamide in near quantitative yield. Meta- and para-bromobenzoic and meta- and para-nitrobenzoic acids did not undergo this modified Schmidt reaction under these conditions. The conversion of aromatic acids to N-substituted trifluoroacetamides is discussed and evidence is presented for the mechanism.

The synthesis of α-ethyl-, α-n-propyl-, α-n-butyl-, and α-phenyl-DL-cystine via hydantoin intermediates is reported.

The selective lithiation and insitutrimethylsilylation of benzyldiphenylchlorosilane and its methoxy analog to give (α-trimethylsilylbenzyl)diphenylchlorosilane and (α-trimethylsilyl-benzyl)diphenylmethoxysilane in excellent yields is reported. These compounds exhibit much greater stability on pyrolysis than β-halocarbosilanes. A stable Si=C species was not obtained on pyrolysis of the compounds synthesized.

The hydrogen phthalate ester of trans-l,2-dimethylcyclohexanol was prepared by using phthalic anhydride enriched in 18O. The ester was partially decomposed at 128°. An observed enrichment of 18O in the alcohol portion of the undecomposed ester supports an earlier postulate that an ion pair is involved in the thermal decomposition of this sterically hindered ester.

The preparation of cis- and trans-1-phenyl-2-methylcyclohexanol by hydrolysis of an isomeric mixture of the corresponding hydrogen phthalate esters is described. The elucidation of the structures of the alcohols is also described.

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Treatment of pain is an important part of livestock management. In the UK, various pain management options are available. Yet, despite this and a historical emphasis on animal wellbeing, use of pain relief for livestock is perceived to be limited. This presentation will: i) assess the evidence regarding how much livestock producers actually use pain relief and ii) discuss the contributory factors which dictate whether pain relief is used or not. In recent survey studies of swine, cattle, and sheep farmers, we have gathered data on attitudes toward pain and its treatment as well as on how often pain relief is used in practice. The overall message from these studies is that provision of pain relief is often better than is appreciated. Producers may choose to use pain relief either because they feel it is the right thing to do (has ethical benefits) or because they feel it is the rational thing to do (has direct or indirect practical benefits). For instance, the statement that animals ‘recover better when given pain relief’ was agreed with by 72%, 82%, and 86% of pig, sheep, and cattle farmers, respectively. However, while attitudes are improving, routine pain relief is still not widespread. In relation to dystocia (rated as highly painful by all farmer groups), pain relief was always used by only 27% of cattle farmers and 19% of sheep and pig farmers. Efforts have been made to understand the factors that underlie such decisions. Cost is a commonly cited barrier to wider pain relief in livestock. However, analgesics were judged too expensive by only 14% of sheep, 10% of cattle, and 19% of pig producers. Alternatively, practical barriers, such as gathering or handling animals, are often mentioned. Farmers in all three groups showed a recognition/knowledge gap: more farmers reported an adequate ability to recognize pain than reported an adequate knowledge of how to mitigate it. Communication between farmers and vets is therefore critical. However, the survey data suggest that vets think they are discussing pain relief with farmers more often than farmers think they are discussing it with vets. Finally, it is encouraging that the surveys also showed that better pain management often associates with other progressive management practices, such as body condition and locomotion scoring, pregnancy diagnosis, and vaccination. Farmers who are proactive in their use of these practices are also more likely to treat livestock for pain.

Artemis is a DNA sequence visualization and annotation tool that allows the results of any analysis or sets of analyses to be viewed in the context of the sequence and its six-frame translation. Artemis is especially useful in analysing the compact genomes of bacteria, archaea and lower eukaryotes, and will cope with sequences of any size from small genes to whole genomes. It is implemented in Java, and can be run on any suitable platform. Sequences and annotation can be read and written directly in EMBL, GenBank and GFF format. AVAILABITLTY: Artemis is available under the GNU General Public License from http://www.sanger.ac.uk/Software/Artemis

Summary: WebACT is an online resource which enables the rapid provision of simultaneous BLAST comparisons between up to five genomic sequences in a format amenable for visualization with the well-known Artemis Comparison Tool (ACT). Comparisons can be generated on-the-fly using sequences directly retrieved via EMBL database queries, or by entering or uploading user sequences. Furthermore, pre-computed comparisons are available between all publicly available, completed prokaryotic genomes and plasmids currently contained within the Genome Reviews database (372 sequences, representing 175 different species). The system is designed to minimize the volume of downloaded data and maximize performance. Genome sequences, annotation and pre-computed comparisons are stored in a relational database allowing flexible querying based on user-defined sequence regions, from whole genome to a defined region flanking a specified gene. Comparison and sequence files, whether computed online or retrieved from the database of pre-computed genome comparisons, can be viewed online using ACT and are available for download. Availability: Freely accessible at http://www.webact.org Contact: admin@webact.org Supplementary information: User guide and worked examples are available at http://www.webact.org/WebACT/docs

Discrepancies in gene and orphan number indicated by previous analyses suggest that S. cerevisiae would benefit from a consistent re-annotation. In this analysis three new genes are identified and 46 alterations to gene coordinates are described. 370 ORFs are defined as totally spurious ORFs which should be disregarded. At least a further 193 genes could be described as very hypothetical, based on a number of criteria. It was found that disparate genes with sequence overlaps over ten amino acids (especially at the N-terminus) are rare in both S. cerevisiae and Sz. pombe. A new S. cerevisiae gene number estimate with an upper limit of 5804 is proposed, but after the removal of very hypothetical genes and pseudogenes this is reduced to 5570. Although this is likely to be closer to the true upper limit, it is still predicted to be an overestimate of gene number. A complete list of revised gene coordinates is available from the Sanger Centre (S. cerevisiae reannotation: ftp://ftp/pub/yeast/SCreannotation).