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Background: An increasing number of women with intellectual disability (ID) have children. Cross-sectional, clinical population data suggest that these women face an increased risk of delivering preterm and/or low birthweight babies. The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence of poor pregnancy and birth outcomes in women with ID and/or self-reported learning difficulties in an antenatal population. Methods: A total of 878 pregnant women attending their first antenatal clinic visit were "screened" for ID. Pregnancy and birth outcomes data were extracted from medical records post-partum. These data included pregnancy-related health conditions, including pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes, and birth outcomes, including gestational age, birthweight, Apgar score and admission to neonatal intensive care and/or special care nursery. Results: A total of 57 (6.5%) pregnant women with ID and/or self-reported learning difficulties were identified. These women experienced an unusually high rate of pre-eclampsia (odds ratio = 2.85). Their children more often had low birthweights (odds ratio = 3.08), and they were more frequently admitted to neonatal intensive care or special care nursery (odds ratio = 2.51). Conclusion: Further research is needed to understand the reasons for the adverse findings of this study and identify potentially changeable factors contributing to adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes for women with ID and/or self-reported learning difficulties and their children. To ensure quality antenatal care, health professionals may need to consider innovations such as extended consultation times, communication aids and audio-taping consultations.

Although the conventional in situ ruminal degradability method is a relevant tool to describe the nutritional value of ruminant feeds, its need for rumen-fistulated animals may impose a restriction on its use when considering animal welfare issues and cost. The aim of the present work was to develop a ruminal degradability technique which avoids using surgically prepared animals. The concept was to orally dose a series of porous bags containing the test feeds at different times before slaughter, when the bags would be removed from the rumen for degradation measurement. Bags, smaller than those used in the conventional nylon bag technique, were made from woven nylon fabric, following two shape designs (rectangular flat shape, tetrahedral shape) and were fitted with one of three types of device for preventing their regurgitation. These bags were used in two experiments with individually housed non-pregnant, non-lactating sheep, as host animals for the in situ ruminal incubation of forage substrates. The bags were closed at the top edge by machine stitching and wrapped in tissue paper before oral dosing. Standard times for ruminal incubation of substrates in all of the tests were 4, 8, 16, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h before slaughter. The purpose of the first experiment was to compare the effectiveness of the three anti-regurgitation device designs, constructed from nylon cable ties ('Z-shaped', ARD1; 'double Z-shaped', ARD2; 'umbrella-shaped', ARD3), and to observe whether viable degradation curves could be generated using grass hay as the substrate. In the second experiment, three other substrates (perennial ryegrass, red clover and barley straw) were compared using flat and tetrahedral bags fitted with type ARD1 anti-regurgitation devices. Non-linear mixed-effect regression models were used to fit asymptotic exponential curves of the percentage dry matter loss of the four substrates against time of incubation in the reticulorumen, and the effect of type of anti-regurgitation device and the shape of nylon bag. All three devices were highly successful at preventing regurgitation with 93% to 100% of dosed bags being recovered in the reticulorumen at slaughter. Ruminal degradation data obtained for tested forages were in accordance with those expected from the conventional degradability technique using fistulated animals, with no significant differences in the asymptotic values of degradation curves between bag shape or anti-regurgitation device. The results of this research demonstrate the potential for using a small bag technique with intact sheep to characterise the in situ ruminal degradability of roughages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The poultry (broiler) industry is continuously increasing all over the world, therefore, the amount of waste generated in these facilities is also increasing. As a consequence of the above mentioned, the more efficient conversion of chicken manure to organic fertilizer is a key problem. The aims of the study are to investigate the changes in temperature and moisture content during composting of chicken manure in the oval tank fermentation system and to create a model for the evaluation of the performance of biodegradation processes. The moisture and temperature distribution models of the oval tank were created in Hydrus software. The results showed that the oval tank fermenter can be divided into two main zones. In the first zone, where the rate of biodegradation was relatively high, a heterogeneous temperature zone was found with continuously decreasing moisture content. The second zone was more homogenous in both temperature and moisture content. This stage represents the weak fermentation part of the technology and results in an elongated post fermentation section. Furthermore, statistically significant correlations were found between composting key parameters, such as ammonium content with temperature and organic matter content with organic nitrogen content. It was also concluded that the exact location of the manure turning and chopping mechanical system (MTCM) used for aeration had a high effect on the composting processes, as well as on the quality parameters of the mature compost.

The development of technology to harvest the uranium dissolved in seawater would enable access to vast quantities of this critical metal for nuclear power generation. Amidoxime polymers are the most promising platforms for achieving this separation, yet the design of advanced adsorbents is hindered by uncertainty regarding the uranium binding mode. In this work we use XAFS to investigate the uranium coordination environment in an amidoxime–phosphonic acid copolymer adsorbent. In contrast to the binding mode predicted computationally and from small molecule studies, a cooperative chelating model is favoured, attributable to emergent behavior resulting from inclusion of amidoxime in the polymer. Samples exposed to seawater also display a feature consistent with a μ2-oxo-bridged transition metal, suggesting the formation of an in situ specific binding site. These findings challenge long held assumptions and provide new opportunities for the design of advanced adsorbent materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feed intake and diet choice affect production efficiency in livestock. Plant waxes, in particular n-alkanes, have been used as markers to predict intake and diet preferences. Still, when n-alkane profiles of plants within mixed swards are similar, they alone may not produce reliable predictions. Including long-chain alcohols ( LCOHs) may help. In this study, the reliability of predicting forage mixtures was assessed using n-alkanes and LCOH separately and in combination. Reliability was characterized as the regression of observed on predicted fescue proportion in forage mixtures and the Kulczyński similarity index. Two technicians performed extractions of n-alkanes and LCOHs of pure red clover and 'Fawn' tall fescue, and nine mixtures of them. The concentrations of n-alkanes C27, C29, C31 and C33 and alcohols C26- OH, C28- OH and C30- OH were compared among forage mixtures and between technicians. Technicians were consistent in their measures of n-alkanes ( P > 0·12), but differed in their measures of C26- OH and C28- OH ( P < 0·002). Longer-chained compounds were more consistently quantified. Forage delineations were not improved by C26- OH. With n-alkanes alone, estimated and actual fescue proportions closely agreed. Including LCOH offered no improvement. Despite variation in measured concentrations between technicians, fescue and red clover mixtures were reliably predicted using n-alkanes alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing feed efficiency in pasturebased systems can be challenging due to difficulties in measuring feed intake and diet preference. Furthermore, heifers may modify their intake of a particular forage species depending on its nutritive and physical attributes and on their own physiological status. For instance, heifers growing to larger mature sizes have higher maintenance requirements, which may affect their dietary preferences. The present study was designed to determine the influence of frame size (FS) on feed intake and diet selection at 2 age subclasses: postweaning, at, on average, 313 d of age (317 kg BW for larger FS and 285 kg BW for smaller FS), and as yearlings, at, on average, 403 d of age (391 kg BW for larger FS and 343 kg BW for the smaller FS). Twenty-four Angus-cross heifers were evaluated at these ages. They were housed in a drylot equipped with a Broadbent Feeding System and had ad libitum access to cubed red clover and cubed fescue hay in separate buckets. Following 3-wk acclimation periods, DMI of each forage species was assessed daily for 10 d. Body weights were also recorded daily over those 10 d. Larger and smaller FS cattle did not differ in ADG, feed conversion ratio, and Kleiber ratio at either age (P > 0.05). However, heifers from larger FS category had higher total and red clover DMI at both ages (P < 0.05) and higher proportions of red clover in their diet as yearlings (P < 0.001). Cumulative differences between clover and fescue DMI were similar at postweaning in both FS (P > 0.05); however, at yearling age, the larger FS cattle ate consistently and cumulatively more red clover (P < 0.001). The intake and diet selection of heifers across ages were not consistent for either FS category (P = 0.748), suggesting difficulties in predicting lifetime feed efficiencies based on an early measure. Although gains and feed conversion ratios were similar between FS categories, the larger FS heifers ate more. At yearling age, these heifers of larger metabolic size also selected a greater proportion of red clover in their diet. Because the FS and, thereby, BW of cattle affect intakes and diet selections, they also may impact the composition and sustainability of grasslands generally. Therefore, the relationship between FS and pasture usage likely needs to be integrated into descriptions of cow efficiency in pasture-based operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilization of long-chain alcohols ( LCOH) as diet-composition markers in sheep consuming six diets composed of improved pasture species ( Lolium perenne and Trifolium repens) with heather-gorse components ( Erica spp., Calluna vulgaris and Ulex gallii) was evaluated. Twenty-four adult cross-bred sheep were housed in individual stalls. Diet composition was estimated from LCOH concentrations, combined or not with alkanes and long-chain fatty acid ( LCFA) data using least-squares procedures. Prior to calculations, faecal concentrations were corrected using mean treatment (faecal recovery 1, FR1) recoveries and mean recoveries across diets ( FR2). Estimates were compared with those obtained without faecal correction ( FR0) and known values. Large differences between plant species and plant parts were found in LCOH patterns and total LCOH concentrations. LCOH provided complementary information to that given by alkanes and LCFA. Even-chain LCOH comprised the largest fraction, representing on average 0·894 of total concentrations. Faecal recovery was incomplete and tended to increase with carbon-chain length ( CCL) in a curvilinear manner ( FR = −7·872 + 0·580 × CCL − 0·010 × CCL2; P < 0·001; r2 = 0·752). Diet composition influenced ( P < 0·001) LCOH recovery, although variability within ( CV of 9·0%) and between ( CV of 13·3%) diets was low. Accuracy of estimates was influenced ( P < 0·001) by faecal-correction method and markers used, and the best estimate was obtained combining LCOH and alkanes. Improvement in estimate accuracy can be achieved if suitable correction of LCOH faecal concentrations is performed prior to calculations. Results indicated that LCOH showed lower dependence than alkanes and LCFA on the use of accurate faecal-correction data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-assembled mesoporous carbon (MC) materials have been synthesized and tested for application in capacitive deionization (CDI) of saline water. MC was prepared by self-assembly of a triblock copolymer with hydrogen-bonded chains via a phenolic resin, such as resorcinol or phloroglucinol in acidic conditions, followed by carbonization and, in some cases, activation by KOH. Carbon synthesized in this way was ground into powder, from which activated MC sheets were produced. In a variation of this process, after the reaction of triblock copolymer with resorcinol or phloroglucinol, the gel that was formed was used to coat a graphite plate and then carbonized. The coated graphite plate in this case was not activated and was tested to serve as current collector during the CDI process. The performance of these MC materials was compared to that of carbon aerogel for salt concentrations ranging between 1000 ppm and 35,000 ppm. Resorcinol-based MC removed up to 15.2 mg salt per gram of carbon, while carbon aerogel removed 5.8 mg salt per gram of carbon. Phloroglucinol-based MC-coated graphite exhibited the highest ion removal capacity at 21 mg of salt per gram of carbon for 35,000 ppm salt concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To investigate family caregiver perceptions of allied health professional processes of care and support in hospital following stroke, and to test an adapted version of the Measure of Processes of Care (MPOC) for its suitability of use in the stroke care setting. Methods: The first stage involved the adaptation and refinement of the MPOC, designed to measure caregiver perceptions of processes of professional care and support across five care dimensions. The second stage involved mailing out of questionnaires to primary caregivers of stroke survivors. A total of 107 completed questionnaires were included in the analysis. The reliability of the adapted questionnaire was assessed and summary statistics were computed. Results: The reliability of the adapted MPOC was found to be high, with good internal consistency of items within each subscale. Mean scores indicated that caregivers were most likely to report negative perceptions of the way allied health professionals engaged with and supported them, particularly in the area of information provision. Conclusion: The number of families being affected by stroke is predicted to rise substantially in the near future. Allied health professionals have a significant role to play in supporting family caregivers. Results highlight caregiver-identified areas of weakness in current clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: This study investigates depression, anxiety and stress in pregnant women with intellectual disabilities and/or self-reported learning difficulties, and examines the association between these negative emotional states and perceived support and conflict in the women's interpersonal relationships. METHOD: Eight-hundred-and-seventy-eight women attending their first antenatal visit in a socioeconomically disadvantaged area of Sydney, Australia during a 5-month period in 2002 completed a brief questionnaire to identify those with intellectual disabilities (ID) and/or self-reported learning difficulties. These 57 women were then invited to participate in a series of three interviews (two pre- and one post-partum). The second interview, which was conducted with 31 women in their third trimester, incorporated standard measures of depression, anxiety and stress, and support and conflict in interpersonal relationships, and is the subject of the research reported here. RESULTS: More than one-third of the women interviewed reported moderate to severe depression, anxiety and stress. A significant association was found between depression and both perceived support and conflict in interpersonal relationships. Stress was associated with conflict but not with either perceived support. Anxiety was not significantly associated with either perceived support or conflict. CONCLUSIONS: Negative emotional states in this population of women may be confounded with their cognitive deficits. Routine antenatal screening for negative emotional states is therefore recommended to ensure that the mental health care needs of women with ID and/or self-reported learning difficulties are not overlooked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The estimation of dry matter intake (DMI) using the alkane pair technique has been validated in ruminants, but not in equids. The current paper reports the finding of three comparative validation studies carried out using a total of 12 cattle, 29 donkeys and 10 horses during which directly measured intake was compared to estimated intake using the alkane pair technique. Two methods were developed to dose the even chain alkanes that were used as external markers. Study I, carried out in Zimbabwe, compared the accuracy of estimated intake with measured intake in cattle and donkeys using hexatriacontane (C36) as the external marker. Studies II and III were carried out in the UK with horses and donkeys and compared the accuracy of estimated intake with measured intake using dotriacontane (C32) as the external marker. Study III also tested the effect on the accuracy of intake estimates of two marker dosing levels (mean daily dose of 224 mg per animal and 448 mg per animal) and two dosing frequencies (2× and 3× daily). Twice daily dosing of even-chain alkane at the lower dose level provided an estimate of DMI similar to that obtained by thrice daily dosing at this low level. The higher dose level given twice daily tended to produce large variation in faecal concentrations of dosed even-chain alkanes, this variation was reduced when dosing frequency was increased to thrice daily. The accuracy of estimated intake improved progressively as the number of faecal sampling days was increased from one to six with no significant difference between estimated intake based on day 5 or 6 of faecal sampling.The results of all three studies indicate that the alkane pair technique provides a robust method of estimating intake in equids with no significant difference between measured and estimated values in all but one case. Using C31 as an internal marker provided a more accurate estimated intake than using C33 as the internal marker in all cases. Faecal recoveries of alkanes in equids do not appear to show the same influence of carbon chain length that has been observed in ruminant studies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Few methods exist for quantitatively estimating the diet composition of free-ranging herbivores. Plant-wax compounds (predominantly n-alkanes) have been used as diet composition markers. However, although the alkanes have the potential to discriminate between 10–15 dietary components (the number of different alkanes generally present in plant waxes), it appears that the reliability of the technique declines as the number of components increases [Mayes, R.W., 1998. New potential markers for determining diet composition. Proc. of the IXth European Intake Workshop held at the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research North Wyke, UK, pp. 63–66]. This study was conducted to characterise the long-chain fatty alcohols (alcohols) and long-chain fatty acids (acids) concentrations of common rangeland species from Sudan, and to evaluate the potential of using these compounds as additional markers to estimate the botanical composition of the diet of free-ranging herbivores. The 25 plant species used in this study were collected from different rangeland areas of Sudan. The samples were dried (by sun) and ground prior to analysis for n-alkanes, alcohols and acids. Analysis was by gas chromatography following saponification, extraction, purification and derivatisation. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to identify between-species differences in the concentration patterns of n-alkanes (C21一C35), alcohols and acids (C20一C34). The results showed that the pattern of concentrations of n-alkanes, alcohols and acids differs greatly between different species, but suggest differences within-species were very small. Species with similar n-alkane concentration patterns had different alcohols or acid patterns, which suggests that combining any of theses markers with n-alkanes is likely to improve resultant diet composition estimates. It was concluded that the differences in the patterns of concentrations of alcohols and acids would render them suitable as markers for estimation of the botanical composition of the diet of free-ranging herbivores. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

By a variety of exposure routes it is possible that the toxic heavy metals cadmium, arsenic and mercury could enter the diet of farm animals and hence contaminate food products derived from those animals. Therefore, there is a need to be able to assess the likely levels of contamination in animal tissues if exposed to contaminated feed and also to estimate how rapidly an animal will decontaminate once the source of contamination is removed from the feed. The development of dynamic models to predict changes in the degree of heavy metal contamination in tissues of ruminants have been hindered by the lack of data on the transfer and excretion rates of these metals from tissues. A study is described during which dairy cows were given a single intraruminal administration of 109Cd, 73As and 203Hg and measurements made of the subsequent concentrations of the radioisotopes in body tissues and milk. The resultant data were used to adapt previously developed compartment models describing the behaviour of the metals in sheep for use with dairy cows. Two changes were made to the sheep models: (i) a new excretion route was included to describe transfer to milk; (ii) the rate coefficients (with the exception of those involving gut absorption and transfer) were adjusted according to the ratio of the metabolic live-weights (live-weight (kg)0·75) of the sheep to that of the cattle. The models predicted levels of the metals in the cattle tissues and milk reasonably well. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract A limitation to using n-alkanes in plants as faecal markers for estimating diet composition in herbivores is the small number of dietary components that it is possible to determine. One approach to overcoming this is to group species on the basis of their n-alkane concentrations and to consider these groups as dietary components. Feeding selectivity within a group, however, may change the proportion of a particular species in the group ingested and hence its n-alkane contribution to the diet ingested. This could potentially affect estimates of the composition of the diet. Simulations (380) of feeding selectivity within a group of herbage species were undertaken to assess the effects of selectivity on estimates of diet composition. The dataset was from a study whose aim was to estimate the proportions of the herbage component, composed of nineteen species, and of four individual browse species in the diet of red deer grazing a montado ecosystem in S. Portugal in the summer. Simulations were undertaken of total avoidance of each species in the group of herbage species, and selection of each species at 0·5, 1·5, 2·0 and 3·0 of its actual proportion within the group. Feeding selectivity had no effect on 0·36 of the outcomes of the simulations. Over 0·90 of the simulations were within ± 0·05 of the values calculated assuming no selection within the group of herbage species. It is concluded that, in the particular case studied, the effect of selection within a group on the estimates of other dietary components was relatively small and that the group of herbage species could be analysed as a single dietary component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In 1993 and 1994, 40 cows in early lactation in early spring were assigned randomly to four feeding treatments. One group of cows was kept indoors with access to grass silage ad libitum , plus 6 kg of concentrate daily. The other three groups had access to grass pasture (5–6 h per day in 1993 and 11–12 h per day in 1994) plus grass silage similar to that fed to the previous group while indoors plus 6, 4 or 2 kg of concentrate daily. The average daily allocations of herbage (> 3·5 cm) were 8·5 and 14·0 kg DM cow-1 day-1 in 1993 and 1994 respectively. The treatments were applied for 8 weeks (26 February to 23 April) in 1993, and 7 weeks (11 March to 29 April) in 1994. Cows with access to pasture had lower (P < 0·001) silage dry-matter (DM) intakes and higher (P < 0·001) total forage DM intakes in both years than those kept indoors. This resulted in significantly higher yields of milk, fat, protein and lactose. Similarly, milk protein concentration was higher (P < 0·05 in 1993; P < 0·001 in 1994). There was a significant linear increase in total DM intake in both years with increased concentrate supplementation. In 1993, there was a linear increase in milk (P < 0·01), fat (P < 0·01), protein (P < 0·001) and lactose (P < 0·01) yields with increased concentrate supplementation. In 1994, only milk protein yield (P < 0·05) was increased. Concentrate supplementation had no effect on milk composition or liveweight change. Cows with access to grazed grass had higher liveweight gains (P < 0·05) than those kept indoors in both years. In 1993, increasing the energy intake increased the processing qualities of the milk produced. The results showed that access to grass pasture resulted in higher milk production, in reduced silage requirement and in reduced level of concentrate supplementation required for a given level of milk production with spring-calving cows in... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study is described in which 137Cs intake by free-ranging sheep was estimated at two farms in the area of west Cumbria (northwest England) which received some of the highest amounts of fallout from the Chernobyl accident within the United Kingdom. The faecal excretion of 137Cs was estimated from faecal 137Cs activity concentrations and the use of intraruminal controlled release devices containing Cr2O3 to determine faecal dry matter output. The intake of 137Cs was estimated by assuming an apparent absorption coefficient appropriate to the herbage grazed. The methodology has the advantage that sampling of herbage representative of that ingested by study animals is not required. Caesium-137 dietary intake explained >60% of the observed variability in the 137Cs activity concentration determined in the muscle of sheep. Resultant transfer coefficient ( F f) values to describe the transfer of 137Cs from the diet to muscle were in agreement with previously reported values. At one farm, there was a positive correlation between the 137Cs activity concentration in muscle and F f whilst at the other farm there was a negative correlation between F f and 137Cs dietary intake. Potential reasons for these observations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]