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The objectives of this study were to determine the necessary feed bunk length per heifer and to assess the feeding behavior of heifers fed from bunks of varying sizes. Heifers in three age categories were used for three 16-wk experiments. In Experiment 1, feed bunk lengths per heifer were 15 or 31 cm, and, in Experiments 2 and 3, the lengths were 15, 31, or 47 cm per heifer. Heifers were fed a total mixed ration at restricted intakes. Within-group growth analyses showed uniform growth rates for all heifers at all feed bunk lengths. Individual heifer growth within each group did not vary significantly for either length used in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, heifers fed from a 15-cm bunk had more variation in live weight gain than did heifers fed from 31- or 47-cm bunks. Live weight gains of heifers fed from a 31-cm bunk varied more than those of heifers fed from 15- and 47-cm bunks in Experiment 3. The mean number of eating bouts and meals and the mean meal duration showed differences between the 15-cm feed bunk length and the 31- and 47-cm feed bunk lengths in Experiments 1 and 2. In Experiment 3, this behavior was different across all lengths. Based on growth responses and feeding behavior, heifers that grow rapidly and that are fed a high quality total mixed diet in a free stall or a bedded pack group housing system require 15-, 31-, and 47-cm feed bunk lengths at 4 to 8, 11.5 to 15.5, and 17 to 21 mo of age, respectively.

Objective: To determine whether people with high scores for schizotypal thinking generate more uncommon words in a letter fluency task than people with low scores., Design: Prospective study., Setting: University psychology department., Patients: Forty healthy, right-handed students., Interventions: Students were administered the Magical Ideation (MI) Scale and a 2-minute letter fluency task in which they named as many nouns as possible beginning with "A" or "F," in any order., Outcome Measures: Total number of words produced and percentage of unique, rare and common words (as determined by the responses of the whole group); scores on MI scale., Results: Participants with high scores (above the median) on the MI scale generated as many words as those who had low scores. People in both groups also generated a comparable number of unique words (named by only 1 person) and common words (named by 6 or more people). As hypothesized, people with high scores on the MI scale generated more rare words (named by fewer than 6 people) than those with low scores., Conclusions: These findings support the view of a disinhibition of semantic network functioning as the neuropsychological basis of creative thought, magical ideation and thought disorder.

Research has established a link between calf and heifer housing and calf health. To determine current calf and heifer housing practices in Pennsylvania, 329 dairy farms were surveyed. The study was designed to increase awareness on the part of dairy farmers in housing and management and to develop education programs and materials in the area of calf and heifer management. All surveys were conducted on the farm by personal interviews. Results showed 24.9% of the farms had maternity pens in a building separate from the milking herd, although half of these farms used maternity pens in conjunction with facilities of lesser quality for the health and management of the animals. The same number of farms used calf hutches as those keeping calves in dairy barns with cows. A high percentage of the farms weaned calves (moved from milk diets to dry feed diets) to recommended types of facilities that included group pens, loose housing, and group or superhutches. However, 49.5% of the facilities used for weaned calves were in conjunction with other dairy animals. Animal restraint facilities have also been identified as an area that needs more emphasis on dairy farms. Many areas of dairy replacement housing on commercial dairy farms were determined to be unsatisfactory according to recommended Pennsylvania standards.