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Author(s): N. Hall (corresponding author) [1]; A. Pain [1]; M. Berriman [1]; C. Churcher [1]; B. Harris [1]; D. Harris [1]; K. Mungall [1]; S. Bowman [1, 2]; R. Atkin [...]

Author(s): S. D. Bentley (corresponding author) [1]; K. F. Chater [2]; A.-M. Cerdeño-Tárraga [1]; G. L. Challis [2, 3]; N. R. Thomson [1]; K. D. James [1]; D. E. Harris [...]

Author(s): V. Wood [1]; R. Gwilliam [1]; M.-A. Rajandream (corresponding author) [1]; M. Lyne [1]; R. Lyne [1]; A. Stewart [2]; J. Sgouros [2]; N. Peat [3]; J. Hayles [3]; [...]

Author(s): J. Parkhill (corresponding author) [1]; G. Dougan (corresponding author) [2]; K. D. James [1]; N. R. Thomson [1]; D. Pickard [2]; J. Wain [2]; C. Churcher [1]; K. L. [...]

Author(s): J. Parkhill (corresponding author) [1]; B. W. Wren [2]; N. R. Thomson [1]; R. W. Titball [3]; M. T. G. Holden [1]; M. B. Prentice [4]; M. Sebaihia [1]; [...]

Author(s): S. T. Cole [1]; K. Eiglmeier [1]; J. Parkhill [2]; K. D. James [2]; N. R. Thomson [2]; P. R. Wheeler [3]; N. Honoré [1]; T. Garnier [1]; C. [...]

Author(s): J. Parkhill (corresponding author) [1]; M. Achtman [2]; K. D. James [1]; S. D. Bentley [1]; C. Churcher [1]; S. R. Klee [2]; G. Morelli [2]; D. Basham [1]; [...]

Author(s): J. Parkhill (corresponding author) [1]; B. W. Wren [2]; K. Mungall [1]; J. M. Ketley [3]; C. Churcher [1]; D. Basham [1]; T. Chillingworth [1]; R. M. Davies [1]; [...]

The concept that postnatal health and development can be influenced by events that occur in utero originated from epidemiological studies in humans supported by numerous mechanistic (including epigenetic) studies in a variety of model species. Referred to as the 'developmental origins of health and disease' or 'DOHaD' hypothesis, the primary focus of large-animal studies until quite recently had been biomedical. Attention has since turned towards traits of commercial importance in farm animals. Herein we review the evidence that prenatal risk factors, including suboptimal parental nutrition, gestational stress, exposure to environmental chemicals and advanced breeding technologies, can determine traits such as postnatal growth, feed efficiency, milk yield, carcass composition, animal welfare and reproductive potential. We consider the role of epigenetic and cytoplasmic mechanisms of inheritance, and discuss implications for livestock production and future research endeavours. We conclude that although the concept is proven for several traits, issues relating to effect size, and hence commercial importance, remain. Studies have also invariably been conducted under controlled experimental conditions, frequently assessing single risk factors, thereby limiting their translational value for livestock production. We propose concerted international research efforts that consider multiple, concurrent stressors to better represent effects of contemporary animal production systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transposable elements (TEs), such as endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), are common in the genomes of vertebrates. ERVs result from retroviral infections of germ-line cells, and once integrated into host DNA they become part of the host's heritable genetic material. ERVs have been ascribed positive effects on host physiology such as the generation of novel, adaptive genetic variation and resistance to infection, as well as negative effects as agents of tumorigenesis and disease. The avian leukosis virus subgroup E family (ALVE) of endogenous viruses of chickens has been used as a model system for studying the effects of ERVs on host physiology, and approximately 30 distinct ALVE proviruses have been described in the Gallus gallus genome. In this report we describe the development of a software tool, which we call Vermillion, and the use of this tool in combination with targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) to increase the number of known proviruses belonging to the ALVE family of ERVs in the chicken genome by 4-fold, including expanding the number of known ALVE elements on chromosome 1 (Gga1) from the current 9 to a total of 40. Although we focused on the discovery of ALVE elements in chickens, with appropriate selection of target sequences Vermillion can be used to develop profiles of other families of ERVs and TEs in chickens as well as in species other than the chicken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate and complete reporting of study methods, results and interpretation are essential components for any scientific process, allowing end-users to evaluate the internal and external validity of a study. When animals are used in research, excellence in reporting is expected as a matter of continued ethical acceptability of animal use in the sciences. Our primary objective was to assess completeness of reporting for a series of studies relevant to mitigation of pain in neonatal piglets undergoing routine management procedures. Our second objective was to illustrate how authors can report the items in the Reporting guidElines For randomized controLled trials for livEstoCk and food safety (REFLECT) statement using examples from the animal welfare science literature. A total of 52 studies from 40 articles were evaluated using a modified REFLECT statement. No single study reported all REFLECT checklist items. Seven studies reported specific objectives with testable hypotheses. Six studies identified primary or secondary outcomes. Randomization and blinding were considered to be partially reported in 21 and 18 studies, respectively. No studies reported the rationale for sample sizes. Several studies failed to report key design features such as units for measurement, means, standard deviations, standard errors for continuous outcomes or comparative characteristics for categorical outcomes expressed as either rates or proportions. In the discipline of animal welfare science, authors, reviewers and editors are encouraged to use available reporting guidelines to ensure that scientific methods and results are adequately described and free of misrepresentations and inaccuracies. Complete and accurate reporting increases the ability to apply the results of studies to the decision-making process and prevent wastage of financial and animal resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundAcute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a leading cause of hospital admission in North America. Many patients with ACS experience challenges after discharge that impact their clinical outcomes and psychosocial well-being. SMS text messaging has the potential to provide support to patients during this postdischarge period. ObjectiveThis study pilot tested a 60-day SMS text messaging intervention (Txt2Prevent) for patients with ACS. The primary objective was to compare self-management domains between usual care and usual care plus Txt2Prevent. The secondary objectives were to compare medication adherence, health-related quality of life, self-efficacy, and health care resource use between groups. The third objective was to assess the feasibility of the study protocol and the acceptability of the intervention. MethodsThis was a randomized controlled trial with blinding of outcome assessors. We recruited 76 patients with ACS from St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, Canada, and randomized them to 1 of 2 groups within 7 days of discharge. The Txt2Prevent program included automated 1-way SMS text messages about follow-up care, self-management, and healthy living. Data were collected during the index admission and at 60 days after randomization. The primary outcome was measured with the Health Education Impact Questionnaire (heiQ). Other outcomes included the EQ-5D-5L, EQ-5D-5L Visual Analog Scale, a modified Sullivan Cardiac Self-Efficacy Scale, and Morisky Medication Adherence Scale scores, and self-reported health care resource use. Analyses of covariance were used to test the effect of group assignment on follow-up scores (controlling for baseline) and were considered exploratory in nature. Feasibility was assessed with descriptive characteristics of the study protocol. Acceptability was assessed with 2 survey questions and semistructured interviews. ResultsThere were no statistically significant differences between the groups for the heiQ domains (adjusted mean difference [Txt2Prevent minus usual care] for each domain—Health-directed activity: –0.13, 95% CI –0.39 to 0.13, P=.31; Positive and active engagement in life: 0.03, 95% CI –0.19 to 0.25, P=.76; Emotional distress: 0.04, 95% CI –0.22 to 0.29, P=.77; Self-monitoring and insight: –0.14, 95% CI –0.33 to 0.05, P=.15; Constructive attitudes and approaches: –0.10, 95% CI –0.36 to 0.17, P=.47; Skill technique and acquisition: 0.05, 95% CI –0.18 to 0.27, P=.69; Social integration and support: –0.12, 95% CI –0.34 to 0.10, P=.27; and Health services navigation: –0.05, 95% CI –0.29 to 0.19, P=.69). For the secondary outcomes, there were no statistically significant differences in adjusted analyses except in 1 self-efficacy domain (Total plus), where the Txt2Prevent group had lower scores (mean difference –0.36, 95% CI –0.66 to –0.50, P=.03). The study protocol was feasible, but recruitment took longer than expected. Over 90% (29/31 [94%]) of participants reported they were satisfied with the program. ConclusionsThe Txt2Prevent study was feasible to implement; however, although exploratory, there were no differences between the 2 groups in adjusted analyses except for 1 self-efficacy domain. As the intervention appeared acceptable, there is potential in using SMS text messages in this context. The design of the intervention may need to be reconsidered to have more impact on outcome measures. Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02336919; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02336919 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)RR2-10.2196/resprot.6968

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 behaviour, health and productivity. The sheep has been used extensively as a model species to inform human studies. However, in the farmed environment, the consequences for the lamb of the imposition of prenatal stresses upon the ewe have received much less attention. The stressors that pregnant ewes are most frequently exposed to include sub-optimal nutrition and those related to housing, husbandry and environment which may be either acute or chronic. A systematic review of the literature was adopted to identify material which had production-relevant maternal stressors and lamb outcomes. The current review focussed upon the lamb up to weaning around the age of 100 days and the results clearly demonstrate that stressors imposed upon the ewe have implications for offspring welfare and performance. Maternal under-nutrition (UN) in the last third of pregnancy consistently impaired lamb birth-weight and subsequent vigour and performance, while earlier UN had a variable effect on performance. Feeding the ewe above requirements did not have positive effects on lamb performance and welfare. Social and husbandry stressors such as transport, shearing, mixing and physiological treatments designed to mimic acute stress which would be considered disadvantageous for the ewe had positive or neutral effects for the lamb, highlighting a potential conflict between the welfare of the ewe and her lamb. This review also identified considerable gaps in knowledge, particularly in respect of the impact of disease upon the ewe during pregnancy and interactions between different stressors and the responses of ewe and lamb. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A survey of UK based pig farmers and veterinarians was conducted, in order to investigate attitudes to pain and the use of pain relief in pigs. Survey respondents were asked to indicate which anti-inflammatory drugs they used or prescribed for pigs, how often these were administered, and the level of pain they associated with particular conditions. The survey found that veterinarians used a range of anti-inflammatory products to treat pigs with lameness. While both farmers and veterinarians gave similar pain scores overall, farmers rated gastrointestinal disease as more painful and conversely veterinarians scored lameness higher. Female and younger respondents gave higher pain scores than males and older respondents. Overall, farmers and veterinarians had a positive attitude towards pain relief in pigs with the majority agreeing that animals recovered more promptly w hen pain relief was administered. Most farmers agreed that the recognition and management of pain is an important part of pig husbandry, and many expressed an interest in finding out more about identifying pain in this species as well as the treatment options available. The study highlighted potential barriers to the increased application of pain relief in pigs in that almost one-third of veterinarians and two-thirds of farmers did not agree that they discussed pain management with each other, while other respondents indicated that they found it difficult to recognise pain in pigs, and did not know how to treat it appropriately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Author(s): V. Wood; R. Gwilliam; M.-A. Rajandream; M. Lyne; R. Lyne; A. Stewart; J. Sgouros; N. Peat; J. Hayles; S. Baker; D. Basham; S. Bowman; K. Brooks; D. Brown; S. [...]

Piglets reared in swine production in the USA undergo painful procedures that include castration, tail docking, teeth clipping, and identification with ear notching or tagging. These procedures are usually performed without pain mitigation. The objective of this project was to develop recommendations for pain mitigation in 1- to 28-day-old piglets undergoing these procedures. The National Pork Board funded project to develop recommendations for pain mitigation in piglets. Recommendation development followed a defined multi-step process that included an evidence summary and estimates of the efficacies of interventions. The results of a systematic review of the interventions were reported in a companion paper. This manuscript describes the recommendation development process and the final recommendations. Recommendations were developed for three interventions (CO2/O2 general anesthesia, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and lidocaine) for use during castration. The ability to make strong recommendations was limited by low-quality evidence and strong certainty about variation in stakeholder values and preferences. The panel strongly recommended against the use of a CO2/O2 general anesthesia mixture, weakly recommended for the use of NSAIDs and weakly recommended against the use of lidocaine for pain mitigation during castration of 1- to 28-day-old piglets. [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 (M 1 ), 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 Ml 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 Ml, 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key indicator of resource use within farming is technical efficiency, which measures the amount of physical output attainable from a given set of inputs. The social aspects, in particular the treatment of animals, have generally been ignored within these measurement schemas. In addition, animal welfare will affect the production technology under which farms operate, and some allowance for this is needed within the measurement approach. This is the first paper to apply animal welfare as a discriminating technology within a technical efficiency framework. Using results from an animal welfare monitoring study coupled with resource usage data, it presents an adjusted measure of technical efficiency applied to a sample of British dairy farms and compares differences in lameness management strategies for herds. We employ both a categorical and nondiscretionary variant of the data envelopment analysis approach to measure technical efficiencies and adjust for various degrees of lameness prevalence among these farms. This paper finds that farms with low rates of lameness (below 10% of the cattle herd) tend to have significantly higher technical efficiencies than those with lameness rates of above 10% of the herd. Farms that have levels of lameness of between 10 to 20% of the herd and higher levels of lameness (above 20% of the herd) did not differ significantly. Furthermore, low lameness farms are inefficient in terms of labor and stocking density, but this is outweighed by the gain in milk yield obtained on these farms. Consequently, we argue for a whole-farm, rather than a partial indicator, approach to assessing efficiency when noneconomic factors such as lameness are accounted for. From a policy perspective, we support programs that encourage active lameness management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) plays important roles in the metabolism of catecholamine neurotransmitters and catechol estrogens. The development of COMT inhibitors for use in the treatment of Parkinson''s disease has been aided by crystallographic structures of the rat enzyme. However, the human and rat proteins have significantly different substrate specificities. Additionally, human COMT contains a common valine–methionine polymorphism at position 108. The methionine protein is less stable than the valine polymorph, resulting in decreased enzyme activity and protein levels in vivo. Here we describe the crystal structures of the 108V and 108M variants of the soluble form of human COMT bound with S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) and a substrate analog, 3,5-dinitrocatechol. The polymorphic residue 108 is located in the α5–β3 loop, buried in a hydrophobic pocket ∼16 Å from the SAM-binding site. The 108V and 108M structures are very similar overall [RMSD of Cα atoms between two structures (Cα RMSD)=0.2 Å], and the active-site residues are superposable, in accord with the observation that SAM stabilizes 108M COMT. However, the methionine side chain is packed more tightly within the polymorphic site and, consequently, interacts more closely with residues A22 (α2) and R78 (α4) than does valine. These interactions of the larger methionine result in a 0.7-Å displacement in the backbone structure near residue 108, which propagates along α1 and α5 toward the SAM-binding site. Although the overall secondary structures of the human and rat proteins are very similar (Cα RMSD=0.4 Å), several nonconserved residues are present in the SAM-(I89M, I91M, C95Y) and catechol- (C173V, R201M, E202K) binding sites. The human protein also contains three additional solvent-exposed cysteine residues (C95, C173, C188) that may contribute to intermolecular disulfide bond formation and protein aggregation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The presence of hock injury was assessed in the milking herds of 80 dairy farms (40 organic, 40 nonorganic) across the United Kingdom. A wide range of information on farm management and husbandry was gathered via interview to assess the factors contributing to hock damage for all 80 farms, and a comprehensive building appraisal was conducted for 40 farms visited during the winter housing period. The prevalence of hock lesions was lower on organic compared with nonorganic farms (37.2 vs. 49.1%). Prevalence of hock damage was greater in the spring than fall (59.9 vs. 21.6%) and cows housed in free-stalls had a greater prevalence of hock lesions than those housed on straw (46.0 vs. 25.0%). Prevalence of hock damage increased with lactation number. In the analysis of fall/spring data, the age first mated, herd biosecurity, duration of summer grazing, and cow milk yield were significant factors relating to herd hock damage. Larger herds had a greater proportion of cows with hock swellings. Farms with a shorter calving interval had more cows with hock swellings. Factors relating to housing conditions that were positively associated with the prevalence of hock damage were low feed face space per cow, inferior passageway cleanliness, low total standing area per cow, and the type of bedding added to the free-stall. To assess whether free-stall versus straw-pen or organic versus nonorganic farms had different sets of risk factors, the data were reanalyzed for these types separately. For the straw-pen farms a high culling rate was associated with more hock damage. Within nonorganic farms, the length of summer grazing was significant, with longer periods meaning less hock injury. The prevalence of hock injuries on many UK farms, both organic and nonorganic, exceeded levels that are deemed acceptable for cow comfort. Efforts are needed to improve housing standards to reduce the prevalence of hock injury and consequently improve cow welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synopsis 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 underpredicted 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on aspects of organic dairy cow. It mentions that there are many concerns on organic farms having cows for high milk yield wherein organic diet may not meet its nutritional requirements. It examines if there is a presence of disparity among genetic merit and feeding leads to metabolic disorders in cows. It also explores the analysis of the lower milk yield constitutes a full adaptation to the lower intensity feeding.

Reports that the incidence of landmine-related injuries doubled between 1980 and 1993. Numbers of deaths or injuries per month; Approximate numbers of landmines already buried around the world, and numbers of new landmines planted each year; Their medical, environmental and economic consequences; Information on three cases of landmine injury.