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Copyright of School Administrators is the property of School Administration Research Association, R.O.C. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The aim of the study was to evaluate the levels of lactate, pro-, macro-, and total glycogen in two different muscles, and meat quality traits (pH, colour, drip loss, cooking loss and shear force) across three different pig breeds, in the presence and absence of physical short-term pre-slaughter stress. Twenty-eight halothane-free pigs of the Italian Large White, Duroc and Pietrain breeds were subjected to different kinds of pre-slaughter handling: rough (RPH) or gentle (GPH). Before stunning, RPH group of pigs were subjected to a fast driving supported by the use of electric prods, whereas GPH group pigs were driven slowly without electric prods. Handling procedure influenced the contents of macroglycogen, lactate and pH at 45-min post-mortem with no effect on meat quality traits at 24 and 72 h post-mortem. Irrespective of the handling procedure, breed significantly affected L* and b* colour coordinates, Pietrain pigs showing slightly paler meat.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the levels of lactate, pro-, macro-, and total glycogen in two different muscles, and meat quality traits (pH, colour, drip loss, cooking loss and shear force) across three different pig breeds, in the presence and absence of physical short-term pre-slaughter stress. Twenty-eight halothane-free pigs of the Italian Large White, Duroc and Pietrain breeds were subjected to different kinds of pre-slaughter handling: rough (RPH) or gentle (GPH). Before stunning, RPH group of pigs were subjected to a fast driving supported by the use of electric prods, whereas GPH group pigs were driven slowly without electric prods. Handling procedure influenced the contents of macroglycogen, lactate and pH at 45-min post-mortem with no effect on meat quality traits at 24 and 72 h post-mortem. Irrespective of the handling procedure, breed significantly affected L* and b* colour coordinates, Pietrain pigs showing slightly paler meat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At all times prior to arrival at the slaughter plant, pigs may experience stress from a range of on-farm handling practices. The quality of the design of the loading facilities and of the handling procedures plays a key role in determining the effects of the farm on pig response to preslaughter stress, as it may contribute to improve to reduce the load time, the staff workload and stress in pigs. Poor handling management will impair pigs' movement during loading, leading to rougher handling and stressful experiences, and ultimately reduced welfare. Thus, this paper overviews the effects of on-farm handling management factors during loading that may influence the response of pigs to pre-slaughter stress. In addition, this paper provides recommendations on how to sort and move pigs to the loading dock and into the truck. Handling practices (tools, group size, use of shipping pens, mixing) and physical features of the barn, such as light and sound, and alley and exit design (length, width and shape) will be examined. The design of the loading dock will also be discussed, in regards to the ramp design (bedding, cleat spacing and angle) and its alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Angling for muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) is a specialized endeavor involving species-specific equipment and handling procedures. The latter were developed by anglers with little influence from fisheries managers or the scientific community. Today, release rates approach 100% for specialized anglers; therefore, a formal evaluation of these procedures was warranted. Using two handling treatments – one to mimic current handling procedures with a period of air exposure and another gentler alternative without a period of air exposure – we assessed the physiological and behavioural disturbances as well as mortality associated with the catch-and-release process. Seventy-seven muskellunge were angled and blood sampled during the 2009 and 2010 muskellunge angling seasons. An additional 18 muskellunge were electrofished and immediately blood sampled to obtain baseline physiology data. A subsample (N =30, 15 per treatment) of the 77 angled individuals was fitted with external radio transmitters to assess behaviour and survival. Glucose and lactate concentrations were found to be significantly lower for controls, and glucose and potassium concentrations increased significantly with increasing surface water temperatures. No differences in physiology were noted between angling treatments. Muskellunge treated with normal and alternative handling procedures exhibited similar post-release behaviour, and no angling related mortalities were observed across a range of water temperatures (17.5–26.0°C) This study demonstrates the effectiveness of current handling procedures at minimizing physiological and behavioural disturbances, particularly when compared with a gentler alternative. A fishery in which no angling mortality exists is not possible, but our study provides support for the notion that angling related mortality for muskellunge captured and released by specialized anglers using handling procedures evaluated in this study may indeed be negligible. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A simulated ward study was carried out to compare the microbiological risk of assembling and running four different enteral feeding systems for 24 h. Assembly was carried out, (i) according to manufacturers' instructions with hands either covered by disposable gloves or deliberately contaminated with a test organism, or (ii) touching both the nutrient container top and pump set connector with hands deliberately contaminated with K. aerogenes. Two of the systems were ready-to-hang types (pack and bottle), the other two required feed to be decanted from either bottles or cans. When manufacturers' instructions were followed and disposable gloves worn, organisms were only detected in feeds decanted from cans and at levels ≤ 20 cfu ml[sup -1]. However, when systems were assembled following manufacturers' instructions, but with contaminated hands, no organisms were found in either of the ready-to-hang systems but average bacterial counts in samples from systems where the feed was decanted from bottles were 1.8 × 10[sup 3] cfu ml[sup -1] at 24 h and 9.3 × 10[sup 5] cfu ml[sup -1] for those where feed was decanted from cans. When systems were deliberately touched with contaminated hands, no organisms were detected in any feed samples from the pack system at 24 h, while bacterial counts for the other three systems ranged from 10[sup 1] to 10[sup 5] cfu ml[sup -1]. The results highlight the important role played by system design in reducing both the level and incidence of bacterial contamination of enteral tube feeds and indicate that ready-to-hang feeding systems should be the preferred choice. However, if decanting of feeds cannot be avoided then strict adherence to manufacturers' instructions and the use of disposable gloves is to be advised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]