bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The ὄλβος, ϰόϱος, ὓβϱις, ἂτη Sequence
Authors: Schmiel Robert
Published: August 2016

Gildersleeve gave ὄλβος, ϰόϱος, ὓβϱις, and ἂτη as the genealogy of evil characteristic of archaic Greek thought. Greene observed a fifth item at the end of the sequences in Solon 13. Commenting on Aeschylus, Agam. 757–62 Denniston and Page note that ‘ϰόϱος—ὓβϱις—ἂτη are often linked together as successive elements in the downfall of man.’ More recently Doyle has challenged the very existence of a ‘canonical tetralogy.’ He concludes that there were three triads (ὄλβος—ὓβϱις—ἂτη; ὄλβος—ϰόϱος—ἂτη; ϰόϱος—ὓβϱις—ἂτη); and that they occur too infrequently to be seen as ‘a central doctrine of Greek thought’ (Doyle 302/45).
The Description of Landscape in the Poetry of Venantius Fortunatus: The Moselle Poems
Authors: Roberts Michael
Published: August 2016

Venantius Fortunatus is the last major Latin poet of late antiquity. Born near Treviso in northern Italy, he studied grammar and rhetoric in the still thriving schools of Ravenna before moving in 566 to Gaul, where he sought to employ his literary education and talents in the service of Merovingian and Gallo-Roman patrons. Fortunatus's poetry gives ample evidence of his early studies: he shows familiarity with classical poetry, especially Virgil, Ovid, Lucan, and Statius, and with the main Christian poets of late antiquity. In a passage at the beginning of his verse Life of St. Martin, Fortunatus lists Juvencus, Sedulius, Orientius, Prudentius, Paulinus, Arator, and Alcimus Avitus as preeminent in Christian poetry, thereby naming all of his most important Christian Latin predecessors.
Liturgy and Healing in an Early Medieval Saint's Cult: The Massin honore sancti Sigismundifor the Cure of Fevers
Authors: Paxton Frederick S.
Published: August 2016

InThe Glory of the Martyrs, a collection of miracle stories completed by the early 590s, Bishop Gregory of Tours included a chapter on the Burgundian king Sigismund. A Catholic convert from the Arian Christianity of his father, Sigismund had founded a monastery at Agaune, the present St.-Maurice, Switzerland (Wallis/Valais), in the year 515. After he died in 523, at the hands of Chlodomer, one of the sons of Clovis, his body lay in a well at St.-Péravy-la-Colombe near Orléans (where the Franks had thrown it) until the abbot Venerandus brought it back to St.-Maurice in 535/36 for burial. Over the next fifty years or so, Sigismund gained the reputation as a saint and as a source of healing power over fevers. About Sigismund's posthumous fame, Gregory recorded that “whenever people suffering from chills piously celebrate a mass in his honor and make an offering to God for the king's repose, immediately their tremors cease, their fevers disappear, and they are restored to their earlier health.” Gregory's reference to a mass in honor of Sigismund is as unusual as is the very existence of such a celebration, for theMissa sancti Sigismundiis an early and peculiar example of a new development in the Latin liturgy in late antiquity, themissa votivaor votive mass. Votive masses differed from traditional forms of eucharistic celebration because they could be offered for a particular purpose and at the special request of a member (or members) of a congregation. Unlike theMissa sancti Sigismundi, however, most other early votive masses had generalized titles such asmissa votivaormissa pro vivorum et mortuorum.The mass in honor of St. Sigismund is, as far as I can tell, unique in its appeal to the intercession of a particular saint for a specific purpose—the cure of fevers.
Kingship, Society, and Sacrality: Rank, Power, and Ideology in Early Medieval Ireland
Authors: Aitchison N. B.
Published: August 2016

Early medieval Irish society was highly stratified, possessing a formalized ranking structure, and ritual played an important part in legitimizing the possession of rank and office, especially kingship. Power was ultimately dependent on physical force, but was maintained through the control of land, agricultural production, exchange, and—in particular—livestock. The basis of power, however, was inherently unstable. Although some kingdoms and dynasties exhibited powerful centralizing tendencies, political power was essentially transitory, a product of the pattern of royal succession and the segmentary nature of royal dynasties. According to Ó Corráin, “great overkingdoms are dismantled by fission and segmentation, and are built up again by later dynastic expansion and reconquest.”
Mathematical Conjectures in a Middle English Prose Treatise: Perfect Numbers inDives and Pauper
Authors: Tavormina M. Teresa
Published: August 2016

A few histories of the middle ages mention mathematics, and a few histories of mathematics mention the middle ages.

In his discussion of the Third Commandment, the author ofDives and Pauperraises the question, “Why wolde God makyn þe world mor in þe numbre of sexe dayys þan in ony oþer numbre of dayys?” Like many commentators in the hexameral tradition, he answers the question by referring to one of the mathematical properties of the number six:

PAUPER. For, as Salomon seith, God made alle þinge in numbre, whyte & in mesure [Wisdom 11:21]. He made no þing to mychil, no þing to lytil, but he made eueryþing perfyth in his kende and endyd al hys warkys in perfythnesse; and for þat þe numbre of sexe is þe firste numbre efne þat is perfyth, þerfor he mad al þe world in þe numbre of sexe dayys.
The Biblical Sources of Columbus's Libro de las Profecías
Authors: Avalos Héctor Ignacio
Published: August 2016

In his Libro de las Profecías, Christopher Columbus collected numerous scriptural passages that he believed supported and prophesied his explorations. According to Delno C. West and August Kling, editors of a recent edition, translation, and commentary on the book, Columbus, his son Ferdinand, and Gaspar Gorricio, a Carthusian monk, completed their transcriptions of most of these sources in 1501/1502, although a few additions may have been made as late as 1505.
A Sermon in Praise of Philosophy
Authors: Wenzel Siegfried
Published: August 2016

Worcester Cathedral MS F.10 forms a random collection of Latin, English, and macaronic sermons which were gathered and copied by a fairly large number of scribes in the middle of the fifteenth century. These sermons, most of them anonymous, are for a variety of occasions and audiences and have been entered in no particular liturgical order, even if, as the presence of several sets of quire numbers indicates, the individual quires were reordered several times in the medieval period. The collection contains a number of pieces that were evidently preached to a university audience, as is shown by their addressing “magistri” and by internal references to a university milieu. Their locale was presumably Oxford. Besides such general university sermons, the collection also includes two that are labeled “Introitus Sententiarum” and three other pieces that agree with these in form — the scholastic sermon structure — and content — praise of theology or holy Scripture and Peter Lombard. These five pieces are introitus, academic speeches or sermons which, according to university statutes, bachelors as well as masters (or doctors) of theology were required to deliver as they began their courses on the Bible or on Peter Lombard's Sentences. In addition, the manuscript contains an item that is very similar to the introitus sermons in that it follows the scholastic sermon structure and praises its subject. The latter, however, is not theology but philosophy, and the thema on which the piece is based is not a biblical text but a quotation from Aristotle. A sermon on a secular text itself is a rarity in medieval sermon literature, certainly from England; and appearing as it does in a sermon collection, the piece seems to be a rarissima avis stuck in the wrong flock.
The Real Distinction Between Being and Essence According to William of Auvergne
Authors: Caster Kevin J.
Published: August 2016

Many thinkers, Thomists especially, view the real distinction between being and essence as one of the most important topics in philosophy. It is certainly one of the most intriguing. The philosophical development of this doctrine has thus been amply dealt with by historians of philosophy. The extent to which William of Auvergne has contributed to such development has, however, been a matter of considerable disagreement. In fact, scholars differ radically in their interpretations of William's distinction between being and essence. In this article, I shall attempt to make as clear as possible William's understanding of the distinction between being and essence. Specifically, I shall try to answer the question of whether or not he holds a real distinction between being and essence. To do so, I shall look closely at certain texts of William that are relevant to the question. I shall also provide a brief account of some of the more important and representative commentaries on William's understanding of this distinction.
Fulgentius of Ruspe on Baptism
Authors: Gavigan John J.
Published: August 2016

St. Fulgentius of Ruspe had so completely assimilated the teachings of St. Augustine that he was known to the Middle Ages as Augustinus breviatus. He was referred to by Bossuet in his Défense de la Tradition et des saints Pères as un grand docteur and dubbed le plus grand théologien et le plus saint évêque de son temps. This judgment has been accepted by modern authors also. But in spite of this recognition, studies upon the doctrinal content of his work are disappointingly few. Indeed, Fulbert Cayré felt compelled to complain against the frequently repeated view that the center of Fulgentius' theology was concerned with grace and predestination. As a matter of fact, the central point of Fulgentius' system revolved rather about the problems of the Holy Trinity and of Christology, whereas the subjects of grace and predestination were for him merely the consequence and the application of those primary points. Be that as it may, the sacramental system of Fulgentius has been greatly neglected. The present study aims to make a slight contribution concerning his doctrine on Baptism.
The Cross in the Towneley Plays
Authors: Marie Jean
Published: August 2016

I find in the Towneley Processus Crucis evidence never before pointed out, so far as I know, that the cross there described conforms to that represented in the writings of several of the early Fathers of the Church when they speak of the cross as having a fifth extremity, a sedile or seat projecting from the middle of the long vertical beam.
Maintaining Baseline, Corrective Surgical Care during Asymmetrical Warfare: A Case Study of a Humanitarian Mission in the Safe Zone of a Neighboring Country
Authors: McQueen K.A. Kelly , Burkle Frederick M. , Al-Gobory Eaman T. , Anderson Christopher C.
Published: August 2016

The current insurgency warfare in Iraq is of an unconventional or asymmetrical nature. The deteriorating security has resulted in problems recovering and maintaining essential health services. Before the 2003 war, Iraq was considered a developed country with the capacity to routinely perform baseline medical and surgical care. These procedures now are performed irregularly, if at all. Due to the unconventional warfare, traditional Military Medical Civilian Assistance Programs (MEDCAPs) and civilian humanitarian missions, which routinely are mobilized post-conflict, are unable to function. In December 2005, an international medical mission conducted by the Operation Smile International Chapter in neighboring Jordan employed civilian physicians and nurses to provide surgery and post-operative care for Iraqi children with newly diagnosed cleft lip and palates and the complications that had occurred from previous surgical repair. Seventy-one children, their families, and a team of Iraqi physicians were safely transported to Jordan and returned to Iraq across the Iraqi western province war zone. Although complications may occur during transport, treatment within a safe zone is a solution for providing services in an insecure environment.
Editorial Comments—Disasters, Women's Health and Conservative Society: Working in Pakistan with the Turkish Red Crescent following the Earthquake in Southeast Asia
Authors: Amaratunga Carol
Published: August 2016

From time to time, one has the opportunity to read a truly informative and sensitive piece of work on disasters and women's health. This article deserves both comment and praise. It is very rare in the literature that a publication genuinely captures “lessons learned” from the field with insight and appreciation of both cultural and gender sensitivity. This article addresses the social imperative for the inclusion of gender as a socio-cultural construct in emergency response and recovery, with particular attention to the unique need for respectful interventions in traditional, conservative societies which value sexual modestyand female vulnerability.
Suicide Bombing of the Mineralnye Vody Train: Case Study in Using Open-Source Information for Open-Source Health Intelligence
Authors: Lee Catherine Y. , Davis Timothy E. , Noji Eric K.
Published: August 2016

Objective:

Open-source information consists of a range of publicly available material, includingvarious periodicals, news reports, journal publications, photographs, and maps. Although intelligence agencies regularly use open source information in developing strategically important intelligence, the disaster community has yet to evaluate its use for planning or research purposes. This study examines how open-source information, in the form of Internet news reports and public access disaster databases, can be used to develop a rapid, 72-hour case report.

Methods:

Open-source information was extrapolated from several news reports on a terrorist bombing that occurred in Russia on 05 December 2003, using a self-devised “data” collection sheet, and background information collected on the nature of similar disasters using three public access databases.

Results:

The bulk of health-related information was collected in the first 13 hours after the event, including casualty demographics, immediate dead, total dead, admitted, and treated-and-released. The complex and prolonged rescue of casualties was identified, as well as the presence of unexploded ordnance. This incident also was identified as the first publicly reported suicide terrorist bombing of a commuter train.

Conclusions:

Open-source information has the potential to be a helpful tool in reconstructing a chain of events and response. However, its use must be validated further and used appropriately. Standards for collection and analysis also must be developed.
Comfort Level of Emergency Medical Service Providers in Responding to Weapons of Mass Destruction Events: Impact of Training and Equipment
Authors: Reilly Michael J. , Markenson David , DiMaggio Charles
Published: August 2016

Background:

Numerous studies have suggested that emergency medical services (EMS) providers areill-prepared in the areas of training and equipment for response to events due to weapons of mass destruction(WMD) and other public health emergencies (epidemics, etc.).

Methods:

A nationally representative sample of basic and paramedic EMS providers in the United States wassurveyed to assess whether they had received training in WMD and/or public health emergencies as part of their initial provider training and as continuing medical education within the past 24 months. Providers also were surveyed as to whether their primary EMS agency had the necessary specialty equipment to respond to these specific events.

Results:

More than half of EMS providers had some training in WMD response. Hands-on training was associated with EMS provider comfort in responding to chemical, biological, and/or radiological events and public health emergencies (odds ratio (OR) = 3.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.1, 3.3). Only 18.1% of providers surveyed indicated that their agencies had the necessary equipment to respond to a WMD event. Emergency medical service providers who only received WMD training reported higher comfort levels than those who had equipment, but no training.

Conclusions:

Lack of training and education as well as the lack of necessary equipment to respond to WMD events is associated with decreased comfort among emergency medical services providers in responding to chemical, biological, and/or radiological incidents. Better training and access to appropriate equipment may increase provider comfort in responding to these types of incidents.
Professionalization of Disaster Medicine—An Appraisal of Criterion-Referenced Qualifications
Authors: Bradt David A. , Drummond Christina M
Published: August 2016

The landmark Humanitarian Response Review, commissioned by the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator in 2005, has catalyzed recent reforms in disaster response through the Inter-Agency Standing Committee. These reforms include a “cluster lead” approach to sectoral responsibilities and the strengthening of humanitarian coordination. Clinical medicine, public health, and disaster incident management are core disciplines underlying expertise in disaster medicine. Technical lead agencies increasingly provide pre-deployment training for selected health personnel. Moreover, technical innovations in disaster health sciences increasingly are disseminated to the disaster field through multi-agency initiatives, such as the Standardized Monitoring and Assessment of Relief and Transitions (SMART) initiative.

The hallmark qualification of competency to render an informed opinion in the health specialties remains specialty board certification in North American healthcare traditions, or specialty society fellowship in British and Australasian healthcare traditions. However, disaster incident management training lacks international consensus on hallmark qualifications for competency. Disaster experience is best characterized in terms of months of fulltime, hands-on field service. Future practitioners in disaster medicine will see intensified efforts to define competency benchmarks across underlying core disciplines as well as key field performance indicators.Quantitative decisionsupport tools are emerging to assist disaster planners and medical coordinators in their personnel selection.
Financing Hospital Disaster Preparedness
Authors: De Lorenzo Robert A.
Published: August 2016

Disaster preparedness and response have gained increased attention in the United States as a result of terrorism and disaster threats. However, funding of hospital preparedness, especially surge capacity, has lagged behind other preparedness priorities. Only a small portion of the money allocated for national preparedness is directed toward health care, and hospitals receive very little of that. Under current policy, virtually the entire funding stream for hospital preparedness comes from general tax revenues. Medical payers (e.g., Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance) directly fund little, if any, of the current bill. Funding options to improve preparedness include increasing the current federal grants allocated to hospitals, using payer fees or a tax to sub- sidize preparedness, and financing other forms of expansion capability, such as mobile hospitals. Alternatively, thestatus quoof marginal preparedness can be maintained. In any event, achieving higher levels of preparedness likely will take the combined commitment of the hospital industry, public and private payers, and federal, state, and local governments. Ultimately, the costs of pre- paredness will be borne by the public in the form of taxes, higher healthcare costs, or through the acceptance of greater risk.
Biotechnology — the possibilities
Authors: Robinson J. J. , McEvoy T. G.
Published: August 2016

A review of recent trends in animal science is used to provide a flavour of how, from a purely technical viewpoint, evolving biotechnology may influence animal production systems in the foreseeable future. The areas considered are: the nutritive value of foods and forages, animal health and welfare, the temporary alteration of production traits to meet an immediate goal, and the permanent alteration of traits to meet an immediate goal, and the permanent alteration of traits by genetic selection or by the production of transgenic animals. In improving the nutritive value of foods, modern biotechnology has produced food grade enzymes and amino acid supplements. Genetically engineered cereals, grasses and legumes, rich in essential amino acids, are on the horizon. In disease prevention, genetically engineered vaccines may be preferable to conventional ones in that they have a defined composition, with a degree of control during manufacture which allows amino acid substitution within the peptide to confer specificity to a particular serotype.

Modern techniques with the potential to promote a transitory alteration in a production trait involve either immunization against an inhibitory biochemical pathway or active promotion of a stimulatory pathway by the administration of recombinant-derived hormones and proteins. Strategies for permanent alteration of traits by gene transfer, initially directed to enhancing growth, are now shifting in emphasis towards the transfer of genes for enhanced nutrient digestion, disease resistance, and improved product quality. The role of recombinant DNA technology in the development of diagnostic probes for use in genetic selection programmes and in the monitoring of disease is also expanding rapidly.

In all areas of animal science, molecular biology is promoting a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms that control production. By so doing it should ensure that science fulfils its primary rôle of providing animal production industries with a range of options from which to choose the most acceptable way forward.
MOET results from a dispersed hybrid nucleus programme in dairy cattle
Authors: Lohuis M. M. , Smith C. , Dekkers J. C. M.
Published: August 2016

A dispersed hybrid MOET nucleus project was implemented in the Canadian dairy industry. Embryo yield, pregnancy rate, and effects of management and selection practices are reported. Repeatability of viable embryo yield was 0.31. Average viable embryo yield was 6.85 (s.e. 5.35) embryos per collection, with average pregnancy rates of 0.58, 0.46 and 0.51 for grade 1 fresh, frozen, and split embryos, respectively. Of the donors selected, 80% produced enough embryos to form a family of at least 15 offspring. Based on observed results, expectations of family size and structure and generation intervals were calculated. Only 10% of completed families are expected to result in less than three milking daughters. Generation interval for sib-tested sires was 58 months of age under practical field conditions, which was shorter by a factor of 0.19 than a traditional progeny test but longer than original theoretical estimates by a factor of 0.32. Realized selection intensities for a total merit index were 2.22 for sires and 3.77 for dams of embryos. Accuracies of selection for sires and dams were 0.93 and 0.73 respectively. To improve the scheme, use of more fresh embryos, embryo splitting and less delay in transferring frozen embryos are recommended.
A note on the amino acid composition of sow's milk
Authors: King R. H. , Rayner C. J. , Kerr M.
Published: August 2016

Effects of dietary protein concentration on the amino acid composition of sow's milk was studied using 10 crossbred first-litter sows. At parturition, diets containing similar concentrations of digestible energy but with either 63 or 238 g crude protein per kg and 4.4 and 15.1 g lysine per kg respectively, were given through lactation (five sows per treatment). The ratios of other amino acids to lysine were in excess of those currently recommended for lactating sows. Dietary protein level significantly affected milk yield, gave higher milk protein output (P> 0.05) but was without significant effect on the proportions of amino acids in the milk.
Comparison of the simple breeding value model and the maternal effects model for genetic evaluation of Segureña lambs
Authors: Analla M. , Muñoz-Serrano A. , Serradilla J. M.
Published: August 2016

Weaning weight in a single flock of 600 ewes and 40 rams was simulated through 30 consecutive lambings. The objective was to compare the simple breeding value model with the maternal effects model for lamb evaluation under the Segureña selection scheme. Three selection strategies were tested: selection on breeding values estimated by a simple breeding value model that ignores maternal effects (method 1), selection on direct additive values only (method 2) or on the sum of direct and maternal additive values (method 3), both latter methods utilizing a maternal effects model. Average values obtained in the last lamb crop were about 18 kg for the phenotypic mean, about 5 kg for direct additive values and about -1 kg for maternal additive values, for all three methods. Average inbreeding coefficient of the last crop was more than 0·13 in method 1 but was less than 0·12 in the others. All differences were not statistically significant (P > 0·05). Consequently, the simple breeding value model can be used for the genetic evaluation of weaning weight of candidates for selection in the Segureña scheme. The effect of variation in the magnitude of parameters was evaluated through four sets of parameters. Results showed that with a higher additive maternal component, method (3) would become increasingly necessary. The need for method (3) is accentuated with more negative additive covariance between direct and maternal effects. Thus, for higher maternal effects or more negative additive correlation, the use of the complete model (with maternal effects) becomes unavoidable. Varying population size, however, affects only the inbreeding accumulated, as long as the same methods of selection are used.
The inheritance of wool quantity and live weight in the French Angora rabbit
Authors: Allain D. , Rochambeau H. de , Thébault R. G. , Vrillon J. L.
Published: August 2016

More accurate definition of Angora rabbit breeding objectives has been investigated by considering multiple expression of different traits. Data on 9672 fleece harvests produced by 1343 Angora does which had at least one wool harvest were analysed in order to study genetic variability according to age. The animals of the French breed were defleeced and weighed at 8 and 21 weeks of age for the first and second time respectively. Thereafter, does were defleeced every 14 weeks and weighed 9 weeks before defleecing. Total fleece weight and live body weight were recorded at each harvest.

Direct heritability estimates of total fleece weight were similar accross ages and ranged from 0·31 to 0·42 . A significant maternal heritability was also observed at all ages of harvest. Maternal genetic estimates decreased with age from 0·44 at the first harvest to 0·10 for an adult harvest. Except for 8 weeks of age, genetic correlations between total fleece weight and live weight were generally not significantly different from zero. Genetic correlations of total fleece weight between the first and subsequent harvests were low (from 0·22 to 0·39) but genetic correlation estimates between consecutive harvests after the first were high, and ranged from 0·68 to 0·89 . The results suggest that the second harvest would be the first good predictor of breeding value for total fleece weight in the adult Angora rabbit.
The influence of rate of lean and fat tissue development on pork eating quality
Authors: Blanchard P. J. , Ellis M. , Warkup C. C. , Hardy B. , Chadwick J. P. , Deans G. A.
Published: August 2016

The influence of plane of nutrition and diet on the eating quality of fresh pork was investigated in a study involving 721 animals. Boars and gilts of three genotypes (0, 0·25 and 0·50 Duroc inclusion level) were reared from 30 to 90 kg on seven feeding regimens (combinations of diet formulation and feeding level) to achieve different rates of lean and fat tissue growth during two growth periods (30 to 60 or 75 kg; 60 or 75 kg to 90 kg), respectively. A diet of conventional energy and protein (CEP, 14·2 MJ/kg digestible energy, 205 g/kg crude protein, 10 g/kg lysine) was given using combinations of ad libitum and restricted feeding to produce six treatment groups with variation in lean and fat growth rates. An additional treatment group was given food ad libitum on a higher energy and lower protein diet (HELP, 14·7 MJ/kg digestible energy, 166 g/kg crude protein, 7·0 g/kg lysine) between 30 and 90 kg. Dissected carcass composition at 90 kg was predicted from equations based on P2 fat depth, which were developed from full-side and ham joint dissections on sub-samples of animals. Representative sub-samples of animals were dissected at start (30 kg) and at interim weights (60 or 75 kg) to allow lean and subcutaneous fat growth rates to be calculated for all or parts of the growth period. The feeding regimes produced substantial variation in live-weight gain (DLWG) (744 to 914 g/day) and lean tissue growth rate (LTGR 345 to 417 g/day) and subcutaneous fat growth rate (SFGR 81 to 97 g/day), between 30 and 90 kg, and in longissimus dorsi intramuscular fat content (10·37 to 23·87 g/kg). Pigs given the HELP diet had the highest intramuscular fat and the best eating quality. Pigs offered the CEP diet ad libitum throughout the growth period produced more tender but less juicy meat than those given food restrictedly (0·8 or 0·9 of ad libitum). The correlations between DLWG, LTGR and SFGR for the whole or parts of the growth period and sensory characteristics, although often positive, were generally low, suggesting weak relationships.
The effects of retrogradation and amylose/amylopectin ratio of starches on carbohydrate fermentation and microbial populations in the porcine colon
Authors: Reid C.-A. , Hillman K.
Published: August 2016

The colon of the simple-stomached animal comprises a gradually changing microbial environment, using the residues of digestion as substrates for fermentation. As carbohydrate sources decline along the length of the colon, the microflora degrade proteins to use as an energy supply, resulting in the formation of undesirable and potentially toxic metabolites. This study has examined the possibility of using dietary starches as a means of extending carbohydrate fermentation along the colon in order to reduce the effects of protein degradation, and the influence of these starches on the numbers of microbial groups within the total population. The study was carried out in weaned piglets, using native and retrograded forms of maize and waxy maize starches, containing proportionately about 0·25 and 0·01 amylose respectively. It was found that protein degradation in the mid and distal regions of the colon was best reduced by the inclusion of the retrograded form of waxy maize, although these data did not achieve significance. However, it was found that a reduced population of the protein-degrading Bacteroides spp. resulted from the inclusion of waxy maize rather than maize in the diets, (proximal colonP< 0·01 ; mid colonP< 0·001 , distal colonP< 0·05), while the retrograded waxy maize produced increased lactobacillixoliform ratios throughout the colon, which may result in an improved resistance to infection by intestinal pathogens. Retrogradation of these starches reduced the coliform populations throughout the colon, with significant (P< 0·05) effects observed in the proximal and distal regions. The data suggest that, of the starches tested, reduced protein-degrading activity and improved pathogen resistance may be achieved with retrograded waxy maize.
The effects of raising post-oestrus progesterone concentrations on luteal activity in post-partum dairy cows
Authors: Darwash A. O. , Ward G. L. , Lamming G. E. , Woolliams J. A.
Published: August 2016

In order to investigate the rationale of manipulating post-ovulation progesterone (P4) concentrations, luteal activity was measured in 10 Holstein-Friesian cows treated with a progesterone-releasing device (CIDR, 1·9 g P4) inserted on the morning of day 2 post-oestrus for a period of 7 days and compared with 10 untreated control animals. Milk samples were collected daily during afternoon milking from 7 days pre- to 24 days post-oestrus and P4 concentrations were measured using enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA). The milk P4 profiles were used to assess the effects of early post-oestrus P4 elevation on five intervals of the luteal phase. In the treated (T) and control (C) animals, the mean interval from oestrus to P4 rise (≥3 μg/l), was 2·38 (s.e. 0·18) and 4·90 (s.e. 0·28) days, respectively, (P < 0·01). The mean interval from oestrus to the attainment of peak P4 concentrations was not significantly different (P > 0·05) between the T (14·75 (s.e. 1-62) days) and С (14·30 (s.e. 0·70) days) animals, with cows in the T group showing a more variable (F7 9 = 4-30, P < 0·05) interval to the occurrence of the peak. The interval from peak P4 to corpus luteum (CL) regression (when P4 fell below ≥3 μg/l) was not significantly different between the T (4·13 (s.e. 1·30 days) and С (5·60 (s.e. 0·88) days) groups. Furthermore, CIDR insertion did not alter luteal phase length, number of days with P4 concentrations ≥3 μg/l (T = 16·50 (s.e. 0·80) v.C = 15·00 (s.e. 0·47) days) or the interval from oestrus to CL regression (T = 18·88 (s.e. 0·79) v.C = 19·90 (s.e. 0·41) days). We conclude that treatment with CIDR 2 days after oestrus successfully increased the availability of P4 to cows without significantly affecting luteal phase characteristics.
Effect of dietary forage: concentrate ratio on the behaviour, rumen fermentation and circulating concentrations of IGF-1, insulin, glucagon and metabolites of beef steers and their potential effects on carcass composition
Authors: Thorp C. L. , G.Wylie A. R. , Steen R. W. J. , Shaw C. , McEvoy J. D.
Published: August 2016

In an investigation of factors responsible for the lower efficiency of carcass lean gain seen previously in steers offered grass silage diets 18 Simmental × British Friesian steers (361 (s.e. 5-35) kg) were offered one of three diets: a perennial ryegrass silage ad libitum and alone (S) or supplemented with rolled barley at 300 g/kg of total dry matter (SC) or supplemented as described but restricted (SCr) in quantity so as to provide the same dry matter (DM) and digestible energy (DE) intakes as for S. Eating (Eb), ruminating (Rb), standing (Sb) or lying (Lb) behaviour was quantified during four 24-h periods of manual observation. Eb was noted in more detail in a second experiment using computerized Calan-Broadbent gates and load cells to monitor times and rates of eating. Blood was taken via temporary indwelling jugular catheters at 30 to 60 min intervals on each of 4 days 1 month apart. Rumen fluid was sampled hourly for three 24-h periods from three rumen-cannulated steers given the same three diets in a separate 3 x 3 change-over design experiment.

Steers offered the restricted diet SCr ate most of their food in one extended meal within 6 h of feeding while two peak eating periods (morning and evening) were observed in steers offered the other two diets. Steers offered SCr spent more time in Sb (P < 0.05), and less time in Eb (P < 0·001) and Rb (P < 0·05) activities than did animals offered the two diets ad libitum (SC and S). Mean 24 h insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) concentrations and postprandial insulin concentrations were significantly higher with diet SCr than with diet S (P < 0·001) despite equal daily DM and DE intakes from each. Insulin appearance in the jugular vein reflected the pattern of food intake on all treatments. Rumen fermentation characteristics were largely unaffected by diet. Mean 24 h rumen volatile fatty acid, pH and ammonia concentrations did not differ between diets but post-prandial rumen pH tended to be lower in animals offered the SC and SCr diets.

Differences in patterns of food intake between animals offered food ad libitum and at a restricted level are likely to determine patterns of nutrient absorption and the secretion of nutritionally regulated splanchnic hormones. The higher proportions of Sb and Rb activities in steers offered the restricted diet represent an energy cost to these animals while the higher plasma IGF-1 and insulin concentrations also seen in these animals may collectively influence the partitioning of nutrients to the peripheral tissues and contribute to the increased efficiency of carcass lean deposition previously shown in animals offered such diets.
Coypu (Myocastor coypus) as a meat resource: heterotic and maternal effects on growth traits
Authors: Spiaggi E. P. , Benaglia A. , Di Masso R. J.
Published: August 2016

The coypu (Myocastor coypus) is an aquatic rodent usually bred for fur production. Fluctuations in fur prices have led to coypu meat being considered as a genuine resource in commercial farms, which contribute to the diversification of agro-ecosystems. To characterize coypus as a meat resource, maternal and heterotic effects on birth weight, weaning weight, slaughter weight, number of days required to attain a weaning weight of l kg, and on two parameters of the Gompertz growth curve (asymptotic weight and maturing rate) were studied. Eight males and eight females of Standard (S) and Cognac (C) genotypes and of their reciprocal crosses (C × S) and (S × C), where the first letter denotes the paternal genotype, were used. Significant genotype, sex and (genotype × sex) interaction effects were evident for most traits. S animals were lighter than С at all ages. Hybrids with С mothers were heavier than their reciprocals. Maternal effects on the parameters of the growth curve were observed only in females. Heterotic effects were extremely significant. Favourable heterotic effects in immature animals were explained by a change in the F1 growth pattern. Males showed a dominant deviation toward low asymptotic weights and overdominance for high maturing rate. Females showed partial dominance of high asymptotic weight and over dominance for high maturing rate. This association of genetic effects would justify a productive system based on a terminal cross using С females and S males because of the higher maturing rate of both hybrids and the maternal effect of С genotype, a combination that allows higher weights at the usual slaughter age (6 months) or butchering of animals at earlier ages.
Choice of probing site for classification of live pigs using ultrasonic measurements
Authors: Hulsegge B. , Mateman G. , Merkus G. S. M. , Walstra P.
Published: August 2016

Body length and ultrasonic fat thickness measurements were taken on 86 live pigs in order to find an optimal probing site for estimation of lean meat proportion. The next day pigs were slaughtered and measurements with the Hennessy Grading Probe (HGP) were made in order to estimate the lean meat proportion.

Fat thickness, 6 cm off the dorsal mid line, increased from a value of 9·5 mm at a site 4 cm cranial to the last rib, progressively through intermediate sites to a value of 12·4 mm, 22 cm cranial to the last rib. Fat thickness measurements at different sites (live pigs) were highly correlated with HGP fat thickness at the site between 3rd and 4th from last rib (3/4 LR) and estimated lean meat proportion (carcasses); correlations ranged from 0.80 to 0.89 and -071 to -0.85 respectively. The most accurate predictor of estimated lean meat proportion from the live pig measurements was the measurement at 18 cm cranial to the last rib. Measurement at the site half the distance between the occipital bone and the base of the tail (midpoint) was the second-best for estimated lean meat proportion.

Generally, this midpoint on live pigs was situated around the 3/4 LR on carcasses. However, the range was considerable. Half of the number of animals had a midpoint in the range of -2.5 to 2.5 cm from 3/4 LR. The site midpoint is easily located on the animal and the results of this study suggest that it can be used as an accurate predictor of estimated lean meat proportion. Therefore it can serve as the probing site for classification of live pigs.
The effect of changing patterns of fertilizer applications on the major
mineral composition of herbage in relation to the requirements of cattle: a
50-year review
Authors: Hemingway R. G.
Published: August 2016

Annual surveys of fertilizer practice have been conducted since 1942. Since
1985, nitrogen application rates to grass have progressively declined and
phosphorus application has been reduced since the mid 1970s. Increasing
environmental issues and the present interest in organic farming and low input
systems indicate that these trends will continue. Present overall fertilizer use
for grazing on dairy farms is about 170 kg N, 10 kg P and 20 kg К per ha. Higher
rates are used for intensive silage production, 200 kg N, 15 kg P and 50 kg К per
ha. In contrast, recommended applications are 340 kg N, 18 kg P and 25 kg К per ha
for grazing and 380 kg N, 40 kg P and 260 kg К per ha for intensive silage.
Herbage yield is controlled by the amount and timing of nitrogen fertilizer
applications. The major mineral content depends on herbage maturity within the
growth cycle; both phosphorus and potassium contents fall with declining crude
protein concentrations.

Nitrogen fertilizer generally increases both magnesium and sodium
concentration whilst potassium application decreases both. The overall effect of
combined applications is to minimize changes. In the critical spring and autumn
periods, herbage dry-matter intakes may be as important as magnesium content and
availability when assessing the risk of hypomagnesaemia in the grazing
cow.

Fertilizers, including phosphorus, even in the long term, have little effect
on the calcium and phosphorus contents of herbage. Nitrogen and phosphorus
concentrations are significantly ocrrelated in grazed herbage, silage and hay. If
environmental or economic policies were to result in a reduction in the crude
protein content of grazed herbage from ca. 250 to ca. 200 g/kg dry matter, the
phosphorus intake of a cow giving 30 kg milk per day would fall by 0·5 g/kg
dry-matter intake. This, together with any desirable additional magnesium, should
preferably be given as an oral mineral supplement rather than by attempting to
modify the mineral content of herbage.
Seasonal changes of metabolism and appetite in Soay rams
Authors: Argot C. McG. , Smith J. S. , Kay R. N. B.
Published: August 2016

Relationships between photoperiod and cycles of voluntary food intake (VFI)
and maintenance energy requirements (MER) were determined in Soay rams, subjected
to a 6-month photoperiodic regime. Food was offered ad
libitum (no. = 5) or at a predicted maintenance level (no. = 5).
All rams demonstrated 6-month cycles of VFI, growth and reproductive status.
Metabolizable energy intake (MEI) was greatest in rams given food ad
libitum (666 (s.e. 21.7) kJ/kg metabolic live weight
(M0·75) and food-restricted (528 (s.e. 12.2) kJ/kg
M0·75) rams during sexual quiescence. Conversely, MEI was
minimal (ad libitum, 289 (s.e. 8.4) kJ/kg
M0·75; restricted, 428 (s.e. 8.1) kJ/kg
M0·75) during the rut. Distinct cycles of heat production
(HP) accompanied changes in MEL Changes in HP were similar (P > 0·05) for both
groups (ad libitum, 520 (s.e. 22.1) to 394 (s.e. 9.2)
kJ/kg M0·75; restricted 503 (s.e. 14.0) to 407 (s.e. 17.5)
kJ/kg M0·75) and therefore energy retention varied more (P
< 0·015) when rams were given food ad libitum
(ad libitum, 131 (s.e. 43-1) to -106 (s.e. 38.2)
kJ/kg M0·75; restricted, 78·0 (s.e. 27.1) to -53.0 (s.e.
38.2) kJ/ kg M0·75). Apparent digestibility of dietary energy
varied inversely with MEI (P < 0·01). MERs ranged from 524 (s.e. 35.0) kJ/kg
M0·75 to 401 (s.e. 27.3) kJ/kg M0·75,
a proportional fluctuation of ±0·13. Changes in metabolic rate preceded those in
appetite, suggesting a causal relationship.
Carcass quality of crossbred lambs expressing the callipyge phenotype born to Romanov purebred and crossbred ewes
Authors: Fahmy M. H. , Gariepy C. , Fortin J.
Published: August 2016

Carcass quality was evaluated in 35 male and 41 female lambs, 38 expressing the callipyge phenotype (Cg) and 38 controls expressing the normal phenotype (N). Lambs were from Romanov and Suffolk × Romanov ewes mated to two rams heterozygous for the callipyge locus and slaughtered at approximately 44 kg live weight. The Cg lambs reached slaughter weight at 163 days of age, 13 days younger, and had a dressing proportion 0·524 , 0·029 points higher. Also they had more leg (341 v. 308 g/kg), less loin (315 v. 328 g/kg) and less shoulder (340 v. 360 g/kg) than the N lambs. The leg, loin and shoulder wholesale cuts and half the carcass of Cg lambs had 81, 113, 77, and 92 g/kg more lean and 52, 98, 59, and 72 g/kg less fat than N lambs, respectively. The Cg lambs also had larger loin-eye area (18·5 v.13·1 cm2), less backfat at the C (4·1 v. 6·1 mm) and at the GR locations (11·0 v. 15·2 mm) and less internal fat (202 v. 339 g) than the N lambs. Dissection of the 12th rib indicated that Cg lambs had more muscle (574 v. 462 g/kg), less fat (276 v. 358 g/kg) (both P < 0·001) and similar (V > 0·05) bone (155 v. 265 g/kg) to N lambs. Colour of the longissimus muscle was significantly paler in Cg lambs. Intramuscular fat and dry matter of longissimus muscle were significantly lower (49 v. 120 and 247 v. 253 g/kg) in Cg than in N lambs. Cg lambs were significantly different (P < 0·05) from N lambs for all traits studied except age at slaughter, tissues at the GR location, proportion of bone in the 12th rib and the L* colour of the longissimus muscle. Breed type effect was significant only for age at slaughter, whereas the effect of sex was significant for all traits except for proportion of lean in the leg, b* colour and intramuscular fat content of the longissimus muscle. No interactions were significant except phenotype × breed type on fat thickness over the longissimus muscle. Post-mortem ageing of the longissimus muscle for 9 or 15 days caused a significant reduction in muscle toughness in Cg lambs compared with those aged for 3 days (113 v. 98 Newtons) but the muscle was still tougher than that from N lambs (with a shear force of 64 and 51 Newtons at 3 and 9 or 15 days post mortem). The principle component analysis including carcass conformation and composition traits as well as meat quality traits was indicative of a distinctly different carcass ofCg compared with N lambs. The first two principal components explained 0·70 of the total variation.