bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Use of Ostracods in Palaeoenvironmental Studies, or What can you do with an Ostracod Shell?
Authors: Boomer Ian , Horne David J. , Slipper Ian J.
Published: June 2019

Over recent decades ostracods have become established indicators of ecosystem health, biodiversity and environmental change. With applications ranging across the earth sciences (from modern pollution studies to sea-level change, basin evolution, plate tectonics, palaeoceanography) and related disciplines such as archaeology, ecology and genetics, their utility extends to almost every aquatic and semi-aquatic habitat, from the deep ocean to high mountain springs. Their temporal range is now known to cover the last 500 million years of earth history.

The study of fossil ostracod assemblages follows traditional palaeontological lines of investigation, including taphonomy, morphometries and diversity, but there are a number of methodological approaches, specific to the ostracods, that render them potentially one of the most versatile organisms in the fossil record. Ostracods have been employed on a range oftemporal and spatial scales to reconstruct past environments, from world-wide, geological-scale global events in the deep-sea through to smaller-scale studies of lakes and their archives of local environmental change over recent centuries.

Much information can be obtained from ostracod assemblages but it is particularly through recent advances in the chemical and physical study of single shells or carapaces that the utility of these organisms has been brought to the fore. In this paper the potential palaeoenvironmental information derived from an ostracod assemblage, a single species, or an individual shell is reviewed. The main applications for ostracods are outlined for marine and non-marine ecosystems. Finally, the role of the ostracods in detailing the recent history of the Aral Sea is outlined.
Future Trends and Goals in Ostracode Research
Authors: Holmes Jonathan A.
Published: June 2019

In recent decades, research on ostracodes has grown dramatically. While many aspects of the group have been investigated, this review focuses on the paleoenvironmental applications of ostracodes from marine and nonmarine environments. It is argued that while ostracodes have great potential as paleoenvironmental tools, much of that potential has not yet been fully realized because of our imperfect understanding of ostracode biology, taxonomy, systematics and ecology. Future developments will be sure to result from additional studies in these areas, and will also be effected by exchange of ideas with scientists working on related proxies. However, the flow of ideas should not be one-way; workers in other disciplines can also learn from the study of ostracodes.
The Use of Mg/Ca as a Seawater Temperature Proxy
Authors: Lowenstein Tim K. , Hönisch Bärbel
Published: June 2019

The underlying basis for Mg/Ca paleothermometry is that the amount of magnesium in calcite precipitated from seawater is dependent on temperature. Here we review the state of the art of the Mg/Ca seawater paleotemperature proxy, summarized by the following: 1) Calcite, whether formed abiotically or biologically as foraminifera and ostracode shells, incorporates variable amounts of magnesium into the crystal structure. 2) Uptake of Mg varies positively with temperature. 3) The relationship between temperature and the amount of Mg in calcite has been quantified by experiments on synthetic calcite growth and by culture, core top, and sediment trap experiments using living organisms. 4) The most careful calibrations of the Mg/Ca paleothermometer have been done for planktic foraminifera, then benthic foraminifera; there are species-specific variations in the amount of Mg incorporated into foraminifera shells. 5) The Mg/Ca ratio of calcite from planktic foraminifera in deep-sea cores has been widely used to interpret sea surface temperatures. 6) Measurement of both Mg/Ca and δ18O in planktic foraminifera have been used to calculate δ18O in seawater, and after correction for global ice volume, salinity could be inferred. 7) Mg/Ca from benthic foraminifera have been used to reconstruct deep-sea temperatures and cooling of ~12° over the last 50 million years. 8) One problem with the Mg/Ca seawater temperature proxy is partial dissolution of foraminifer shells, which lowers the Mg/Ca, and leads to an underestimation of ocean temperature. Benthic foraminifers appear to be more resistant to partial dissolution. 9) Past changes in the Mg/Ca ratio of seawater are an important factor in determining the amount of Mg in fossil skeletal calcite, and thus add another variable to the Mg/Ca temperature proxy. All Mg/Ca paleotemperature studies on fossil calcite older than Pleistocene should take into account the Mg/Ca of the seawater from which it precipitated.
Measuring Earth-Life Transitions: Ecometric Analysis of Functional Traits from Late Cenozoic Vertebrates
Authors: Polly P. David , Head Jason J.
Published: June 2019

Ecometrics is the quantitative study of functional traits at the community level, and the environmental sorting of those traits at regional and continental scales. Functional traits are properties of organisms that have a direct physical or physiological relationship to an underlying quality of the environment, which in turn has indirect links to broader environmental factors such as temperature, precipitation, elevation, atmospheric composition, or sea level. When the same environmental factor affects the performance of many taxa, ecometric sorting is the result. Ecometric patterns in trait distributions across space and through time are therefore a product of biogeographic sorting, evolution, and extinction driven by changes in Earth systems. We review concepts associated with ecometrics, with examples that illustrate how trait-based approaches differ from taxon-based methods, how ecometrics can be used to study Earth-life transitions in the fossil record, and how ecometrics can be used to compare Earth-life transitions that differ in temporal or geographic scale. This paper focuses on the climatic and biome changes of the Great Plains of North America during the Miocene, when grasslands came to be the dominant vegetation type, and of the Anthropocene of the American Midwest, which saw extensive landscape changes in the nineteenth century.
Reconstructing the Dust Cycle in Deep Time: the Case of the Late Paleozoic Icehouse
Authors: Soreghan Gerilyn S. , Heavens Nicholas G. , Hinnov Linda A. , Aciego Sarah M. , Simpson Carl
Published: June 2019

Atmospheric dust constitutes particles <100 μm, or deposits thereof (continental or marine); dust includes ‘loess,’ defined as continental aeolian silt (4–62.5 μm). Dust is well-known from Earth's near-time (mostly Quaternary) record, and recognized as a high-fidelity archive of climate, but remains under-recognized for deep time. Attributes such as thickness, grain size, magnetism, pedogenesis, and provenance of dust form valuable indicators of paleoclimate to constrain models of atmospheric dustiness. Additionally, dust acts as an agent of climate change via both direct and indirect effects on radiative forcing, and on productivity, and thus the biosphere and carbon cycling. Dust from the late Paleozoic of western equatorial Pangea reflects ultimate derivation from orogens (ancestral Rocky Mountains, Central Pangean Mountains), whereas dust from southwestern Pangea (Bolivia) reflects both proximal volcanism and crustal material. Records of dust conducive to cyclostratigraphic analysis, such as data on dust inputs from carbonate sections, or magnetism in paleo-loess, reveal dust cyclicity at Milankovitch timescales, but resolution is compromised if records are too brief, or irregular in interval or magnitude of the attribute being measured. Climate modeling enables identification of the primary regions of dust sourcing in deep time, and impacts of dust on radiative balance and biogeochemistry. Deep-time modeling remains preliminary, but is achievable, and indicates principal dust sources in the Pangean subtropics, with sources increasing during colder climates. Carbon cycle modeling suggests that glacial-phase dust increases stimulated extreme productivity, potentially increasing algal activity and perturbing ecosystem compositions of the late Paleozoic.
Reconstructing Extinct Plant Water Use for Understanding Vegetation–Climate Feedbacks: Methods, Synthesis, and a Case Study Using the Paleozoic-Era Medullosan Seed Ferns
Authors: Wilson Jonathan P. , White Joseph D. , Dimichele William A. , Hren Michael T. , Poulsen Christopher J. , McElwain Jennifer C. , Montañez Isabel P.
Published: June 2019

Vegetation affects feedbacks in Earth's hydrologic system, but is constrained by physiological adaptations. In extant ecosystems, the mechanisms controlling plant water used can be measured experimentally; for extinct plants in the recent geological past, water use can be inferred from nearest living relatives, assuming minimal evolutionary change. In deep time, where no close living relatives exist, fossil material provides the only information for inferring plant water use. However, mechanistic models for extinct plant water use must be built on first principles and tested on extant plants. Plants serve as a conduit for water movement from the soil to the atmosphere, constrained by tissue-level construction and gross architecture. No single feature, such as stomata or veins, encompasses enough of the complexity underpinning water-use physiology to serve as the basis of a model of functional water use in all (or perhaps any) extinct plants. Rather, a “functional whole plant” model must be used. To understand the interplay between plant and atmosphere, water use in relation to environmental conditions is investigated in an extinct plant, the seed fernMedullosa((Division Pteridospermatophyta), by reviewing methods for reconstructing physiological variables such as leaf and stem hydraulic capacity, photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, and albedo. Medullosans had the potential for extremely high photosynthetic and assimilation rates, water transport, stomatal conductance, and transpiration—rates comparable to later angiosperms. When these high growth and gas exchange rates of medullosans are combined with the unique atmospheric gas composition of the late Paleozoic atmosphere, complex vegetation-environmental feedbacks are expected despite their basal phylogenetic position relative to post-Paleozoic seed plants.
Cold pressor pain and gambling disorder: implications for the opioid system
Authors: Grant Jon E. , Chamberlain Samuel R.
Published: June 2019

Objective

Gambling disorder (GD) is a common, disabling condition that often is exacerbated by stressful life events. Under stress, the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis are activated. The question, therefore, arises as to whether an abnormal sympathetic response can be found in individuals with GD.

Method

Adult individuals with GD and no current co-occurring mental disorders were enrolled. Participants completed impulsivity and gambling-related questionnaires and underwent cold pressor evaluation. GD participants were compared with controls on measures of heart rate, blood pressure, and pain.

Results

Fifteen people with GD and 18 controls completed the study. Kaplan–Meier analysis indicated that the GD group withdrew their hand from the painful stimulus more rapidly than controls (Wilcoxon chi-square = 3.87, p = 0.049), suggestive of lesser pain tolerance. Subjective pain ratings and cardiovascular measurements did not significantly differ between groups.

Conclusions

Individuals with GD manifested a relative intolerance to pain on the cold pressor paradigm, even though they physiologically did not seem to experience greater pain. Given the role of the opioid system in pain processing, it would be valuable in future work to examine whether cold pressor measures can predict response to treatments in GD, including with opioid antagonists.
Scientific Method
Authors: Tiles Mary , Harré Rom
Published: June 2019

The thought that it might be possible to develop a method of scientific discovery, a procedure of investigation and reasoning which, so long as its principles were studiously followed, would be guaranteed to result in scientific knowledge, has long been recognized to be a mere philosophers' dream, with no more possibility of fulfilment than the alchemists' dream of producing a philosophers' stone which would turn base metals into gold. Yet it remains the case that the authority of science (the deference given to scientific experts, the credence given to their theories) rests on claims made on behalf of its methods; they are regarded as somehow superior to, or more reliable than, any other means of acquiring beliefs about the world around us. To say that there is no scientific evidence that any of the food additives currently permitted in Britain have any harmful effects is a way of dismissing as groundless and irrational the fears of those who think that such additives do have harmful effects. Whereas to say that it is scientifically established that smoking causes lung cancer is a way of saying that this is something a smoker ought to worry about.
Freedom, Law and Authority
Authors: Barry Norman , Graham Keith
Published: June 2019

Despite the emphasis on the state in the history of political philosophy, the twentieth century has been characterized by a remarkable lack of philosophical reflection on the concept. Until recently analytical philosophy had eschewed those evaluative arguments about political obligation and the limits of state authority that were typical of political theory in the past in favour of the explication of the meaning of the concept. However, even here the results have been disappointing. Logical Positivist attempts to locate some unique empirical phenomenon which the word state described proved unsuccessful, and indeed led to the odd conclusion that there was nothing about the state that distinguished it from some other social institutions. For example, its coercive power was said to be not unique: in some circumstances trade unions and Churches exercised similar power over their members. Ordinary language philosophers were far more interested in the complexities that surround words such as law, authority and power than in the state. In all this there was perhaps the fear that to concentrate attention on thestatewas implicitly to give credence to the discredited doctrine that it stood for some metaphysical entity; propositions about which could not be translated into propositions about the actions ofindividuals, and which represented higher values than those of ordinary human agents.
The Problems of Biological Design
Authors: Lewens Tim
Published: June 2019

Here is one way that philosophers and biologists sometimes speak of Darwin's explanatory innovation: ‘Eyes, organs of echolocation, camouflage and the like are all wonderful instances of contrivance, of complex adaptation, of good design. Paley and the other natural theologians sought to explain this good design by appeal to an intelligent designer. Darwin, on the other hand, offers us a superior explanation for the appearance of this same property: Darwin shows us that we can explain good design through the action of selection. Indeed, selection is the only process that can explain good design in nature. And that is why evolutionary biologists can continue to use a version of the argument from design called the argument from biological design: when we see an instance of good design in nature, we should infer not the guiding hand of God, but the hand of selection at work.’
Needs and Global Justice
Authors: Brock Gillian
Published: June 2019

In this paper I argue that needs are tremendously salient in developing any plausible account of global justice. I begin by sketching a normative thought experiment that models ideal deliberating conditions. I argue that under such conditions we would choose principles of justice that ensure we are well positioned to be able to meet our needs. Indeed, as the experiment aims to show, any plausible account of distributive justice must make space for the special significance of our needs. I go on to offer some empirical support for this view by looking at the important work of Frohlich and Oppenheimer. I then present an account of our basic needs that can meet a number of goals: for instance, it provides a robust theoretical account of basic needs which can enjoy widespread support, and it can also provide an adequate framework for designing policy about needs, and thus help us to discharge our global obligations. I then briefly discuss the relationship between basic needs and human rights, arguing why the basic needs standard is more fundamental than—and required by—the human rights approach. Finally, I tackle a few important sets of objections to my view, especially some objections concerning distributing our responsibilities for meeting needs.
Aristotle on Necessities and Needs
Authors: Reader Soran
Published: June 2019

Aristotle's account of human needs is valuable because it describes the connections between logical, metaphysical, physical, human and ethical necessities. But Aristotle does not fully draw out the implications of the account of necessity for needs and virtue. The proper Aristotelian conclusion is that, far from being an inferior activity fit only for slaves, meeting needs is the first part of Aristotelian virtue.
Making the World Safe for Utilitarianism
Authors: Wolff Jonathan
Published: June 2019

Utilitarianism has a curious history. Its most celebrated founders—Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill—were radical progressives, straddling the worlds of academic philosophy, political science, economic theory and practical affairs. They made innumerable recommendations for legal, social, political and economic reform, often (especially in Bentham's case) described in fine detail. Some of these recommendations were followed, sooner or later, and many of their radical ideas have become close to articles of faith of western liberalism. Furthermore many of these recommendations were made expressly to improve the condition of the deprived, or of oppressed groups. Yet the moral theory which inspired this reforming zeal is, at least officially, utilitarianism, and when we teach this theory to our students we feel it our duty to point out the horrors that could be justified by any theory which assesses the moral quality of actions in terms of the maximization of good consequences over bad. No consequence is so bad that it cannot, in principle, be outweighed by a large aggregation of smaller goods. Hence there are circumstances in which utilitarianism can require slavery, the punishment of the innocent, and redistribution of resources from the poor to the rich, or from the disabled and the sick to the able bodied and healthy. Indeed, in the right circumstances, it can justify pretty much anything you can think of. For all their intelligence and imagination neither Bentham nor Mill seemed to recognise or discuss these catastrophic possibilities.
Edmund Burke and the Anglo-American Tradition of Liberty
Authors: Espada João Carlos
Published: June 2019

It is proper for more reasons than the most obvious one that I should open this talk by quoting a former President of the Royal Institute of Philosophy, Lord Quinton, whose works on political philosophy I have so much enjoyed—and learnt from.

In a chapter on political philosophy, which he contributed to the Oxford History of Western Philosophy, Lord Quinton says that ‘the effect of the importation of Locke's doctrines in to France was much like that of alcohol in an empty stomach’. In Britain, Lord Quinton adds, Locke's principles ‘served to endorse a largely conservative revolution against absolutist innovation’, whereas in France the importation of Locke's ideas would lead to the radicalism of the French revolution. Why was this so?
25-Hydroxyvitamin D and the risk of incident diabetes in Hong Kong Chinese
Authors: Leung Raymond YH , Cheung Bernard MY , Tan Kathryn CB , Kung Annie WC , Cheung Ching-Lung
Published: June 2019

Objective:

To investigate the relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and risk of incident diabetes in Hong Kong Chinese, after accounting for the effect of multiple bone- and mineral-related markers.

Design:

We conducted a retrospective study on the Hong Kong Osteoporosis Study cohort. Incident diabetes was ascertained using electronic medical records. Serum 25(OH)D was measured at baseline and its association with incident diabetes was evaluated using multivariable Cox proportional-hazard regression.

Participants:

Individuals (n 4342) aged 20 years or above (1395 men, 2947 women; mean age 54·3 (sd 16·5) years) from the Hong Kong Osteoporosis Study, who were free of diabetes at baseline, were included.

Results:

During 40 124·7 person-years of follow-up (a median of 9·2 years), 443 participants developed diabetes. Mean 25(OH)D was 63·34 (sd 13·07) nmol/l. Age-, sex- and BMI-adjusted Cox proportional-hazard regression showed no significant difference in the risk of incident diabetes between the lowest and the highest quintiles of 25(OH)D. In the analysis of the interaction effect between 25(OH)D and serum Ca, the interaction term did not affect the risk of incident diabetes significantly (P = 0·694). Similarly, there was no significant interaction of different subgroups (age, sex, BMI, femoral-neck T-score, serum Ca levels) with serum 25(OH)D.

Conclusions:

The present study finds that serum vitamin D level is not associated with the risk of incident diabetes in Hong Kong Chinese and this relationship is not modified by serum Ca level.
The contribution of livestock to smallholder livelihoods: the situation in Mexico
Authors: Arriaga-Jordán C.M. , Pearson R.A.
Published: June 2019

Animals make an important contribution to livelihoods in smallholder farming systems throughout the developing world. In these systems there is often a dynamic interaction between livestock and crops (Powell et al., 1998). They also represent a number of other benefits to the farming family. Livestock are a major source of savings, add value to a number of resources that could not otherwise be utilized by the farming family, for example the feed biomass (weeds, straw, cultivated forages, common grazing areas, surplus grain), by transforming it into valuable products (meat, milk, eggs) for consumption and sale; or the provision of services (draught and pack power). They also enable members of the household to add value to their own labour. Women, children and the elderly are usually responsible at least partially for the care of animals, and many of them would not be able to find remunerated activities given their other responsibilities (e.g. domestic responsibilities of women), time devoted to the activity (e.g. school children who tend the animals before and after school), or due to old age (Arriaga-Jordán, 1996).
Small animal species in the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in tropical Bolivia
Authors: Paterson R.T. , Rojas F.
Published: June 2019

In the Bolivian Department of Santa Cruz, the Provinces of Sara and Ichilo lie some 100 km North-West of the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, where they occupy an area of about 21,000 km2. Most of the region is a flat, alluvial plain, 350-450 m above sea level, with young soils prone to localized, seasonal waterlogging, although the land becomes undulating and rises to 800 m as it approaches the foothills of the Andes to the west. The soils are moderately fertile with pH values often in the range of 4.5 to 5.5.
Ecological impacts of sustainable systems for smallholders in Vietnam
Authors: Ogle B. , Preston T.R.
Published: June 2019

The smallholder agricultural systems in Vietnam today, although still based largely on traditional systems and practices, are undergoing considerable change as a result of the economic and social reforms enacted under the process of “Doi Moi” and the resulting rapid economic growth of the 1990s. In particular paddy rice production has risen from an annual average of around 15 million tonnes for the period 1981-88 to over 20 million tonnes in 1999–2002, and this, and increases in the production of other major crops have been important factors behind the rise in both the numbers and productivity of the main livestock species, due partly to increased quantities of crop residues and agro-industrial by-products (e.g. rice bran) becoming available for feed.
The amount of rumen fluid influences the composition of short chain fatty acids produced in vitro
Authors: Muetzel S. , Mauricio R.M. , Becker K.
Published: June 2019

In vitro rumen incubation systems are widely used to determine substrate degradation and the amount of fermentation products like gases, short chain fatty acids and the microbial biomass produced. Here we compare the influence of the amount of inoculum used for preparing the incubation medium on short chain fatty acid production and composition. Treatments were 10% and 30% (v/v) of filtered rumen fluid used for inoculation. In a series of experiments it was demonstrated that the two treatments did not alter the gas production or the amount of substrate truly degraded. However, SCFA production (especially acetate) was significantly reduced when only 10% of inoculum were used for incubation. We propose that acetate was taken up by rumen microorganisms as a precursor for growth, although it cannot be excluded that an altered microbial composition contributed to the observed differences.
Predicting the digestibility of Sahelian roughage feeds from the crude protein content in faeces of cattle, sheep and goats using an established first-order exponential function
Authors: Schlecht Eva , Susenbeth Andreas
Published: June 2019

An equation predicting organic matter digestibility (OMD) of the diet from faecal crude protein content (FCP) was established by Lukas (2002) with data from cows fed various diets based on roughage of temperate origin. The suitability of this equation to predict OMD of tropical roughages was tested with data from grazing and stall-fed cattle, sheep and goats. The correlation between measured OMD and that estimated from the average FCP of a group of animals consuming the same diet was r=0.91, and the deviation between estimated and measured values averaged 6%. Poor estimates were obtained for feeds with high biological tannin activity. Using the equation provides an easy assessment of OMD of tropical roughages that do not contain biologically traceable amounts of anti-nutrients.
Effects of tannins in goats infected with gastrointestinal nematodes
Authors: Paolini V. , Hoste H.
Published: June 2019

Infections of the gastrointestinal tract with nematodes remains one of the main pathological constraints associated with outdoor breeding of goats both in temperate and tropical areas. The usual mode of control of these parasitic infections is based on the repeated use of chemical anthelmintics, but the prevalence and diffusion of anthelmintic resistances in nematode populations is particularly high in goats, and the sustainability of the system is now questioned. Therefore, there is a deep interest to seek and explore alternative solutions to chemotherapy. Among those, tannins and tanniferous plants represent one of the most promising options. However, information on the effects of these polyphenolic compounds on nematode infection in goats is far less abundant than in sheep. This review presents data obtained from both outdoor and indoor studies aiming at examining the relationship between the consumption of tannins or tanniferous plants, particularly those composing the vegetation of rangeland and the resistance and resilience of goats to trichostrongyle infections. Results from in vitro studies with extracts from different plants which are grazed or browsed by goats are also discussed in relation with the possible mechanisms of action of tannin in goats. These results are compared to those acquired in sheep and are discussed in relation with the physiological adaptation of goats to tannin consumption. Further research perspectives and possible applications for the control of nematode infections in goats are also briefly evoked.
Content of secondary metabolites of some indigenous browse legumes from the Yucatan Peninsula, with particular reference to phenolic compounds
Authors: Armendáriz-Yáñez I. R. , Rivera-Lorca J. A.
Published: June 2019

Data on the chemical composition and gas production from some indigenous fodder plants from Yucatán and Quintana Roo are shown in order to demonstrate the potential of these species as supplements for livestock However, contents of polyphenols but above all, their reactivity, present a serious constraint on their use in large proportions. Gas production techniques seem to be a good assay for estimating the reactivity of phenolic compounds since the closed environment used in the technique might exacerbate the negative effects of the reactive fraction of polyphenols on microbial population and enzymes.
Leguminosae diversity in the Yucatan Peninsula and its importance for sheep and goat feeding
Authors: Flores José Salvador , Vermont-Ricalde Rita M. , Kantún-Balam Jesús Martín
Published: June 2019

In this paper the diversity of the Leguminosae family in the Yucatán Peninsula is presented, explaining it by subfamilies, genus and species and in each of the three states of the Peninsula, as well as the distribution of the family in the different vegetation types and associations and in the secondary vegetation derived from both of them. The forage species that can be used combined with graminae to feed cattle like goats and sheep are also presented.
Coping with metabolic stress in wild and domesticated animals
Authors: Pond C. M. , Newsholme E. A.
Published: June 2019

Ethological and ecological studies of wild animals are producing evidence for metabolic stress during courtship, breeding and parental care comparable with that of domestic livestock. Resistance to disease may be compromised by the demand for fatty acids and proteins during reproduction and even more during lactation. The adipose tissue around major lymph nodes is indistinguishable histologically from that in larger depots.In vitroand invivostudies reveal that it is specialized to respond to lipolytic agonists secreted by lymphoid cells butisinsensitive to the endocrine conditions of short-term fasting. These properties enable it to provision adjacent immune cells. Such adipose tissue may act as a forum for competing demands of mammary glands, muscles etc. and local defences against pathogens. Glutamine is essential to the nutrition of the immune system and is used by the mammary gland. Muscle is the best known source but adipose tissue also participates in glutamine metabolism and may become more important in animals in which the musculature is wasted through prolonged lactation.
Metabolic loads to be expected from different genotypes under different systems
Authors: Knight C. H. , Beever D. E. , Sorensen A.
Published: June 2019

The strategy most widely adopted to improve milk production efficiency is to increase yield per cow. To date, this has been achieved primarily through genetic selection and improved nutrition. Achievement of very high individual yield has had its down-side, especially in terms of reduced reproductive efficiency and there is now quite widespread concern that the high genetic merit cow is at greater risk of metabolic disease than her unimproved counterpart. To quote from the recent Farm Animal Welfare Council Report on Dairy Cow Welfare (FAWC, 1997): ‘High metabolic turnover in cows can be associated with a greater risk of mastitis, lameness, infertility and other production diseases…’. Whilst there can be little doubt that metabolic turn-over is indeed higher in high merit cows, it is not safe to assume that this necessarily equates with more risk; metabolic turn-over is higher in an elephant than in a mouse but risk is certainly not. Metabolic load might be a better term to use. If we think, simplistically, of this being the ‘strain’ on a system it is logical to expect an inverse relationship between metabolic load and health. The extrapolation to high genetic merit cows being at greater risk then presupposes that they experience an increased metabolic load but there has been no rigorous evaluation of whether this is so. In this review we will consider what is meant by metabolic load, examine in qualitative theoretical terms what degree of load might be expected from different commercial systems and present some recently obtained data which addresses directly the question, is metabolic load greater in high genetic merit cows?
Advances in methodology for utilizing sequential records
Authors: Hill W. G. , Brotherstone S.
Published: June 2019

There have been substantial advances in recent years in methods for genetic analysis of traits that are expressed repeatedly over time, for example milk yield on successive test days during lactation. The background to the methods, notably random regression, covariance functions and splines, are outlined. The utility of these methods for analysing functional data on which individual records on cows are few but sire family records that span the lactation, is reviewed. Methods of analyses for measures of herd life are discussed and that being adopted in the UK is outlined.
Genetics of lactation persistency
Authors: Swalve H. H. , Gengler N.
Published: June 2019

Lactation persistency, often simply called persistency, in general can be defined as the ability to maintain yields during the lactation. Persistency has an impact on food costs, health, and fertility. Of these three components affected by persistency, the impact of persistency on health, i.e. metabolic stress of the cow leading to health problems, may be most important nowadays. Numerous suggestions for criteria of persistency exist. Often simple ratios of part-lactation yields, e.g. the ratio of yield in the first and last 100 days of lactation, have been used. New approaches have used results from the application of random regression test day models developed for the genetic evaluation of yield traits. Many studies unfortunately have neglected the effect of gestation on persistency but acknowledged that an improved persistency should lead to an improved reproductive performance. Both relationships should be considered in genetic analyses and recommendations for improvement of management decisions. Today the correct description of persistency plays a prominent rôle to obtain correct genetic evaluations based on test day yields. But, although apparently trivial, a direct genetic analysis of lactation persistency and even more an inclusion of this trait into selection programmes clearly is a complicated task. A reason for this, amongst others, is that management strategies for feeding during the lactation and handling of the reproductive performance that are most often not recorded, are likely to mask the real persistency. Future studies on the genetics of persistency should also seek a strong interaction of geneticists and physiologists as persistency is fundamentally confounded with the problem of metabolic stress. Today, a recommendation of the inclusion of persistency in selection programmes appears to be premature and more studies, e. g. on the association of persistency with longevity, could aid in this process.
Relationships between body weight, body measurements and milk yield in Holstein heifers
Authors: Koenen E. P. C. , van der Linde C.
Published: June 2019

Five size traits (body weight, heart girth, hip height, body depth and rump width) and three yield traits (milk, fat and protein) of 7192 heifers were analysed on a monthly and 305-day lactation basis. The additive genetic variation was moderate to high and changed over time. Correlations between observations measured in different months were all >0.89. Covariance methodology was used to reduce the number of parameters to estimate the variance components. Correlations between size and yield traits ranged from -0.14 to 0.26; this study did not indicate that these correlations were time-dependent.
Expression of extracellular matrix proteins in solear tissues of Holstein-Friesian dairy cattle
Authors: Crespo R. , Galbraith H. , Finn D.
Published: June 2019

Horizontal and vertical histological sections were prepared from cores taken post mortem at the sole/bulb junction of the distal surface of the claw of Holstein-Friesian cattle. Immunohistochemistry was performed on the sections using the Vectastain Elite® (anti-mouse IgG) peroxidase ABC method (Vector Laboratories Ltd) using 3, 3′-diaminobenzidine as substrate and mouse-derived primary antibodies against collagen I (bovine); collagen VII (human), collagen IV (human) and fibronectin (human). The sections were counterstained with toluidine blue. Captured colour images were prepared and transformed for presentation into 256 shades of grey using Openlab software (Improvion Ltd). The staining of the tissue sections, on comparison with negative controls, produced typical evidence of expression of collagens I, IV and fibronectin distributed throughout the upper dermis and dermal papillae. In contrast, the collagen VII signal was localized at the dermal/epidermal junction consistent with its rôle in the fibril network that attaches the basement membrane to the dermis. Collagens and fibronectin are recognized to have important rôles in maintaining structural integrity and function in other tissues. Following this identification, their rôle in the development of lesions in the bovine claw will be investigated further.
The Skene in Aristophanes
Authors: Dover K. J.
Published: June 2019

No one can write an adequate commentary on a Greek play, or even edit it adequately, without producing it in his mind; that is to say, he must see in his mind's eye the exact location, movement and gesture of every character at every moment, arid must hear in his mind's ear the exact tone of every word. Admittedly, we do not know so very much about the appearance of the theatre in the fifth century B.C., or about the actors' costumes, or about Greek gestures; even our knowledge of the pronunciation of Greek at the relevant period is imperfect; and our ignorance of delivery and acting styles is total. Therefore, when we produce a play in our imagination we can hardly fail to import much which would be recognized as grossly erroneous if our evidence were suddenly to be increased. Yet, as so often happens in the study of the ancient world, we are confronted with a choice of risks. We can take the risk of an imaginative reconstruction which may be factually wrong but is at least reconcilable with all the evidence we have and is kept reconcilable, by modification, with whatever fresh evidence comes to light from time to time; or, alternatively, we can take the risk of missing the point of what the dramatist is saying and therefore of importing the wrong point. Even if we are not temperamentally disposed (as I am) in favour of the former risk, we are virtually forced to take it when we have committed ourselves to editing a text. The punctuation of a dramatic text is a matter for producers, not grammarians; a comma gives one instruction to the actor, a colon gives a different instruction—and few editors are likely to practise ars nescienti so pertinaciously as to refrain from giving the actors any such instructions at all.
‘The Honey on the Cup’ in Oppian and Others
Authors: James A. W.
Published: June 2019

Towards the end of the reign of Marcus Aurelius Oppian of Cilicia wrote a didactic epic of some 3,500 lines on sea-creatures and the methods of catching them, entitled Halieutica. This literary, rather than scientific, enterprise was hardly an original one, for Athenaeus, whose Deipnosophistae must have been published not long after the death of Commodus in A.D. 193, tells us that he was acquainted with five such hexametrical Halieuticas, those of Caecilius of Argos, Numenius of Heracleia, Pancrates of Arcadia, Poseidonius of Corinth, and lastly Oppian, whom he describes as τὸν ὀλίγῳ πρὸ ἡμῶν γενόμενον Όππιανὸν τὸν Κίλικα. The wider context of Oppian's work is that whole tradition in Greek of didactic epic as a merely literary exercise, which for us begins with Aratus in the early third century B.C., but which seems more precisely to have been initiated by Aratus' teacher Menecrates of Ephesus, who about 300 B.C. turned to the old Hesiodic tradition with the composition of an Erga. Aratus too was reviving an old tradition that seems to have flourished in the sixth century B.C. of versifying astronomical and meteorological lore. As is well known, his Phaenomena and also probably the Diosemeia are essentially a verse paraphrase of a treatise by Eudoxus, a treatise which already in Aratus' time did not provide the most up-to-date and reliable information. Later, whether only shortly or more than a century later, Nicander of Colophon likewise adapted, certainly in his Theriaca and perhaps also in his Alexipharmaca, the technical prose writings of a poison-expert Apollodorus. These are but two examples, and, as far as we can tell, typical ones, of what was done by a large number of poets from Aratus' time onwards for a considerable variety of poetically unpromising subjects, which, apart from astronomy, poisons and fishing, we know included astrology, medical prescriptions generally, hunting, agriculture, bee-keeping, geography, stones and the flights of birds, whilst the poetic treatment of yet other subjects, such as dicing, ball-games and swimming, is recorded by Ovid (Trist. 2. 471 ff.).
There and Back Again: Zeitoper and the Transatlantic Search for a Uniquely American Opera in the 1920s
Authors: GABRIEL JOHN
Published: June 2019

This article argues that in the late 1920s, the German genre of Zeitoper paradoxically became an essential component of the search for a new kind of uniquely American opera, resulting in a transatlantic cycle of mutual influence. This influence was possible because Germans and Americans alike saw the United States as the embodiment of modern life and technology. American producers and composers thus adapted German Zeitoper to bring it more in line with Americans’ self-image. I examine this dynamic by juxtaposing two German and two American Zeitopern, looking specifically at their engagement with jazz, film, race, and American popular musical theater: Paul Hindemith's Hin und zurück, Marc Blitzstein's Triple-Sec (inspired by Hindemith's opera), Ernst Krenek's Jonny spielt auf in the United States, and the unsuccessful effort to stage George Antheil's Transatlantic (modeled on Jonny and revised under the mentorship of Krenek) in New York. Both Germans’ image of America and Americans’ self-image were as much real as imagined, and although the similarities between them facilitated this cultural exchange, their differences also impeded it.
The effect of feeding rations containing heat treated rapeseed meal, lupins and beans to lactating dairy cows on milk yield and quality
Authors: Allison R.D. , Moss A.R. , Blake J.S.
Published: June 2019

The UK ruminant industry is currently reliant on soyabean meal and fishmeal as sources of high quality, digestible undegraded protein (DUP). However, there is increasing concern over the sustainability of fish stocks, and the world market price fluctuation and traceability of soya bean meal. There are a number of protein crops which will grow under UK conditions including sweet white lupins, peas, field beans and oilseeds (rapeseed meal and linseed meal). However, these proteins tend to be more rumen degradable than fish meal and soyabean meal (Moss and Givens, 1994). Heat moisture treatment has been shown to be particularly effective in reducing the rumen degradability of protein without reducing intestinal digestibility (Herland, 1996). This experiment was undertaken to determine the effect of feeding moist heat treated rapeseed meal, lupins and beans to dairy cows.
The effect of equi-molar dietary betaine and choline addition on performance and carcass quality of pigs
Authors: Siljander-Rasi H. , Tiihonen K. , Peuranen S. , Simmins P.H.
Published: June 2019

Betaine has three chemically reactive methyl groups attached to the nitrogen atom of the glycine molecule. Therefore, it can be used as a methyl group donor partially to replace methionine in poultry and pig diets. Recent work also suggests that betaine has an energy sparing role by reducing maintenance requirement of the pig (Schrama and Gerrits, 2000). Betaine has improved performance and carcass leanness in some studies but the results are variable and seem to depend on age and sex of the animal, feeding level and diet composition.

Choline can also be used as methyl donor in animal feeds. In poultry, methyl groups are available after the conversion to betaine in the liver. However, dietary betaine is twice as efficient as the equi-molar dietary choline for increasing liver betaine levels in broiler chick (Saarinen et al., 2000). The aim of this study was to compare the response of pigs fed equi-molar betaine and choline in terms of pig performance and carcass characteristics.
The influence of positive human-animal interaction during rearing on the welfare and subsequent production of the dairy heifer
Authors: Bertenshaw C. , Rowlinson P.
Published: June 2019

Anthrozoology (the study of human-animal interactions) is proving that human interactions with animals can have a severe impact on their welfare, production and ease of management; and can therefore have a substantial impact on productivity of a livestock unit. Recent research on dairy cattle shows how the quality of human-animal interactions has a potentially greater effect than with other intensively farmed species, due to the extended duration, intensity and frequency of contact. Early work by Bouissou and Boissy (1988) imposed various positive handling treatments on young heifers to determine the most sensitive time to socialise cattle to humans and investigate subsequent ease of handling; it revealed that the benefits of handling decreased with time, it was harder to establish a positive relationship with older animals but the work did monitor the heifers upon entry to the milking herd. Our research is designed to bring together techniques and hypotheses of previous pioneering work and carrying it to its commercially important conclusion when the dairy heifer calves, enters the herd and commences her productive milking life. The aim is to investigate whether the extent and nature of human contact during the rearing period has an effect on heifer welfare and subsequent production.
Changes in digesta NH3 concentration related to fermentable carbohydrates in piglet diets
Authors: Williams B.A. , Bosch M.W. , Verstegen M.W.A.
Published: June 2019

In the absence of sufficient energy from a carbohydrate source, the GIT microflora can also use protein as a source of energy, by splitting amino acids leading to the formation of volatile fatty acids and ammonia (NH3). Therefore, it is hypothesized that the addition of fermentable carbohydrates to an animal diet, could reduce the concentration of NH3 of the gastro-intestinal tract (GIT) digesta, particularly in relation to the area where the fermentation takes place.
The effect of respiratory disease on various acute phase protein levels in the slaughter pig
Authors: Amory J.R. , Mackenzie A.M. , Pearce G.P. , Eckersall P.D. , Lampreave F. , Alava M.A. , Varley M.A.
Published: June 2019

Respiratory health is an important aspect of pig production due to its effects on pig performance and welfare. Haptoglobin, an acute phase protein, has been identified as a sensitive indicator of infection with respiratory pathogens such as Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae and has been suggested as a possible marker for non-specific surveillance of pig health status (Heergaard et al., 1998). Other acute phase proteins such as Major Acute Phase protein (MAP) and Serum Amyloid A (SAA) may also be of use in disease surveillance. However, little is known about the variation of these proteins and their associations with post-mortem signs of disease in the pig. This information could be of importance in monitoring herd health and in facilitating ante- and post-mortem inspection by identifying diseased animals. This study was designed to determine whether various acute phase proteins could be used to identify enzootic or pleuropneumonia in individual pigs or farms with increased prevalence of these diseases.