bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Behaviour and production of sows in an open pen farrowing system: effects of pen width
Authors: Marchant J.N. , Broom D.M. , Coming S. 
Published: November 2021

A number of studies have been carried out on open pen farrowing systems and where these systems have appeared to function well, the minimum pen dimension has been 2.2m. The original pen system at ADAS Terrington had a maximum width of about 1.5m - the space occupied by a pen with a farrowing crate. The aim of this experiment was to determine whether increasing the pen width affected sow behaviour and production in a three-sow group farrowing system.A total of 36 LW x Landrace sows of similar genetic stock (PIC, Abingdon, UK) and ranging from 1st to 7th parity were studied from 7 days before farrowing until 7 days after farrowing. The farrowing systems comprised three individual strawed pens, a communal passageway and an outdoor dunging area. Each pen had a heated creep at the rear and sloping walls along the sides of the pen with a piglet escape area at the bottom. Four replicates of 3 sows were studied in the Narrow Pen (width = 1.6m) treatment and eight replicates of 3 sows were studied in the Wide Pen (width = 2.4m) treatment.
Straw provision and the feeding behaviour of pigs
Authors: Morgan C.A. , Deans L.A. , Nielsen B.L. , Lawrence A.B. 
Published: November 2021

One of the costs of living in a group is the imposition by certain group members of constraints on the behaviour of others (Mendl and Deag, 1995). This appears to be the case with feeding behaviour where individual pigs show a large number of small meals but group members have fewer larger meals (de Haer and de Vries, 1993). Morgan et al. (1997) found that grouped pigs given straw bedding had more smaller meals than those without, suggesting some alleviation of the group constraint. The aim of this experiment was to investigate if changing straw provision resulted in similar and reversible effects in this behaviour.120 male pigs (40±0.4kg) were used in three blocks each with 4 pens of 10 pigs. In each block of 42d duration one pen had no straw throughout (treatment A); one pen had no straw for 21d (period 1) followed by straw for 21d (period 2)(B); one pen had straw followed by no straw(C) and one pen had straw throughout (D). The pens were situated in a naturally ventilated building with light from 0600 to 2000h.
Suckling frequency of group housed sows in two different space allocations
Authors: Burke J. , Brooks P.H. , Kirk J.A. , Eddison J.C. 
Published: November 2021

The more frequent the opportunities for piglets to suckle, the higher their milk intake and subsequent liveweight gain during lactation (Newberry and Wood-Gush 1984). Studies of sows in communal farrowing systems revealed that suckling frequency decreased from week 2 of lactation onwards (Houwers, Buré and Koomans 1992; Boe 1993). The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of two different space allocations on the suckling frequency of group housed sows and on litter performance to day 17 of lactation.Four groups of four multiparous sows were allocated to one of two pen areas, in a loose house farrowing system from 5 days before the expected farrowing date until the oldest litter was 21 days of age. The two pen areas provided 13.4m2 (L) and 8.6m2 (S) per sow respectively. A row of four farrowing enclosures, fitted with heated piglet creep areas and deeply bedded with straw, were provided, within an otherwise unbedded pen.
Effect of supplementation of a hay and concentrate diet with live yeast culture on the digestibility of nutrients in 2 and 3 year old riding school horses
Authors: Hill J. , Gutsell S. 
Published: November 2021

Any method to increase the utilisation of nutrients from feeds given to horses exercised on a regular basis is important. Commercially-available dried yeast cultures, used as supplements to equine diets have been shown to increase the digestibility of gross energy and enhance the retention of N in yearling horses (Glade and Biesik, 1986). There is however, limited information on whether the increase in digestibility of GE or enhancement in retention of N occurs in mature horses (Glade and Campbell-Taylor, 1990). The aim of the research reported here was to determine the effect of a dried live yeast culture on the digestibility of nutrients from a mixed diet given to riding school horses.Six 2 and 3 year old riding school horses (mean live-weight 433 (s.e. 11.1) kg) were allocated to three balanced 2 x 2 Latin squares with two treatments and two periods of 3 weeks. The first 14 days of each period was a preliminary and the last 7 days was for measurement. The horses were housed individually (bedded on saw dust) and given 13.5 kg DM hay and 3.0 kg DM concentrate mix as a base diet. The base diet was either supplemented with 10 g dried yeast culture (S) or not supplemented (N).
Effect of forage maize harvested at different stages of maturity on feed intake and performance by growing beef cattle
Authors: Browne E.M. , Bryant M.J. , Beever D.E. , Thorp C.L. 
Published: November 2021

Dry matter (DM) concentration of maize silage is directly related to maturity of the crop at harvest and widely reported to be positively correlated with total forage DM intake. The objective of this experiment was to investigate these effects using a late maturing beef genotype and a contemporary forage maize variety.Forage maize (variety Hudson) was harvested at four different stages of maturity during September and October 1996. Each stage of maturity was ensiled in a separate clamp with no additive. Resultant silage corrected dry matter contents were 247 (L), 305 (M/L), 331(M/H) and 388 (H)g/kgFW, respectively. Each diet was formulated to be isonitrogenous with fishmeal fed twice daily on top of the silage. Silage was offered ad libitum to 32 growing Simmental X Friesian heifers (mean initial weight 217kg), housed in individual pens in an open-sided Dutch barn and bedded on wheat straw. Eight animals were allocated to each treatment, in a completely randomised design with pre-treatment intake (non-experimental maize silage) used as a covariate in the statistical analysis.
Effect of maize silage quality in a mixed forage diet and the crude protein level in the concentrate supplement on milk production of dairy cows
Authors: Fitzgerald J.J. , Murphy J.J. 
Published: November 2021

Good quality maize silage with a high starch content and DM digestibility when fed to dairy cows increased forage intake, milk production and milk protein concentration compared with grass silage or low starch maize silage (Fitzgerald, 1997). Due to the low crude protein (CP) content of maize silage compared with grass silage, additional protein supplementation is required in the concentrate. The optimum level of protein in the concentrate for maize silage based forages differing in starch content was investigated in this study.Three forages consisting of either all grass silage (GS) or mixed forages of grass silage and maize silage (40:60 DM mix) which contained either a low (LSM) or a high (HSM) starch content were offered ad libitum to individually fed dairy cows in early lactation (12 cows/forage). Each forage was supplemented with concentrates (6 kg/day) containing 180, 230 or 280 g CP/kg according to a change over design (3 periods of 3 weeks/period).
Comparison of methods for the detemination of peptides nitrogen in grass silage
Authors: Nsereko V. L. , Rooke J. A. 
Published: November 2021

There are few reports on the occurrence and amounts of peptide-N in silage. Previous studies (Nsereko and Rooke, 1993, 1996) have quantified the amounts of peptide-N in grass silage and how peptide-N can be modified by additive treatment. However, peptide N concentrations determined using fluorescamine were observed to be considerably higher than those measured by amino acid analysis (Nsereko, 1996). It was the objective of this study to compare methods for the analysis of peptide-N.Triplicate silages treated with no additive, formic acid (5.4 g/kg) or formic acid (2.7 g/kg) and formaldehyde (3.75 g/kg) (Nsereko and Rooke, 1993) were used in an initial study to compare three methods of peptide analysis. Aqueous extracts were prepared from the silages which were deproteinised with trichloracetic acid.
Mars Methane Sources in Northwestern Gale Crater Inferred From Back Trajectory Modeling
Authors: Luo Y. , Mischna M. A. , Lin J. C. , Fasoli B. , Cai X. , Yung Y. L. 
Published: November 2021

AbstractDuring its first seven years of operation, the Sample Analysis at Mars Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS) on board the Curiosity rover has detected seven methane spikes above a low background abundance in Gale crater. The methane spikes are likely sourced by surface emission within or around Gale crater. Here, we use inverse Lagrangian modeling techniques to identify upstream emission regions on the Martian surface for these methane spikes at an unprecedented spatial resolution. Inside Gale crater, the northwestern crater floor casts the strongest influence on the detections. Outside Gale crater, the upstream regions common to all the methane spikes extend toward the north. The contrasting results from two consecutive TLS methane measurements performed on the same sol point to an active emission site to the west or the southwest of the Curiosity rover on the northwestern crater floor. The observed spike magnitude and frequency also favor emission sites on the northwestern crater floor, unless there are fast methane removal mechanisms at work, or either the methane spikes of TLS or the non‐detections of ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter cannot be trusted.
Integrated Sentinel‐1 InSAR and GNSS Time‐Series Along the San Andreas Fault System
Authors: Xu Xiaohua , Sandwell David T. , Klein Emilie , Bock Yehuda 
Published: November 2021

AbstractMeasuring crustal strain and seismic moment accumulation, is crucial for understanding the growth and distribution of seismic hazards along major fault systems. Here, we develop a methodology to integrate 4.5 years (2015–2019.5) of Sentinel‐1 Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) and continuous Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) time series to achieve 6 to 12‐day sampling of surface displacements at ∼500 m spatial resolution over the entire San Andreas fault system. Numerous interesting deformation signals are identified with this product (video link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxNLQKmHWpY). We decompose the line‐of‐sight InSAR displacements into three dimensions by combining the deformation azimuth from a GNSS‐derived interseismic fault model. We then construct strain rate maps using a smoothing interpolator with constraints from elasticity. The resulting deformation field reveals a wide array of crustal deformation processes including, on‐ and off‐fault secular and transient tectonic deformation, creep rates on all the major faults, and vertical signals associated with hydrological processes. The strain rate maps show significant off‐fault components that were not captured by GNSS‐only models. These results are important in assessing the seismic hazard in the region.
S100B dysregulation during brain development affects synaptic SHANK protein networks via alteration of zinc homeostasis
Authors: Daini Eleonora , Hagmeyer Simone , De Benedictis Chiara A. , Cristóvão Joana S. , Bodria Martina , Ross Aisling M. , Raab Andrea , Boeckers Tobias M. , Feldmann Joerg , Gomes Cláudio M. , Zoli Michele , Vilella Antonietta , Grabrucker Andreas M. 
Published: November 2021

AbstractAutism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are caused by a combination of genetic predisposition and nongenetic factors. Among the nongenetic factors, maternal immune system activation and zinc deficiency have been proposed. Intriguingly, as a genetic factor, copy-number variations in S100B, a pro-inflammatory damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP), have been associated with ASD, and increased serum S100B has been found in ASD. Interestingly, it has been shown that increased S100B levels affect zinc homeostasis in vitro. Thus, here, we investigated the influence of increased S100B levels in vitro and in vivo during pregnancy in mice regarding zinc availability, the zinc-sensitive SHANK protein networks associated with ASD, and behavioral outcomes. We observed that S100B affects the synaptic SHANK2 and SHANK3 levels in a zinc-dependent manner, especially early in neuronal development. Animals exposed to high S100B levels in utero similarly show reduced levels of free zinc and SHANK2 in the brain. On the behavioral level, these mice display hyperactivity, increased stereotypic and abnormal social behaviors, and cognitive impairment. Pro-inflammatory factors and zinc-signaling alterations converge on the synaptic level revealing a common pathomechanism that may mechanistically explain a large share of ASD cases.
A sex specific approach of ophthalmic and middle cerebral arteries Doppler in smokers
Authors: Paes Maria Marta B. M. , Martins Luísa Macedo Mendes , Diniz Angélica L. D. 
Published: November 2021

AbstractVascular dysfunctions can progress and lead to stroke and cardiovascular disease, especially in smokers. The presence of particular vascular changes according to sex has been described and they can be identified by the Doppler method. This study evaluated Doppler velocimetry parameters of the Ophthalmic Artery (OA) and the Middle Cerebral Artery (MCA) according to sex in smokers regarding a non-smoker group. This cross-sectional observational study included 178 subjects: 93 women and 85 men. Doppler parameters were assessed in OA and MCA. Student’s t-test was used, with p < 0.05. There were no significant differences in OA and MCA Doppler velocimetry data between male non-smokers and smokers. However, female smokers presented several differences compared with non-smokers: lower pulsatility index (PI) and higher peak ratio in OA, and higher PI and resistance index and lower end diastolic velocity in MCA. There were different brain vascular waveforms in the group of female smokers compared with non-smokers. Cigarette smoking also led to opposite arterial patterns in OA and MCA in the female group, with signs of falling impedance in OA and increased impedance in MCA. An individualized approach regarding arterial changes according to sex is desirable.
Social threat indirectly increases moral condemnation via thwarting fundamental social needs
Authors: Henderson Robert K. , Schnall Simone 
Published: November 2021

AbstractIndividuals who experience threats to their social needs may attempt to avert further harm by condemning wrongdoers more severely. Three pre-registered studies tested whether threatened social esteem is associated with increased moral condemnation. In Study 1 (N = 381) participants played a game in which they were socially included or excluded and then evaluated the actions of moral wrongdoers. We observed an indirect effect: Exclusion increased social needs-threat, which in turn increased moral condemnation. Study 2 (N = 428) was a direct replication, and also showed this indirect effect. Both studies demonstrated the effect across five moral foundations, and was most pronounced for harm violations. Study 3 (N = 102) examined dispositional concerns about social needs threat, namely social anxiety, and showed a positive correlation between this trait and moral judgments. Overall, results suggest threatened social standing is linked to moral condemnation, presumably because moral wrongdoers pose a further threat when one’s ability to cope is already compromised.
Selection of the reference genes for quantitative gene expression by RT-qPCR in the desert plant Stipagrostis pennata
Authors: Li Rong , Cui Kaiwen , Xie Quanliang , Xie Shuangquan , Chen Xifeng , Zhuo Lu , Cao Aiping , Shen Haitao , Jin Xiang , Wang Fei , Li Hongbin 
Published: November 2021

AbstractThe desert pioneer plantStipagrostis pennataplays an important role in sand fixation, wind prevention, and desert ecosystem recovery. An absence of reference genes greatly limits investigations into the regulatory mechanism by whichS. pennataadapts to adverse desert environments at the molecular and genetic levels. In this study, eight candidate reference genes were identified from rhizosheath development transcriptome data fromS. pennata, and their expression stability in the rhizosheaths at different development stages, in a variety of plant tissues, and under drought stress was evaluated using four procedures, including geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, and RefFinder. The results showed thatGAPDHandelFwere the most stable reference genes under drought stress and in rhizosheath development, andARP6andALDHwere relatively stable in all plant tissues. In addition,elFwas the most suitable reference gene for all treatments. Analysis of the consistency between the reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and RNA sequencing data showed that the identifiedelFandGAPDHreference genes were stable during rhizosheath development. These results provide reliable reference genes for assuring the accuracy of RT-qPCR and offer a foundation for further investigations into the genetic responses ofS. pennatato abiotic stress.
Co-formulant in a commercial fungicide product causes lethal and sub-lethal effects in bumble bees
Authors: Straw Edward A. , Brown Mark J. F. 
Published: November 2021

AbstractPollinators, particularly wild bees, are suffering declines across the globe, and pesticides are thought to be drivers of these declines. Research into, and regulation of pesticides has focused on the active ingredients, and their impact on bee health. In contrast, the additional components in pesticide formulations have been overlooked as potential threats. By testing an acute oral dose of the fungicide product Amistar, and equivalent doses of each individual co-formulant, we were able to measure the toxicity of the formulation and identify the ingredient responsible. We found that a co-formulant, alcohol ethoxylates, caused a range of damage to bumble bee health. Exposure to alcohol ethoxylates caused 30% mortality and a range of sublethal effects. Alcohol ethoxylates treated bees consumed half as much sucrose as negative control bees over the course of the experiment and lost weight. Alcohol ethoxylates treated bees had significant melanisation of their midguts, evidence of gut damage. We suggest that this gut damage explains the reduction in appetite, weight loss and mortality, with bees dying from energy depletion. Our results demonstrate that sublethal impacts of pesticide formulations need to be considered during regulatory consideration, and that co-formulants can be more toxic than active ingredients.
Association between the ABCA1 (R219K) polymorphism and lipid profiles: a meta-analysis
Authors: Shi Zhangyan , Tian Yajie , Zhao Ze , Wu Yufei , Hu Xiuxia , Li Junlin , Chen Qianliang , Wang Yan , An Caiyan , Zhang Kejin 
Published: November 2021

AbstractConflicting evidence was found about the relationship between lipid profiles and R219K polymorphism in adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette exporter A1 (ABCA1) gene. In this study, four meta-analyses were conducted to assess the effect of R219K on lipid levels, including high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, and triglycerides (TG). A total of 125 samples of 87 studies (about 60,262 subjects) were included. The effect of each study was expressed using the standard mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) and pooled by meta-analysis in the random-effects model. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses were conducted to explore potential heterogeneity sources. The overall pooled effect showed the following results. (1) The R219K was significantly associated with HDLC level (SMD = − 0.25 mmol/L, 95%CI − 0.32 to − 0.18, z = − 6.96, P < 0.01, recessive genetic model). People with different genotypes had significantly different HDLC levels under the recessive, codominant and dominant genetic models (all Ps < 0.01). (2) A weak and indeterminate relationship between R219K and TG level was observed (SMD = 0.18 mmol/L, 95%CI 0.06–0.30, z = 3.01, P < 0.01, recessive genetic model). These findings suggested that R219K was associated with HDLC and TG levels, which might implicate a promising clinical application for lipid-related disorders, though the influences of race, health status, BMI, and other heterogeneity sources should be considered when interpreting current findings. The protocol was registered at PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42021231178).
An NMR relaxometry approach for quantitative investigation of the transchelation of gadolinium ions from GBCAs to a competing macromolecular chelator
Authors: Werner Patrick , Taupitz Matthias , Schröder Leif , Schuenke Patrick 
Published: November 2021

AbstractGadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) have been used in clinical Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) for more than 30 years. However, there is increasing evidence that their dissociation in vivo leads to long-term depositions of gadolinium ions in the human body. In vitro experiments provide critical insights into kinetics and thermodynamic equilibria of underlying processes, which give hints towards the in vivo situation. We developed a time-resolved MRI relaxometry-based approach that exploits distinct relaxivities of Gd3+ in different molecular environments. Its applicability to quantify the transmetallation of GBCAs, the binding of Gd3+ to competing chelators, and the combined transchelation process is demonstrated. Exemplarily, the approach is applied to investigate two representative GBCAs in the presence of Zn2+ and heparin, which is used as a model for a macromolecular and physiologically occurring chelator. Opposing indirect impacts of heparin on increasing the kinetic stability but reducing the thermodynamic stability of GBCAs are observed. The relaxivity of resulting Gd-heparin complexes is shown to be essentially increased compared to that of the parent GBCAs so that they might be one explanation for observed long-term MRI signal enhancement in vivo. In forthcoming studies, the presented method could help to identify the most potent Gd-complexing macromolecular species.
Environmental sound classification using temporal-frequency attention based convolutional neural network
Authors: Mu Wenjie , Yin Bo , Huang Xianqing , Xu Jiali , Du Zehua 
Published: November 2021

AbstractEnvironmental sound classification is one of the important issues in the audio recognition field. Compared with structured sounds such as speech and music, the time–frequency structure of environmental sounds is more complicated. In order to learn time and frequency features from Log-Mel spectrogram more effectively, a temporal-frequency attention based convolutional neural network model (TFCNN) is proposed in this paper. Firstly, an experiment that is used as motivation in proposed method is designed to verify the effect of a specific frequency band in the spectrogram on model classification. Secondly, two new attention mechanisms, temporal attention mechanism and frequency attention mechanism, are proposed. These mechanisms can focus on key frequency bands and semantic related time frames on the spectrogram to reduce the influence of background noise and irrelevant frequency bands. Then, a feature information complementarity is formed by combining these mechanisms to more accurately capture the critical time–frequency features. In such a way, the representation ability of the network model can be greatly improved. Finally, experiments on two public data sets, UrbanSound 8 K and ESC-50, demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.