bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sensory and Consumer Testing of Heat from Ram Lambs
Authors: Uransfield E. , Nute G.R. , Walters B. 
Published: June 2019

Consumption of lamb in the UK has declined from 149g per person per week in 1970 to 93g in 1985 despite a reduction, in real terms, in its cost. Circumstantial evidence suggests that the decline is, in part, due to its excessive fatness. The use of entire male cattle and pigs increases the efficient production of lean meat and boars are now widely used. Although a similar potential has been recognised for lamb, British producers have maintained a policy of castration of lambs and butchers seem reluctant to sell meat from ram lambs because they suspect it may be inferior in eating quality. This work on sensory and consumer evaluation of meat from ram, castrate and ewe lambs was therefore conducted and forms part of an assessment of carcass and meat quality of entire Down cross lambs from crossbred ewes on improved hill grazing.Forty-two lambs, comprising a balance of seven of each of entire male, castrate and ewe lambs from both Dorset Down and Suffolk sires, were reared at Redesdale EHF and slaughtered in August in a commercial abattoir. Hot carcasses ranged from 13 to 22 kg. To avoid the likelihood of induced toughness using conventional chilling conditions, all the carcasses were placed, at 2 hours after slaughter in a refrigerated vehicle operating at 10°C for transportation to Bristol.
Production of cattle embryos by in vitro and in vivo culture
Authors: K.H. Lu  , I. Gordon  , M. Gallagher  , H. McGovern  
Published: June 2019

A previous report from this laboratory recorded a yield of 60 per cent of embryos recovered at the morulae/blastocyst stage of development after the in vitro maturation and fertilization of bovine follicular oocytes and their subsequent culture in vivo in the sheep oviduct (Lu et al., 1987). When these embryos were transferred by non-surgical procedures to recipient heifers, they established normal pregnancy rates (12/18, 67%) which resulted in the birth of seven sets of twins and five single calves. The objective of the present study was to examine the possibility of large-scale production of cattle embryos using the oocyte maturation and IVF procedures previously employed. A further objective was to determine the effect on embryo yield of transferring varying numbers of fertilized eggs (zygotes) to the sheep oviduct for in vivo culture.Ovaries were collected fran beef heifers shortly after slaughter and brought to the laboratory within one hour, held at 30°C in phosphate buffered saline supplemented with 0.3 per cent bovine serun albumin and 0.05 mg kanemycin/ml. Non-atretic vesicular follicles (2 - 6 mm diameter) were dissected fran the ovaries and the oocytes liberated by follicule rupture, particular care being taken to preserve the integrity of the oocyte-cumulus-corplex.
Factors affect the performance and carcass characteristics of finishing grazed cattle within a 20 month beef system
Authors: Lowman B.G. , Hinks C.E. , Swift C. , Neilson D.R. , Hunter E.A. 
Published: June 2019

The increasing sales of beef through retail supermarket outlets has been reflected in specification buying by wholesalers being more apparent. The objective of supermarket buyers is to obtain continuity of supplies throughout the year and this trend is likely to increase. Faced with these requirements producers of grass finished cattle (representing 40 per cent of beef supplies) have little objective information on which to plan their production systems. The limited scientific data available tends to be short-term with little, if any, information available on eventual carcass and eating quality.A long-term project has therefore been initiated at Edinburgh to examine the effects of production variables on the performance and carcass characteristics of grass-finished cattle within a 20 month beef system. One aspect of this work has centred its attention on providing information on the rates of change (with time) of carcass characteristics, during the grazing season, in relation to breed, sex and variation in grass availability.
Effect of breed and sex on the deposition of branched-chain fatty acids in lamb fat
Authors: Enser M , Wood J D , Sinnett-Smith P , Woolliams J 
Published: June 2019

The presence of high concentrations of branched-chain fatty acids in lamb fat results in soft discoloured tissue and objectionable flavours and odours. However, the factors regulating their synthesis and deposition are Incompletely understood. In some studies, but not others, excessive deposition is associated with high cereal diets. Their concentrations may be higher in rams than wethers and there is circumstantial evidence for differences between breeds. We have Investigated their concentration in ewe and ram lambs of three breeds: East Friesland, Oxford and Texel.Ten lambs of each breed and sex, born in March, were fed to appetite twice daily a concentrate (barley 683 g/kg, crude protein 170 g/kg DM ME 12.1 MJ/kg D.M) with hay available ad libitum. Animals were slaughtered together, by conventional procedures, at 27 weeks of age (± 4 days) and the hind loin was removed and dissected. The subcutaneous fat was analysed for fatty acid composition by capillary gas-liquid chromatography on Chrompack CP Sil 88 and CP wax 57 CB.
Effect of barley, sugar beet pulp and protein level in the diet on growth, body composition and blood metabolites and insulin concentrations of entire male lambs
Authors: Galbraith H. , McCulloch T. , Scaife J.R. , Keeling B.J. , Atkinson T. 
Published: June 2019

There is a continuing requirement to improve the lean content of meat, efficiently produced, as food for human consumers. Hormonal anabolic compounds which stimulate the deposition of lean tissue and reduce fat accretion in ruminant animals are not permitted in the UK. In the absence of the use of such exogenous compounds, alternative currently practical means of manipulating body composition include the use of genetic selection and alterations in nutrition. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of diets differing in the source of carbohydrate and in protein level. The diets chosen were based on barley (diet B) in which starch predominates and sugar beet pulp (diet P) which contains greater quantities of cellulose and hemi-cellulose.Twenty-eight crossbred (Suffolk ♂ x mule ♀ )entire male lambs were used in the experiment. They were housed at approximately eight weeks of age in individual slatted-floor pens and gradually introduced to experimental diets over a period of three weeks prior to the commencement of the study. Four pelleted diets were offered.
The effect on the digestibility of selecting cows with high or low particle outflow rate
Authors: Ørskov E.R. , Ojwang I.A. 
Published: June 2019

Differences in rumen volume can have considerable effects on the digestibility and voluntary intake of ruminants. For instance Mould et al. 1982 showed that cattle in Bangladesh had a much greater rumen volume relative to live weight than reported values of Friesian cattle. They also consume much more straw per unit of live weight than Friesian cattle.Differences between cows in the ability to consume roughage have often been observed. It is however possible that this strategy could be adopted simply by increasing outflow rate and not necessarily by a high rumen volume. Depending on the strategy adopted this would give rise to differences in the digestibility of the roughage consumed.In order to investigate these aspects in more detail, 22 lactating Friesian cows were given doses of Cr-mordanted straw having been ground through a hammer mill with a 2 mm screen. The cows were fed completely mixed diets consisting of 50% ammonia treated straw and 50% concentrate.
Factors influencing the gross energy content of grass silage
Authors: Givens D I , Brunnen Jeannie M 
Published: June 2019

The gross energy (GE) of a feed represents its total energy content and is measured by burning the material in an atmosphere of oxygen in a bomb calorimeter. The GE of many feeds is often taken to be 18.4 MJ/kg dry matter (DM) (MAFF et al, 1984). This assumption is likely to be doubtful for feeds which are for example high in lipid or which contain products of fermentation. The gross energy content of grass silages in particular has recently been reviewed by Edwards (1986).The GE content of grass silage can account for some 50% of the variability in metabolisable energy (ME). It is however ignored in present laboratory methods used for the prediction of ME which largely depend on using fibre fractions (Givens, 1986) which are more closely related to digestibility. This paper presents the results of GE determinations made on 109 grass silages made in clamps and since GE cannot be measured routinely, examines a number of factors which may be helpful in its prediction.
‘An Invasion of Guest Worker Children’: Welfare Reform and the Stigmatisation of Family Migration in West Germany
Authors: Stokes Lauren 
Published: June 2019

AbstractThis article examines the effects of the 1974 child allowance reform on guest worker families in West Germany. As part of a wider reform, West Germany implemented a two-tiered system of child allowances whereby migrant parents received more money for children who lived in the European Economic Community (EEC) than for children who lived outside the EEC. Migrants protested the reform and with it the assumptions of the guest worker programme. However, these parents had to contend with a popular narrative whereby foreign parents who brought their children to West Germany after the reform were in fact irresponsible ‘welfare migrants’ who placed their desire for financial gain over their children's need for a stable environment. The idea that this specific welfare reform had been the trigger for large-scale family migration not only discouraged further investigation of the causes of family migration but was also used to support new restrictions on that migration.
Psychometric testing of the developmental care scale for neonates with congenital heart disease
Authors: Arter Sara , Miller Elaine , Bakas Tamilyn , Cooper David S 
Published: June 2019

AbstractPurpose:Developmental care of neonates with CHD is essential for proper neurodevelopment. Measurement of developmental care specific to these neonates is needed to ensure consistent implementation within and across cardiac ICUs. The purpose of this study was to psychometrically test the Developmental Care Scale for Neonates with Congenital Heart Disease, which measures the quality of developmental care provided by bedside nurses to neonates in the cardiac ICU.Methods:Psychometric testing was conducted with 119 cardiac ICU nurses to provide evidence of internal consistency reliability and construct validity. Participants were predominantly young (median = 32 years), white (90%) females (93%) with bachelor’s degrees (78%) and a median experience in the cardiac ICU of 7 years.Results:Evidence of internal consistency reliability (α =.89) was provided with corrected item-total correlations ranging from .31 to .77. Exploratory factor analysis provided evidence of construct validity as a unidimensional scale, as well as a multidimensional scale consisting of four subscales: creating the external environment, assessment of family well-being, caregiver activities toward the neonate, and basic human needs.Conclusions:Evidence of reliability and validity of the 31-item Developmental Care Scale for Neonates with Congenital Heart Disease was established with nurses caring for neonates in the cardiac ICU. This instrument will serve as a valuable outcome measure tasked with improving developmental care performance and makes it possible to identify relationships between developmental care performance and neonatal neurodevelopmental outcomes in future research.
Influence of Methylphenidate on Long-Term Neuropsychological and Everyday Executive Functioning After Traumatic Brain Injury in Children with Secondary Attention Problems
Authors: LeBlond Elizabeth , Smith-Paine Julia , Riemersma Jacqlyn J. , Horn Paul S. , Wade Shari L. , Kurowski Brad G. 
Published: June 2019

AbstractObjective: To investigate the effects of methylphenidate on long-term executive and neuropsychological functioning in children with attention problems following TBI, as well as the relationship between methylphenidate associated changes in lab-based neuropsychological measures of attentional control, processing speed, and executive functioning and parent- or self-report measures of everyday executive functioning. Method: 26 children aged 6–17 years, who were hospitalized for moderate-to-severe blunt head trauma 6 or more months previously, were recruited from a large children’s hospital medical center. Participants were randomized into a double-masked, placebo-controlled cross-over clinical trial. Participants completed a comprehensive neuropsychological battery and parent- and self-report ratings of everyday executive functioning at baseline, and at 4 weeks and 8 weeks following upward titration of medication to an optimal dose or while administered a placebo. Results: Methylphenidate was associated with significant improvements in processing speed, sustained attention, and both lab-based and everyday executive functioning. Significant treatment-by-period interactions were found on a task of sustained attention. Participants who were randomized to the methylphenidate condition for the first treatment period demonstrated random or erratic responding, with slower and more variable response times when given placebo during the second period. Conclusion: Results indicate that methylphenidate treatment is associated with positive outcomes in processing speed, sustained attention, and both lab-based and everyday measures of executive functioning compared to placebo group. Additionally, results suggest sustained attention worsens when discontinuing medication. (JINS, 2019, 25, 740–749)
Pediatric Perceived Cognitive Functioning: Psychometric Properties and Normative Data of the Dutch Item Bank and Short Form
Authors: Marchal Jan Pieter , de Vries Marieke , Conijn Judith , Rietman André B , IJsselstijn Hanneke , Tibboel Dick , Haverman Lotte , Maurice-Stam Heleen , Oostrom Kim J , Grootenhuis Martha A 
Published: June 2019

AbstractObjective:With increasing numbers of children growing up with conditions that are associated with acquired brain injury, efficient neuropsychological screening for cognitive deficits is pivotal. Brief self-report measures concerning daily complaints can play an important role in such screening. We translated and adapted the pediatric perceived cognitive functioning (PedsPCF) self- and parent-report item bank to Dutch. This study presents (1) psychometric properties, (2) a new short form, and (3) normative data for the short form.Methods:A general population sample of children and parents was recruited. Dimensionality of the PedsPCF was assessed using confirmatory factor analyses and exploratory bifactor analyses. Item response theory (IRT) modeling was used to evaluate model fit of the PedsPCF, to identify differential item functioning (DIF), and to select items for the short form. To select short-form items, we also considered the neuropsychological content of items.Results:In 1441 families, a parent and/or child participated (response rate 66% at family level). Assessed psychometric properties were satisfactory and the predominantly unidimensional factor structure of the PedsPCF allowed for IRT modeling using the graded response model. One item showed meaningful DIF. For the short form, 10 items were selected.Conclusions:In this first study of the PedsPCF outside the United States, studied psychometric properties of the translated PedsPCF were satisfactory, and allowed for IRT modeling. Based on the IRT analyses and the content of items, we proposed a new 10-item short form. Further research should determine the relation of PedsPCF outcomes with neurocognitive measures and its ability to facilitate neuropsychological screening in clinical practice.
Free Will
Authors: Vesey Godfrey , Griffiths A. Phillips 
Published: June 2019

As a rule we treat people as responsible for what they do. We admonish them if they behave badly, praise them if they do well. We punish people. And we reward them.There are exceptions, of course. For example, we do not punish someone for doing something he has been compelled to do, perhaps by having a gun in his back. And we even recognize such a thing as psychological compulsion, as in the case of kleptomania.
The possible use of the alkenes (unsaturated hydrocarbons) of plant cuticular wax as diet composition markers in sheep
Authors: Dove H. , Oliván M. 
Published: June 2019

SummaryThe objective of the current study was to investigate the possible use of alkenes (unsaturated hydrocarbons) of plant waxes as diet composition markers in sheep. Twenty-four sheep (30 kg live weight) were housed in individual pens (n=16, “pen” sheep) or in metabolism crates (n=8, “crate” sheep) for the total collection of faeces. Once daily, sheep were fed 720 g DM of a two-component diet consisting of a roughage source (chaffed perennial ryegrass) and a high-quality supplement (unpelleted sunflower meal, SFM) in different proportions, 7:1, 6:2, 5:3 and 4:4 (4 pen sheep and 2 crate sheep/treatment). SFM was labelled with a solution of beeswax to provide an alkane/ alkene profile different from the chaff. Diet composition was estimated from C27, C29, C31 and C33 alkene concentrations in diet and faeces (total faeces or rectal grab samples), using the least-squares package ‘EatWhat’. Estimates were conducted with or without correction of faecal alkane concentrations for incomplete faecal recovery, calculated from the alkene intakes and faecal outputs in the crate sheep.Although the faecal alkene recoveries of alkenes were low, they did not differ between chain lengths for alkenes C27 to C33. Therefore in cage sheep, alkene-based estimates of SFM proportions, with or without faecal recovery correction, did not differ significantly from the proportions fed and were as accurate as earlier alkane-based estimates. In pen sheep, SFM proportions estimated from rectal grab samples were slightly but significantly over-estimated, regardless of whether or not recovery corrections were used. The over-estimates were not related to recovery corrections but to the small differences in concentrations between rectal grab samples from pen sheep and the total faeces from cage sheep. The lack of effect of recovery corrections does not mean they should be excluded from such calculations, as there may be situations in which there is an effect of carbon-chain length on alkene recovery. Use of recovery corrections also permits an estimate of whole-diet digestibility.The present results indicate that alkenes could be useful additional markers to the alkanes for estimating the proportion of two dietary components in diets offered to sheep.
Degradation characteristics of stover of ‘criollo’ maize varieties used as forage in smallholder maize-livestock production systems of Central Mexico, in different growing periods
Authors: Estrada-Flores J. , Castelán-Ortega O. , Martínez-Silva N. , Vieyra-Santiago A. , Sánchez-Colín A. , González-Ronquillo M. , Arriaga-Jordán C. 
Published: June 2019

SummaryThe objective of this work was to determine the rumen degradation characteristics over the growing season of maize stover in two contrasting zones in the central highlands of Mexico. Twenty four maize plots were selected, three harvest periods P1, P2, and P3 were established in order to evaluate degradation characteristics at different development stages, for ‘criollo’ maize varieties of three grain colours (white, yellow and black) representing different cultivation practices given their different growing cycles. In vitro gas production (GP) incubations were carried out, and cumulative gas volumes were fitted to the Krishnamoorthy, Soller, Steingass and Menke (1991) model. The results indicate that more research is needed to evaluate why maize degradability and fermentation characteristics as exemplified by this work are not greatly affected by time.
Prediction of DMD from gas production for substrates with high and low soluble carbohydrate content
Authors: Nogueira Ú.T. , Maurício R. M. , Gonçalves L. C. , Rodrigues N. M. , Pereira L. G. R. , Dhanoa M. S. 
Published: June 2019

SummarySugar cane and maize silage samples were evaluated by the semi automated in vitro gas production technique. The associations between gas production and dry matter degradation (DMD) were analysed and high coefficients of determination were obtained for all the substrates. The results showed that particles losses could be influencing the DMD, including errors mostly when obtained before 6 hours of incubation. The gas alone could better predict the lag phase than the DMD before 6 hours of incubation.
Effect of rumen emptying on biting rate of cows grazingBrachiaria brizanthaat three stocking rates in Yucatán, México
Authors: Grajalez-Zepeda R. , Ayala-Burgos A.J. , Ramírez-Aviléz L. , Aguilar-Pérez C. , Puerto-Nájera J.L. 
Published: June 2019

SummaryThe experiment was carried out in the east of Yucatán, in pastures ofB. brizantha. It was of three months duration during the end of the rainy season. Four rumen cannulated cows with an average weight of 442 kg were used at all of three stocking rates: Low (2LU/ha), Medium (4LU/ha) and High (6LU/ha), to evaluate the effect of an empty rumen on the rate of biting, which was measured as the time taken to take 20 uninterrupted bites on ten occasions. The measurements were made on two sequential days at 09.00 h, the first under normal conditions, the second with an empty rumen. There was no effect (P<0.050 of rumen emptying on the rate of biting which was 24 bites per minute when the animals were normal, and 25 bites a minute when the rumen was empty. On the other hand, there was a reduction of 8% in the rate of biting for the animals at the high stocking rate compared with the low and medium stocking rates. The finding that bite rate was not affected by an empty the rumen is evidence which gives confidence in the use of cannulated animals as collectors of representative samples of forage under grazing conditions.