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Management factors associated with perinatal lamb mortality in Prince Edward Island flocks
No full textHighlights •The median group-level lamb mortality risk was 10.0%.•Feeding high quality forage to late-gestation ewes is beneficial to lamb survival.•Lamb management practices (e.g. visual identification) can reduce lamb mortality.•Gastrointestinal disease controls are required to improve lamb survival.•A good relationship with a veterinarian is important to improve lamb survival
Community disruption in small biogenic habitats: A coastal invader overcomes habitat complexity to alter community structure
No full textNon-indigenous species are often identified as threats to native species and communities. Yet, the mechanisms that enable many of these invaders to thrive and alter their newly invaded habitats are still not fully understood. This applies to habitats such as widespread sedimentary shorelines characterized by the presence of scattered biogenic clumps of blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) structurally more complex than bare sediments. In Atlantic Canada, some of these shorelines are numerically dominated by native mud crabs (Dyspanopeus sayi) but have been gradually invaded by the European green crab (Carcinus maenas). This study describes between-habitat (mussel clump vs. bare sediment) differences in density and diversity of invertebrates. It also tests the impact of juvenile green crabs in comparison to native mud crabs using two approaches: First, measuring habitat-related differences in these crabs’ feeding rates on a common prey (soft-shell clams, Mya arenaria). Second, measuring their influence on invertebrate communities associated with mussel clumps. The results show that mussel clumps hold higher invertebrate density and diversity than surrounding sedimentary bottoms. In the laboratory, the feeding rates of native mud crabs were dependent on the type of habitat (sand flat > mussel clump), whereas those of green crabs were significantly higher and unrelated to the habitat in which predation occurred. In field experiments, juvenile green crabs were also the only predators that changed community structure in the mussel clump habitat. These results indicate that green crabs can cause a significant impact on native species and communities. Moreover, they suggest that the ability of this species to overcome the refuge provided by complex biogenic habitats for prey may represent an unexplored mechanism to explain this invader’s expansion here and elsewhere
Comparing the effectiveness of traditional and alternative baits in Prince Edward Island, Canada Lobster Fishery
No full textThe American lobster (Homarus americanus) fishery is an economically important commercial activity in Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada. This fishery requires substantial amounts of bait, resulting in an emerging conservation challenge. To address this issue, an alternative lobster bait, manufactured using fresh and process pelagic fish, and dehydrated fish, corresponding to 75% less fresh pelagic fish than traditional bait has been developed by Bait Masters Inc. The performance of the alternative bait compared to that of the traditional bait was evaluated in a field study. This field trial was conducted in eight lobster fishing bays around PEI, during the 2019 lobster fishing seasons. Bait effectiveness was assessed based on catch-per-unit-effort (total lobsters and number of legal-sized lobsters caught per trap), and the ability to produce a catch. An average of five lobsters per trap were caught for both alternative and traditional baits. The results showed that both lobster bait types performed equally well in all PEI lobster fishing areas studied. This indicates that the alternative bait is a viable replacement for traditional bait, allowing the lobster fishery industry to address the bait-species shortage and ongoing conservation challenge.Fisheries and Oceans Canad
Metabolomic comparison and assessment of co-cultivation and a heat-killed inducer strategy in activation of cryptic biosynthetic pathways
No full textCo-cultivation has been used as a promising tool to turn on or up-regulate cryptic biosynthetic pathways for microbial natural product discovery. Recently, a modified culturing strategy similar to co-cultivation was investigated, where heat-killed inducer cultures were supplemented to the culture medium of producer fermentations to induce cryptic pathways. In the present study, the repeatability and effectiveness of both methods in turning on cryptic biosynthetic pathways were unbiasedly assessed using UHPLC-HRESIMS-based metabolomics analysis. Both induction methods had good repeatability, and they resulted in very different induced metabolites from the tested producers. Co-cultivation generated more induced mass features than the heat-killed inducer cultures, while both methods resulted in the induction of mass features not observed using the other induction method. As examples, pathways leading to two new natural products, N-carbamoyl-2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzamide (1) and carbazoquinocin G (5), were induced and up-regulated through co-culturing a producer Streptomyces sp. RKND-216 with inducers Alteromonas sp. RKMC-009 and M. smegmatis ATCC 120515, respectively
‘White’ undesirables: Socio-cultural hierarchies and racial anxiety in early-twentieth-century Shanghai
No full textSocial status in early-twentieth-century Shanghai hinged on varied markers. Wealth, race, and public conduct each affected social and cultural mobility in complex ways. This paper considers how these themes helped entrench social hierarchies by focusing on non-elite foreigners who occupied racially and socially ambiguous positions in Shanghai. Using the media representation of a murder as a point of access, this paper explores who these non-elites were and what they meant to the society they lived in, arguing that liminality such as theirs induced deep-seated elite anxiety over the stability of Western privilege and white prestige in colonial and semi-colonial environments.York Centre for Asian Researc
Hydrothermal co-liquefaction of lignite and lignocellulosic biomass with the addition of formic acid: Study on product distribution, characteristics, and synergistic effects
No full textHydrothermal co-liquefaction of lignite (L) and lignocellulosic biomass represented by cornstalk (CS) and pinewood sawdust (PW) was investigated in this work under various conditions in the presence of formic acid (FA) as an in situ hydrogen donor. The effects of experimental parameters on product distribution and especially the synergistic interaction between lignite and biomass were studied in detail. The results indicated that oil production was significantly enhanced by the addition of FA, while the oil yields obtained from co-liquefaction of L/CS and L/PW reached 29.34 and 28.36 wt % under optimal conditions (350 °C, 30 min, lignite/biomass mass ratio = 1:1, with FA), respectively. The synergistic effects between lignite and biomass not only increased the oil yield but also promoted carbon and energy recovery in oil products. The produced oil products from co-liquefaction had similar boiling point fractions as those of the biomass-derived oil, and contained mainly hydrocarbons, phenols, and ketones, indicating that hydrothermal co-liquefaction of lignite and lignocellulosic biomass was beneficial for the production of oil products with high quality and diverse potential applications
Parents’ management of adolescent patients’ postoperative pain after discharge: A qualitative study
No full textBackground: Short hospital admission periods following pediatric inpatient surgery leave parents responsible for managing their child’s postoperative pain in the community following discharge. Little is known about the experiences of parents caring for their child’s postoperative pain after discharge home following inpatient surgery. Research examining parental postoperative pain management following their child’s day surgery has found that parents are challenged in their pain management knowledge and practices.
Aims: This interpretative phenomenological analysis study sought to understand parents’ experiences caring for their child’s postoperative pain at home.
Methods: Semistructured telephone interviews were conducted with seven parents between 2 weeks and 6 months after their child’s discharge from hospital.
Results: Identified themes were coming home without support, managing significant pain at home, and changes in the parent–child relationship.
Conclusions: Parents could potentially benefit from nurses optimizing educational interventions, from receiving ongoing support of transitional pain teams, and from assistance with return to school planning
Design and management of group maternity areas for dairy cows
No full textPurpose
The purpose of this review is to describe the research to date on the housing and management of dairy cows in group maternity areas.
Sources
We used a review of the peer-reviewed literature to identify articles that included an experimental study using dairy cows kept in groups at calving. Our review also includes studies from the broader literature using cows kept in individual maternity pens, dry cows, lactating cows, and beef cattle.
Synthesis
Housing cows in group maternity areas creates unique challenges compared with housing cows in individual pens. Advantages to calving in group pens include limited pen moves, reduced risk that cows calve in freestalls, and potentially improved labor efficiency. Disadvantages of group maternity areas include the limited ability of cows to express natural behaviors before calving such as seclusion from pen mates, the risk of the calf being nursed by the wrong dam, a lack of space for cows as they prepare to give birth, social instability caused by regrouping, and challenges with pen cleanliness.
Conclusions and Applications
Research to date has focused on creating opportunities for isolation-seeking behavior for dairy cows in group maternity areas. Cows in group pens are motivated to seek isolation at calving, but the ability to do so can be limited by competition. Research is still needed to determine potential negative effects of high stocking density and frequent regrouping in group maternity areas on cow behavior and health
Automated feeding behaviors associated with subclinical respiratory disease in preweaned dairy calves
No full textLittle is known about feeding behaviors in young dairy calves with subclinical respiratory disease (SBRD). The objective of this study was to determine if calves with their first case of SBRD exhibit different feeding behaviors during the 7 d around detection, compared to calves with their first case of clinical BRD (CBRD) or without BRD (NOBRD). Preweaned, group-housed dairy calves (n = 103; 21 ± 6 d of age) underwent twice weekly health exams (lung ultrasound and clinical respiratory score; CRS); health exams were used to classify the BRD status for each calf: SBRD (no clinical signs and lung consolidation ≥ 1cm2; n = 73), CBRD (clinical signs and lung consolidation ≥ 1cm2; n = 18), or NOBRD (never had lung consolidation ≥ 1cm2 or CRS+; n = 12). Feeding behavior data (drinking speed, number of visits, and intake volume) were collected automatically. Calves with SBRD and calves with NOBRD had similar drinking speeds (782 vs. 844 mL/min). Calves with CBRD drank slower than both calves with SBRD (688 vs. 782 mL/min) and NOBRD (688 vs. 844 mL/min). There was no effect of BRD status on any other behavior. Feeding behavior was not an effective means of identifying calves with SBRD.STgenetics (United States
The effects of perceived enjoyment of activities on cognition in late-life [online ahead of print]
No full textObjectives: The current cross-sectional study examines the relationship between both frequency and perceived enjoyment of leisure activities and cognitive scores.Methods: We collected self-reported frequency and perceived pleasure of leisure activities from 58 healthy, community-dwelling older adults and administered a battery of cognitive tests, assessing all major domains (i.e., verbal memory, executive functioning, attention, language, and visuospatial ability).Results: Perceived pleasantness or enjoyment of Socializing and Being Effective predicted higher scores on tests of attention, processing speed, and language. Frequency of activity participation in Being Effective and Doing subscales predicted lower scores on executive functioning tasks.Conclusions: The results imply that frequency and perceived enjoyment of some activities are related to cognition in later life.Clinical Implications: Although the frequency of activities is often measured and subsequently used to address mental health and cognitive concerns in late-life (e.g., Behavioral Activation), we discuss the importance for clinicians to formally assess for enjoyment of these activities as well