64 research outputs found
Plasma T3 and T4 concentrations in newborn calves: influence of type of delivery and breed.
No full textAIM OF THE STUDY
In the neonatal adaptation to the extra-uterine life, thyroid hormones play an important role in the process of growth, energy metabolism and thermogenesis. Thyroid hormones profiles were described in newborn calves from different breeds (1), while the influence of gender, birth weight and type of delivery is still unclear. The aim of the study was to compare T3 and T4 plasma concentrations in Holstein-Friesian newborn calves born by vaginal delivery and Belgian Blue born by caesarean section.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The study was conducted on 12 Holstein-Friesian calves born by vaginal delivery (VD) and on 12 Belgian Blue calves born by caesarean section (CS). Calves gender, body weight and viability were recorded immediately after birth. Blood samples were collected from jugular vein at 10 and 20 minutes (m), at 6 and 24 hours (h) and at 7 and 14 days (d) of age and plasma stored for T3 and T4 analysis by RIA. The ANCOVA for repeated measures test was used to assess the effect of gender and birth weight on T3 and T4 plasma levels profiles within each group. One-way ANOVA was used to evaluate possible differences in T3 and T4 levels between the two groups in each sampling time (p<0.05).
RESULTS
All newborn calves were mature and viable. Mean body weight was 34±4.2 Kg for VD (5 females and 7 males) and 53±7.7 Kg for CS group, respectively (5 females and 7 males). Means ± SD of T3 and T4 plasma concentrations in the two groups of calves are reported in table 1.
CONCLUSIONS
In both groups the T3 and T4 profiles showed an increasing trend from birth to 6 hours of age, followed by a decrease to 14 days of age, as previously reported (1). According to statistic results, T3 and T4 plasma levels were not affected by gender and by birth weight. Statistics evidenced higher T3 and T4 concentrations in the CS calves early after birth, possibly due to the faster process of birth that may result in an immature T4 deiodination system in Blue Belgian calves. Higher plasma levels of both hormones were also detected in the CS calves at 7 and 14 days of age; differences in nutrition or in body weight gain could be responsible for these differences. Unfortunately the association between different type of delivery and different breed within each group does not allow to clarify the real effect of these variables on T3 and T4 plasma levels in newborn calves.
REFERENCES
1) Davicco et al, 1982 Reprod Nutr Dev 22, 355-36
The performance of grazing ewes and lambs in relation to stocking rate and exposure to nematode infections
No full textEffect of milk replacer feeding program on performance of Belgian Blue double-muscled rearing calves
No full textOne hundred and four Belgian Blue double-muscled calves were divided into four groups to examine the effects of different milk replacer (MR) programs. Calves in treatment group 1 received a MR diet reconstituted at 125 g/l, fed at 10 % of their initial live weight in two meals daily. Weaning occurred abruptly at a concentrate intake of 0.5 kg/d. Treatment 2 was similar to treatment 1, except that weaning occurred at a concentrate intake of 0.75 kg/d. Treatment 3 was similar to treatment 2, except that MR was fed once daily at 5 % of initial body weight from a concentrate intake of 0.5 kg/d onwards. Treatment 4 was similar to treatment 3, except that MR at a concentration of 200 g/l was fed once daily from the third week until a concentrate intake of 0.5 kg/d. Similar concentrates and grass hay were fed. Pre-weaning gain averaged 0.51, 0.57, 0.56 and 0.53 kg/d, respectively (P < 0.05; SEM: 0.01). Daily nutrient intake was lowest for treatment 1. No effect on diarrhoea was found. Post-weaning gain did not differ among treatments. Daily gain during the whole rearing period (20 weeks) averaged 0.83 kg and was not affected by treatment. Calves assigned to treatment 1 had a lower daily intake of MR, while feed efficiency tended to be worse. Weaning can be successfully accelerated by skipping over a meal when concentrate intake exceeded 0.5 kg/d, or by combining one MR meal daily with an increased concentration of 200 g/l from an age of three weeks onwards
Performance of a partially shared priority buffer with correlated arrivals
No full textIn this paper, we analyse a finite sized discrete time priority buffer with two types of packet arrivals, referred to as class 1 and class 2 packets. Packets of both classes arrive according to a discrete batch Markovian arrival process, taking into account the correlated nature of arrival processes in heterogeneous telecommunication networks. Packets of class I are assumed to have both space priority and transmission priority over packets of class 2. In particular, the partial buffer sharing acceptance policy is adopted as space priority mechanism. Using a matrix analytic approach, the buffer content is analysed and through some numerical examples, the impact of the priority scheduling, the threshold and the correlation in the arrival process is demonstrated
Plasma cortisol concentrations in Holstein Friesian and Belgian Blue newborn calves born by different types of delivery
No full textCortisol (C) is a major stimulus for fetal and neonatal lung maturation and for surfactant production. Neonatal calves born by caesarean section (CS), particularly the double-muscled
Belgian Blue (BB), are more proned to develop the respiratory distress syndrome (Cambier et al. 2002 Vet Res 33, 283–290Danlois et al. 2003 Vet J 165, 65–72). The aim of this study was to investigate C plasma levels in 15 Holstein Friesian (HF) newborn calves born by spontaneous vaginal delivery (VD) and in 25 BB newborn calves born by elective CS. Blood samples were taken at 10, 20, 30 min and at 6, 24 h after birth and at 7
and 14 days of age. Plasma C concentrations were analyzed by RIA.
Statistical analysis evidenced an influence of both time (p < 0.05) and group (p < 0.0001) on C concentrations. In agreement with previous studies, high C levels at birth were followed by a reduction at 6 h and by a further decrease on day 7 after birth in both groups. Cortisol concentrations were different between BB and HF calves, with significantly higher levels in HF calves. These findings are in agreement with studies in newborn babies, while previous studies on calves mentioned no differences in C levels between calves born without assistance vs. calves born by CS. The present results suggest that both breed and type of delivery are associated with plasma C levels in the newborn calf
eds. 'Animal Biotechnology and the Quality of Meat Production'. Proc. OECD Workshop, Meile, 1990, Elsevier PubL, Amsterdam, 1991.
No full text
The passage to immortality: an anthropological insight into an Orthodox hagiorite monastic community
No full textIn order to convey the meaning of monastic life style in comparison to its lay context, the thesis will examine the monkish use of metaphors concerning secular images and relationships. Additionally, the thesis will attempt a detailed description of the environment within the monks practice their relationship to the divine, the monastery. The main anthropological discrimination (secular, divine) used to define the distance between man and God is methodologically accurate. However, it is more precise to say that the distinction between man and monk-man, in its native use, corresponds to the opposition between the lay-man (Laikos) and the spiritual-man (Pneumatikos). Respectively, the distinction between the divine and the secular, into the frame of this research, will be based on the opposition between spiritual life and secular one. Entering into a discourse concerning divinity does not necessarily mean attributing the divine exclusively to this vague "morpheme" called "God” (Theos). To my perception, there is a variety of graduations between God and man. Each graduation claims a share of the divine and secular in different proportions, representing the different steps of a ladder uniting heaven with earth. For example, God, Christ, the saints, the living saints, the hieromonks, the monks, the celibate priests, the lay priests and the laity. Divinity starts from sainthood. The distinction between the divine and the secular world is not to be understood merely in the opposition between the monks and the laity. The monks differ from laity and they definitely comprise a category of "others", for, they wish to attain to the saints' qualities by following their life-style. Regarding Orthodox sainthood, we find many cases where the mother of a martyr is considered to be a saint exactly because she witnessed, as Godbirth (Panagia) did, the death of her son. She may also join the sphere of sainthood because her son or daughters were declared saints. The saintly qualities of the descendant are imputed to the ancestor, in other words the usual direction of transmission has been reversed. I propose to call this phenomenon "reversed atavism”; I intend to explain it in reference to the way kinship is perceived in villages. As a matter of fact the use of kinship terminology in Christian context is not a novel. Although it is used to give emphasis on spiritual ties rather than blood relations, it still holds something of the secular context. The moral of the Orthodox monasticism is defined to a significant degree by its theology. Regarding this the Christian Orthodox Dogma functions as a limitation against all kinds of theological novelties
The effect of the β-adrenergic agonist cimaterol on performance and carcass and meat quality in culled dairy cows
No full textAbstractForty-eight culled dairy cows were assigned to one of two treatment groups to investigate the effect of a β-adrenergic agonist in mature cattle. They were finished during a 63-day period on a concentrate diet, containing 0 or 4 mg/kg cimaterol. No food was given in the 20 h prior to slaughter.Cimaterol had no effect on food intake, but significantly improved food conversion efficiency and increased live-weight gain, carcass weight and dressing proportion (P < 0·05). Cimaterol induced muscle hypertrophy as evidenced by an improved EUROP carcass classification and a higher longissimus thoracis (LT) cross-sectional area (P < 0·001). EUROP fat score and fat content in the carcass and the LT were lowered (P < 0·05). Cimaterol resulted in brighter meat (higher L-value: 37·0v.35·6; P<0·05) with a higher shear force value (64·0v.46·4 Newton; P<0·01) compared with control animals. It seems likely that mature cattle receiving cimaterol respond similarly to younger growing animals.</jats:p
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