127 research outputs found
Maternal undernutrition and the ovine acute phase response to vaccination
No full textBackground: The acute phase response is the immediate host response to infection, inflammation and trauma and can be monitored by measuring the acute phase proteins (APP) such as haptoglobin ( Hp) or serum amyloid A (SAA). The plane of nutrition during pregnancy is known to affect many mechanisms including the neuroendocrine and neuroimmune systems in neonatal animals but effects on the APP are unknown. To investigate this phenomenon the serum concentration of Hp and SAA was initially determined in non-stimulated lambs from 3 groups (n = 10/group). The dams of the lambs of the respective groups were fed 100% of requirements throughout gestation (High/High; HH); 100% of requirements for the first 65 d of gestation followed by 70% of requirements until 125 d from when they were fed 100% of requirements (High/Low; HL); 65% of liveweight maintenance requirements for the first 65 d gestation followed by 100% of requirements for the remainder of pregnancy ( Low/High; LH). The dynamic APP response in the lambs was estimated by measuring the concentration of Hp and SAA following routine vaccination with a multivalent clostridial vaccine with a Pasteurella component, Heptavac P (TM) following primary and secondary vaccination. Results: The Hp and SAA concentrations were significantly lower at the time of vaccination ( day 8-14) than on the day of birth. Vaccination stimulated the acute phase response in lambs with increases found in both Hp and SAA. Maternal undernutrition led to the SAA response to vaccination being significantly lower in the HL group than in the HH group. The LH group did not differ significantly from either the HH or HL groups. No significant effects of maternal undernutrition were found on the Hp concentrations. A significant reduction was found in all groups in the response of SAA following the second vaccination compared to the response after the primary vaccination but no change occurred in the Hp response. Conclusion: Decreased SAA concentrations, post-vaccination, in lambs born to ewes on the HL diet shows that maternal undernutrition prior to parturition affects the innate immune system of the offspring. The differences in response of Hp and SAA to primary and secondary vaccinations indicate that the cytokine driven APP response mechanisms vary with individual AP
Emotional abuse in sport: A case study of trichotillomania in a prepubescent female gymnast
No full textThis article is made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund. Copyright @ 2013 Gervis M, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and
source are credited.Despite improved legislation in most countries, child abuse in sport continues to exist but is a problem which is often under reported or ignored. In elite sport ‘suffering’ is not uncommon and hence sometimes child abuse is sometimes unrecognised, de-emphasised or easily dismissed as part of a collective experience that is perceived to be necessary to ‘create’ elite athletes. However, even swearing, anger, raised voices and negative comments directed at child athletes by coaches is considered abuse and can, when regular and routine, cause long term wellbeing and health issues. Self-harm can be a consequence and here self-harm in the form of trichotillomania, self hair-pulling, is reported for the first time as a secondary consequence of abuse. The 12 year old female gymnast, subject of this case study, presented with this impulse control disorder as defined by the American Psychiatric Association and was successfully treated using cognitive behavioural therapy. However, the training environment, including coach behaviour, did not change and so the gymnast remained at risk of recurrence of self-harm. Such environments in sport have many characteristics in common with and reminiscent of religious cults; sacrifice, isolation, shared obsession, a charismatic leader, and often in the presence of severe calorie restriction. As a consequence of ageing, growth, injury and an unchanging abusive environment, a year later the gymnast retired from the sport
xol-1 acts as an early switch in the C. elegans male/hermaphrodite decision
No full textResults demonstrated that xol-1 functions as an early developmental switch to set the choice of sexual fate and suggested that assessment of the X/A ratio occurs only early in embryogenesis to determine sex in Caenorhabditis elegans. Moreover, sdc-2, a gene that must be repressed by xol-1 to ensure male development, may be a direct target of negative regulation by xol-1..RE: 25 ref.; SC: BE; ZA; CA; PE; 0TSource type: Electronic(1) http://upei-resolver.asin-risa.ca?sid=SP:CABI&id=pmid:&id=&issn=0092-8674&isbn=&volume=80&issue=1&spage=71&pages=71-82&date=1995&title=Cell%20Cambridge&atitle=xol-1%20acts%20as%20an%20early%20switch%20in%20the%20C.%20elegans%20male%2fhermaphrodite%20decision.&aulast=Rhind&pid=%3Cauthor%3ERhind%2c%20N%20R%3bMiller%2c%20L%20M%3bKopczynski%2c%20J%20B%3bMeyer%2c%20B%20J%3C%2Fauthor%3E%3CAN%3E19952307436%3C%2FAN%3E%3CDT%3EJournal%20article%3C%2FDT%3
Cellular and hormonal disruption of fetal testis development in sheep reared on pasture treated with sewage sludge
No full textThe purpose of this study was to evaluate whether experimental exposure of pregnant sheep to a mixture of environmental chemicals added to pasture as sewage sludge (n = 9 treated animals) exerted effects on fetal testis development or function; application of sewage sludge was undertaken so as to maximize exposure of the ewes to its contents. Control ewes (n = 9) were reared on pasture treated with an equivalent amount of inorganic nitrogenous fertilizer. Treatment had no effect on body weight of ewes, but it reduced body weight by 12-15% in male (n = 12) and female (n = 8) fetuses on gestation day 110. In treated male fetuses (n = 11), testis weight was significantly reduced (32%), as were the numbers of Sertoli cells (34% reduction), Leydig cells (37% reduction), and gonocytes (44% reduction), compared with control fetuses (n = 8). Fetal blood levels of testosterone and inhibin A were also reduced (36% and 38%, respectively) in treated compared with control fetuses, whereas blood levels of luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone were unchanged. Based on immunoexpression of anti-Müllerian hormone, cytochrome P450 side chain cleavage enzyme, and Leydig cell cytoplasmic volume, we conclude that the hormone changes in treated male fetuses probably result from the reduction in somatic cell numbers. This reduction could result from fetal growth restriction in male fetuses and/or from the lowered testosterone action; reduced immunoexpression of alpha-smooth muscle actin in peritubular cells and of androgen receptor in testes of treated animals supports the latter possibility. These findings indicate that exposure of the developing male sheep fetus to real-world mixtures of environmental chemicals can result in major attenuation of testicular development and hormonal function, which may have consequences in adulthood
Anthropogenic pollutants – an insidious threat to animal health and productivity?
No full textSummary Humans have always polluted their environment and, to an extent, the associated adverse consequences have increased in parallel with the global population. However, in recent decades, entirely novel compounds have been created, for multiple purposes, and some of these have become ubiquitous, damaging pollutants, which interfere with fundamental physiological processes in all animal species, disrupting reproductive and other functions. Understanding of the actions of these chemicals is poor but it is recognised that they can act additively, at low concentrations, and that animals at early stages of development are particularly sensitive to their effects. All species, including domestic and wild animals and humans, can be affected. Thus, there are potential adverse implications of exposure for farm and companion animal productivity and health, and associated economic implications. While anthropogenic pollutants exert subtle, but important, adverse effects on animal health and productivity, these should be weighed against the benefits associated with the use of these compounds, particularly in relation to food production and short-term determinants of animal health. However, it is suggested that it may be necessary to regulate future production and use of some of these compounds in order to ensure long term sustainability of production systems.</p
Optimized determination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and polychlorinated biphenyls in sheep serum by solid-phase extraction–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry
No full textOrganisational culture and coach-athlete relationships: An ethnographic study of an elite rowing club
No full textThis thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This thesis explores how coach-athlete relationships are influenced within the organisational culture of a rowing club. Relational Cultural Theory and the work of Weber are used to examine how the concept of organisational culture informs understanding of coach and athlete relating. The study, covering a complete competitive season, involved an eleven month long ethnography of an elite rowing club in Great Britain. The findings demonstrate the visceral, enculturated and complex nature of coach-athlete relationships in elite sport. Relational disconnection occurred in the disenchanted organisational life, where intrinsic values were subordinated to a rational quest for efficiency, control and ultimately success, as well as traditional social ordering based on status and gender. Relationships were characterised by power over relating, distance and impersonal relations, caretaking rather than caring about, fragile trust by the athlete and trust through surveillance by the coach, where emotion was concealed and conflict avoided. However, enacting shared identities, the emotion involved in competing and the fact this was a voluntary organisation with competing values, provided an escape from simulacra of elite sport to allow for multi-value paradigm of interests. The opportunity for coaches and athletes to connect with each other based on their values and with emotion exposed their humanity and revealed the potential for relational mutuality and authenticity. The study challenges the valorised coaching and elite sport relationships and lifestyle. Implications for coaching include providing individuals with confidence to raise the issue of relationship, providing coaches and athletes with knowledge of connection and disconnection in relationship and the outcome on well-being. The need to develop a systemised approach to embedding growth-fostering relationships in the culture of high performance sport is highlighted.This study is funded by an Isambard Scholarship from Brunel University
Long-term exposure to chemicals in sewage sludge fertilizer alters liver lipid content in females and cancer marker expression in males
No full textThis work was supported by the SRF Academic Scholarship Award 2013 (to PAF, PJOS, PF), the Wellcome Trust (080388 to PAF, CC, SMR, RMS, NPE) and the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7 ⁄ 2007-2013 to PAF, SMR, CC) under grant agreement no 212885. The authors would like to thank Ms Margaret Fraser and the Proteomics Core Facility at the University of Aberdeen and Ms Carol E. Kyle and as Dr Stewart Rhind (deceased) at James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen, for their important contributions to this study. Supplementary material and research data are available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.01.003Peer reviewe
Prenatal and postnatal exposure to environmental pollutants in sewage sludge alters emotional reactivity and exploratory behaviour in sheep
No full textInternational audienceIn order to find out whether exposure to environmental pollutants (EP) present in sewage sludge can change the behaviour of sheep, we compared the behaviour of two groups of 5-month old lambs (Ovis aries) with respect to their emotional reactivity and exploratory behaviour. One group (treated, T) comprised the offspring of ewes who had been kept throughout their lives on pastures with slightly elevated, environmental levels of pollutants, as a result of the application of sewage sludge at rates used in normal practice. The other group (control, C) were the offspring of ewes whose pastures had been treated with inorganic fertiliser. During a 1-min period in the weigh crate, T lambs were less reactive than C lambs, but vocalised more. Exploratory behaviour showed a clear sex difference, with female C lambs exploring more than male C lambs. However, this difference was not found in the T lambs, where both males and females showed high levels of exploration. This points to a demasculinising effect of exposure to higher pollutant concentrations with respect to exploratory behaviour. These observations demonstrate the need to take account of the effects of combinations of pollutants, even at very low, environmental concentrations, and further highlight the usefulness of ethotoxicology for the study of biological effects of environmental pollutants
Simultaneous extraction and clean-up of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and polychlorinated biphenyls from sheep liver tissue by selective pressurized liquid extraction and analysis by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry
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