How do different members of the on-farm mobility team perceive lameness, and what factors influence their NSAID use?

BACKGROUND: Lameness affects approximately one-third of the national dairy herd, impacting welfare and production. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the main analgesic available, but use is variable. The aims of this study were to describe how members of the mobility team perceive pain and use NSAIDs for conditions causing lameness in dairy cows. METHODS: A questionnaire was distributed online to UK farmers, veterinarians, veterinary technicians (VTs) and foot trimmers (FTs). Respondents were asked to describe factors affecting their NSAID use and to score pain associated with 16 scenarios, including diagnoses, conditions and procedures associated with lameness in cows. RESULTS: Of 210 respondents, 81 (38.6%) were farmers, 80 (38.1%) were veterinarians, 34 (16.2%) were FTs and 15 (7.1%) were VTs. For most conditions, farmers scored pain lower than veterinarians and VTs and were less likely to use or recommend NSAIDs than veterinarians, VTs and FTs. Farmers rated cow comfort as more important (p < 0.001) and the cost of drugs as less important (p < 0.001) in using NSAIDs than veterinarians predicted. LIMITATIONS: There were fewer VTs and FTs than farmers and veterinarians, limiting generalisation. Response and social acceptability biases may have affected the findings. CONCLUSION: All members of the mobility team have different perceptions and areas of expertise around lameness. Increasing collaboration and harnessing of skills and knowledge within the team could improve detection and treatment of lameness, with consequent benefits to cow welfare and production.

'We need to engage with rather than alienate those who criticise the farming industry'.

Emily Craven argues that, when considering the vegan debate, farm animal practitioners should seek to understand and work with those who criticise the industry to drive improvements in farming standards, rather than alienate and dismiss them.

Radiation Process Control: Product Dose vs. Process Dose.

The requirements for the irradiation of healthcare products have been well established and implemented across the globe for several decades. The ISO 11137 series of standards gives the user the road map for designing a radiation process that will routinely deliver the required sterility assurance level so that product consistently meets specifications. The latest addition to the ISO 11137 series of standards should provide much-needed guidance around establishing a highly reproducible process based on a statistical analysis of the validated state of control. Most industries refer to this as "process control."

First Passaggio Transition Gestures in Classically Trained Female Singers.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: The purpose of this project was to determine the spectral and electroglottograph (EGG) differences exhibited by classically trained female singers when singing through their primo passaggio. The hypotheses were that the singers would exhibit relatively steady EGG levels and minimal changes in speech spectra when singing through their primo passaggio. It also was hypothesized that EGG and spectral measurements at the crest and trough of the vibrato cycles would be similar to each other. STUDY DESIGN: The study is an observational case-control study. METHODS: Singers at training levels from undergraduate university students through professionals sang an A3-A4 scale using an /ɑ:/ vowel while standing. Contact quotient (CQEGG), amplitudes of the first five harmonics (H1-H5), and the number of the harmonics with greatest energy in the frequency region around 3000 Hz were measured at vibrato crests and troughs for each note. RESULTS: The data at the vibrato crests and troughs exhibited similar patterns across the notes that differed in the percentage CQEGG and harmonic amplitude. The mean CQEGG exhibited a slight decline from the lowest note to the highest, with a few of the singers exhibiting different patterns. The strongest harmonic for the four lowest notes was H3 with a transition to H2 being strongest for the four highest notes. CONCLUSIONS: The patterns of all the singers' averaged glottal and vocal tract adjustments through their primo passaggio generally followed what was hypothesized for the CQEGG, harmonic amplitudes, and harmonic of the frequency region around 3000 Hz. However, differences occurred between the measurements at the vibrato peaks and troughs.

Gamma sterilization of pharmaceuticals--a review of the irradiation of excipients, active pharmaceutical ingredients, and final drug product formulations.

Sterilization by gamma irradiation has shown a strong applicability for a wide range of pharmaceutical products. Due to the requirement for terminal sterilization where possible in the pharmaceutical industry, gamma sterilization has proven itself to be an effective method as indicated by its acceptance in the European Pharmacopeia and the United States Pharmacopeia ( ). Some of the advantages of gamma over competitive procedures include high penetration power, isothermal character (small temperature rise), and no residues. It also provides a better assurance of product sterility than aseptic processing, as well as lower validation demands. Gamma irradiation is capable of killing microorganisms by breaking their chemical bonds, producing free radicals that attack the nucleic acid of the microorganism. Sterility by gamma irradiation is achieved mainly by the alteration of nucleic acid and preventing the cellular division. This review focuses on the extensive application of gamma sterilization to a wide range of pharmaceutical components including active pharmaceutical ingredients, excipients, final drug products, and combination drug-medical devices. A summary of the published literature for each class of pharmaceutical compound or product is presented. The irradiation conditions and various quality control characterization methodologies that were used to determine final product quality are included, in addition to a summary of the investigational outcomes. Based on this extensive literature review and in combination with regulatory guidelines and other published best practices, a decision tree for implementation of gamma irradiation for pharmaceutical products is established. This flow chart further facilitates the implementation of gamma irradiation in the pharmaceutical development process. The summary therefore provides a useful reference to the application and versatility of gamma irradiation for pharmaceutical sterilization. LAY ABSTRACT: Many pharmaceutical products require sterilization to ensure their safe and effective use. Sterility is therefore a critical quality attribute and is essential for direct injection products. Due to the requirement for terminal sterilization, where possible in the pharmaceutical industry sterilization by gamma irradiation has been commonly used as an effective method to sterilize pharmaceutical products as indicated by its acceptance in the European Pharmacopeia. Gamma sterilization is a very attractive terminal sterilization method in view of its ability to attain 10(-6) probability of microbial survival without excessive heating of the product or exposure to toxic chemicals. However, radiation compatibility of a product is one of the first aspects to evaluate when considering gamma sterilization. Gamma radiation consists of high-energy photons that result in the generation of free radicals and the subsequent ionization of chemical bonds, leading to cleavage of DNA in microorganisms and their subsequent inactivation. This can result in a loss of active pharmaceutical ingredient potency, the creation of radiolysis by-products, a reduction of the molecular weight of polymer excipients, and influence drug release from the final product. There are several strategies for mitigating degradation effects, including optimization of the irradiation dose and conditions. This review will serve to highlight the extensive application of gamma sterilization to a broad spectrum of pharmaceutical components including active pharmaceutical ingredients, excipients, final drug products, and combination drug-medical devices.

Incidence and characterisation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from nasal colonisation in participants attending a cattle veterinary conference in the UK.

We sought to determine the prevalence of nasal colonisation with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among cattle veterinarians in the UK. There was particular interest in examining the frequency of colonisation with MRSA harbouring mecC, as strains with this mecA homologue were originally identified in bovine milk and may represent a zoonotic risk to those in contact with dairy livestock. Three hundred and seven delegates at the British Cattle Veterinarian Association (BCVA) Congress 2011 in Southport, UK were screening for nasal colonisation with MRSA. Isolates were characterised by whole genome sequencing and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Eight out of three hundred and seven delegates (2.6%) were positive for nasal colonisation with MRSA. All strains were positive for mecA and none possessed mecC. The time since a delegate's last visit to a farm was significantly shorter in the MRSA-positive group than in MRSA-negative counterparts. BCVA delegates have an increased risk of MRSA colonisation compared to the general population but their frequency of colonisation is lower than that reported from other types of veterinarian conference, and from that seen in human healthcare workers. The results indicate that recent visitation to a farm is a risk factor for MRSA colonisation and that mecC-MRSA are rare among BCVA delegates (<1% based on sample size). Contact with livestock, including dairy cattle, may still be a risk factor for human colonisation with mecC-MRSA but occurs at a rate below the lower limit of detection available in this study.