An investigation into the effectiveness of compressed straw blocks in reducing abnormal behaviour in growing pigs.

The provision of manipulable material to pigs is a legal requirement to ensure their good welfare. Loose straw is edible, chewable, investigable and manipulable, and has been proven to be effective in reducing abnormal behaviour. However, it is incompatible with slatted systems and therefore not a viable option for many intensive units. Thus, there is a need to identify enrichment materials that are as effective as loose straw and compatible with slatted floors. This study investigated the viability of using compressed straw blocks on a commercial farm in terms of cost and effectiveness in reducing biting relative to plastic hanging toys. A total of 880 slaughter pigs were used, among which half (n = 440, 8 groups) were provided with commercial pig toys (TOY) and the other half (n = 440, 8 groups) were provided compressed straw blocks (STRAW BLOCK). Animals were separated according to sex to investigate whether there was a higher propensity to tail and ear bite depending on sex. Pigs were monitored from weaning to slaughter, with tails being examined post scalding and any condemnations recorded at the abattoir. Throughout their life, the tails and ears of all pigs were examined individually, and behavioural observations of each pig group were conducted fortnightly. Salivary cortisol was also obtained from a subsample of pigs from each group every fortnight to monitor stress levels. The highest straw usage was recorded in the second weaner stage (39 to 67 days after weaning). Enrichment type or sex had no effect on tail lesion scores or cold carcass weight recorded at the abattoir. There was also no effect of enrichment type or sex on body, tail, or ear lesion scores during either the weaner (0 to 39 days after weaning) or finisher stage (67 to145 days after weaning). Female pigs showed more biting behaviour than males, and female pigs that were provided STRAW BLOCK performed better than those provided TOY. In both the weaner and finisher accommodation, more instances of interaction were recorded with TOY pens as enrichment than with STRAW BLOCK, but the interaction duration was not recorded. There was no effect of sex on either stage. More instances of aggression were observed with the TOY than with STRAW BLOCK in the weaner stage (P < 0.05). Enrichment type or sex had no effect on cortisol levels. Thus, relative to plastic hanging toys, compressed straw blocks provided in this manner did not benefit pig welfare.

Pollination of greenhouse tomatoes by the Australian bluebanded bee Amegilla (Zonamegilla) holmesi (Hymenoptera: Apidae).

The pollination effectiveness of bluebanded bees of the species Amegilla (Zonamegilla) holmesi Rayment (Hymenoptera: Apidae) was evaluated in tomato plants, Lycopersicon esculentum Miller (Solanaceae), cultivated in two greenhouse chambers. Bluebanded bee pollination was compared with mechanical pollination and no supplementary pollination. Pollination effectiveness was compared between treatments by using the percentage of fruit set, fruit weight, fruit diameter, fruit roundness, and the number of seeds per fruit. Both the bluebanded bee pollination and the mechanical pollination treatments significantly increased fruit set, individual fruit weight, and diameter compared with the control treatment. Fruit were also significantly rounder and contained significantly more seeds. Positive correlations were found for fruit weight versus seed number, maximum diameter versus seed number and minimum diameter versus seed number. We conclude that the use of A. holmesi for pollinating greenhouse tomatoes in Australia may be an effective alternative to the use of mechanical pollination.

Vacuolar H(+)-ATPase is expressed in response to gibberellin during tomato seed germination.

Completion of germination (radicle emergence) by gibberellin (GA)-deficient (gib-1) mutant tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) seeds is dependent upon exogenous GA, because weakening of the endosperm tissue enclosing the radicle tip requires GA. To investigate genes that may be involved in endosperm weakening or embryo growth, differential cDNA display was used to identify mRNAs differentially expressed in gib-1 seeds imbibed in the presence or absence of GA(4+7). Among these was a GA-responsive mRNA encoding the 16-kD hydrophobic subunit c of the V(0) membrane sector of vacuolar H(+)-translocating ATPases (V-ATPase), which we termed LVA-P1. LVA-P1 mRNA expression in gib-1 seeds was dependent on GA and was particularly abundant in the micropylar region prior to radicle emergence. Both GA dependence and tissue localization of LVA-P1 mRNA expression were confirmed directly in individual gib-1 seeds using tissue printing. LVA-P1 mRNA was also expressed in wild-type seeds during development and germination, independent of exogenous GA. Specific antisera detected protein subunits A and B of the cytoplasmic V(1) sector of the V-ATPase holoenzyme complex in gib-1 seeds only in the presence of GA, and expression was localized to the micropylar region. The results suggest that V-ATPase plays a role in GA-regulated germination of tomato seeds.

Sex differences in beliefs about aggression: opponent's sex and the form of aggression.

Previous studies show that men endorse instrumental beliefs about aggression to a greater extent than women, whereas women endorse expressive beliefs to a greater extent than men. However, men and women indicate that they have different opponents in mind when thinking about aggression, and existing measures may emphasize physical forms of aggression. Therefore, beliefs about aggression were examined when the type of aggression (physical or verbal) and the sex of the opponent (same sex or opposite-sex partner) were specified, among a sample of 200 students. Expressive beliefs were higher and instrumental beliefs lower for an opposite-sex partner and for physical aggression. The characteristic sex difference applied across all manipulations for expressive beliefs, but not for instrumental ones: men showed higher scores than women only for same-sex physical aggression. Higher instrumental (but not lower expressive) scores were also found among those who based their responses on real rather than hypothetical events. The sex difference in instrumental beliefs for same-sex physical aggression was largely confined to respondents using a hypothetical event. As in previous studies, instrumental and expressive beliefs were relatively independent of one another. The position that the beliefs represent rhetorical devices is assessed in the light of these findings.

Do beliefs about aggressive feelings and actions predict reported levels of aggression?

In Study 1, a 40-item questionnaire measuring instrumental and expressive beliefs about aggression, along a five-point scale, was developed. It was based on a 20-item questionnaire (Campbell, Muncer & Coyle, 1992) where the two alternatives were forced choices for each item. In the present study the two sets of beliefs were only moderately correlated (-.35), and their separation into 20-item scales showed a clearer factor structure than combining all 40 items. Men showed higher instrumental scores whereas women showed higher expressive scores: factor analysis revealed one major factor in each case on which items showing the highest sex differences were concentrated. In Study 2 the questionnaire was used on another sample to assess the association between these beliefs and self-reported physical and verbal aggression, and anger. Instrumental beliefs were found to be highly correlated with physical aggression, and to a lesser extent verbal aggression. In this study, sex differences were similar to Study 1, but were complicated by the finding of stronger instrumental beliefs at younger ages for both sexes. In both studies, when filling out the questionnaire, women were equally likely to think of an aggressive episode with a same-sex opponent as with an opposite-sex partner whereas men nearly always thought of an aggressive episode with a same-sex opponent. However, neither instrumental nor expressive scores were affected by whether female respondents were thinking of a partner or same-sex other.

Clinical protocols herald new era of nursing documentation.

Documenting care tends to be a time-consuming process and information is often replicated. This paper describes how documentation was changed in one acute hospital trust to reflect UKCC guidelines and for use by all disciplines. Evaluation suggests that less time is spent writing records and that those records are more complete.

Effect of vagotomy and vagal cooling on bronchoconstrictor response to substance P in sheep.

The bronchoconstrictor effect of intravenous substance P can be antagonised by atropine pre-treatment in several species, and we have previously reported this finding in anaesthetised sheep. In the present study, we have assessed the effect of cooling the right vagus after sectioning the left vagus (n = 6), and bilateral vagotomy (n = 7) on the bronchoconstrictor response to a single intravenous dose of substance P (SP) (0.3-1.0 mumol/kg) in anaesthetized female sheep aged 6 to 12 months. Respiratory parameters including tidal volume, flow and transpulmonary pressure pressure were measured, from which pulmonary resistance (RL; cmH2O.1(-1).s) and dynamic compliance (CDyn; ml.cmH2O(-1) were calculated. Systemic arterial pressures were also measured. Vagal cooling significantly attenuated the bronchoconstrictor response to SP at 7 degrees C (RL P < 0.01; Cdyn P < 0.001). A further reduction in the response to SP occurred at 3 degrees C, but this was not statistically significantly different from the response at 7 degrees C. Vagotomy abolished the response to SP. SP caused mild, but statistically insignificant, hypotension (119.7 vs. 107.7 mmHg). These results suggest SP causes bronchoconstriction in the anaesthetised sheep by vagal reflex mechanisms, involving stimulation of myelinated nerve fibre endings.

High acceptability and low morbidity of diagnostic lumbar puncture in elderly subjects of mixed cognitive status.

A total of 273 participants (186 with clinical dementia; 87 "normal" controls; mean age 72 years) in a prospective, longitudinal, dementia research study, underwent lumbar puncture (LP), where possible, on an annual basis. Reporting of symptoms after all LP's (n = 541) was 21.6%, the predominant complaints being mild localised back-pain (12.8%) and headache (10.7%). All symptoms were self-limiting. Analysis of headaches after all first LP's (n = 273) revealed an incidence of 14.2% with marked differences between subjects under 60 years of age (33%) and those over 60 years (10.1%), between subjects with "minimal" cerebral atrophy (19.5%) and those with "significant" atrophy (5.6%) and, to a lesser extent, between subjects with no or mild cognitive impairment (20.6%) and those with significant impairment (9.5%). Age under 60 years and lack of significant cerebral atrophy were shown to be independent predictors of headache. Acceptability of LP was high as demonstrated by agreement to a second procedure by 92.2% of eligible subjects. Our results show that LP can be successfully incorporated into research with the elderly.

Fused pyrazine mono-N-oxides as bioreductive drugs. III. Characterization of RB 90740 in vitro and in vivo.

RB 90740 is the lead compound in a series of aromatic mono-N-oxide bioreductive drugs. The compound shows considerably greater toxicity towards hypoxic verses aerobic mammalian cells in vitro. The differential in concentration required to give the same level of cell killing under these conditions ranges from 3.5 in a human bronchio-alveolar tumor cell line up to 120 in a rodent cell line defective in the repair of DNA strand breaks. The ability of RB 90740 to cause DNA strand breaks under hypoxic conditions was confirmed by alkaline sucrose gradient and pulsed field gel electrophoresis techniques. Despite these properties demonstrated in vitro, RB 90740 was shown not to be cytotoxic to hypoxic cells in experimental murine tumors in vivo. This may be due, in part, to the level of hypoxia (< 0.02% O2) necessary to produce toxicity in vitro.

Laparoscopic nephrectomy results in better postoperative pulmonary function.

The pulmonary response to nephrectomy was studied in 16 patients undergoing laparoscopic (n = 8) or open (n = 8) nephrectomy using a standardized anesthetic technique. Although there was no significant difference between the two groups at 24 hours, postoperative pulmonary function measures (P = 0.02-0.03) and oxygenation (P = 0.03) were significantly better in the laparoscopic surgery group at 48 hours. The median opiate analgesic requirement (P = 0.02) and the number of nights spent in the hospital (P = 0.003) also were significantly lower in this group. The results of this study suggest that laparoscopic nephrectomy offers a real biological advantage in terms of postoperative preservation of lung function and that this might therefore be the safest technique for nephrectomy in patients with limited respiratory reserves.

Factors affecting sensitivity to EO9 in rodent and human tumour cells in vitro: DT-diaphorase activity and hypoxia.

Twenty-three human tumour cell lines (lung, breast, and colon) and eight rodent cell lines were evaluated for their sensitivity to the quinone-based anticancer drug EO9 [3-hydroxymethyl-5-aziridinyl-1-methyl-2-(1H indole-4,7-dione)prop-beta-en-alpha-o1]. Sensitivity was compared with the intracellular levels of DT-diaphorase, and cell lines showing highest enzyme activity tended to be the most sensitive to EO9. The role of DT-diaphorase in determining drug sensitivity was confirmed by using the enzyme inhibitor dicoumarol, which protects cells containing high levels of DT-diaphorase from the cytotoxic action of EO9. Hypoxia increased the cytotoxicity of cells containing low but not high levels of DT-diaphorase, implying that both 1- and 2-electron reductive activation processes can be important for expression of EO9 toxicity. It is concluded that EO9 is a potentially useful agent in the enzyme directed approach to the use of bioreductive drugs in cancer therapy.

Age-related respiratory responses to substance P in normal sheep.

The in vivo effects of substance P (SP) on respiratory parameters in four different age groups of sheep were examined. Intravenous SP (10(-8) to 5 x 10(-6) mol kg-1 bodyweight) caused a dose-dependent reduction in dynamic compliance and increase in respiratory resistance in all four groups. The bronchoconstrictor response was age-related, with the greatest response occurring in the youngest age group (four to six months). In the oldest group (over four years) there was minimal bronchomotor response to SP, but a dose-dependent apnoea was present. These findings indicate that there is an age-related alteration in the respiratory response to SP in sheep.