What horses and humans see: a comparative review

Adaptations of the mammalian eye have tailored each to its own particular ecological niche. On the one hand, it would appear that the horse is best served by a system that can keep "half an eye" on everything, while the human benefits from focussing on more specific aspects of the visual array. By adapting a range of techniques, originally used to assess human visual ability, it has been possible to compare the human visual experience with that of the horse. In general, the results of the majority of these comparative studies indicate that the visual capabilities of the horse are broadly inferior to the human equivalents in acuity, accommodation, and colour vision. However, both the horse and human abilities to judge distance and depth perception may be quite comparable while equine vision is certainly superior to that of human's under scotopic conditions. Individual variation in visual ability, which is routinely taken for granted in humans, is also likely to occur in the horse. Such variation would undoubtedly affect equine performance, particularly in terms of expectation of athletic competitive outcomes in modern equitation

Effects of husbandry and low-dose lipopolysaccharide challenge on the acute phase response of young pigs

End of project reportIn recent years, concern has grown for the welfare of domesticated animals in different production systems (Appleby and Hughes, 1997). Poor welfare can result in poor performance and productivity. However, the consumers are also requesting more welfare-friendly systems, as reflected by the importance that ‘organic’ and ‘free-range’ products have gained in our markets. Furthermore, there are ethical reasons for safeguarding the welfare of animals in our care. Thus, it is scientists’ task to be able to develop methods and techniques that can help to assess the welfare objectively. Traditionally, welfare assessment relied on the study of behaviour and the measurement of endocrine parameters. Acute phase response mediators and products, such as pro-inflammatory cytokines and acute phase proteins, emerged recently as potential indicators of infection and herd health status (Eckersall, 2000; Petersen et al., 2004). Thus, investigating the effects of husbandry and low-dose lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge on the acute phase response of young pigs can give valuable information on the use of these immune parameters as health and welfare indicators in pigs.Teagasc acknowledges the support of National Development Programme Funds (NDP) in the financing of this research projec

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The select committees of the 24th Oireachtas

As a single issue, parliamentary reform has never been given priority in the Oireachtas and in the past, reform initiatives have been sporadic, minor and less than effective. Backbench TDs are prone to lament their status, which many perceive as being weak and inapproriate for tasks of scrutiny or decision-making. Ostensibly in answer to pleas for reform, a disparate assortment of ad hoc select committees was set up in 1983. Chapter One describes the backround to the new committees and traces the factors which conditioned their structure and remit. Chapters Two and Three examine the activities of two select committees, their composition of membership, their structure and work methods and summarise a select sample of their reports. These chapters also endeavour to assess the achievements of the Dail Committee on Public Expenditure and the Joint Committee on State-Sponsored Bodies and suggest minor alterations which might improve their method of scrutiny and its effectiveness. Chapter Four provides a brief overview of other select committees meeting during the 24th Oireachtas. A short presentation on media coverage of select committees is also included. The objectives of parliamentary reform are multiple and confused. So too were the expectations set for the new Oireachtas committees. This was obvious from the fractious consultations which determined their structure, the scope of their remit and their composition of membership. In concluding this review, the effects of select committees on the Oireachtas are measured against the original expectations set for their work. Finally, the overall performance of select committees as tools of parliamentary reform is discussed in relation to the political climate which governs their existence

Branding Ireland : an examination of the construction of Ireland’s national brand

The Republic of Ireland has advanced the same branding proposition in its tourism campaigns for decades, relying on images that depict idyllic scenery and messaging designed to appeal to those who seek an escape from the complexity of the modern world (Fanning, 2011). Such images have contributed to the formation of Ireland’s national brand. The literature demonstrates that national images are the foundation for national brands and most of these images are saturated in stereotypes, many of which are outdated and distorted. In today’s global economic environment, nations must be very conscious of the image they project to the world, because this has direct implications for a nation’s economic success. The objective of this research is to analyze how images of Ireland as a destination for tourism construct a national brand of Ireland. This study is guided by the following question: how does Tourism Ireland brand Ireland to a U.S. audience? The study found that Tourism Ireland reinforces stereotypical depictions of Ireland in its current campaigns by portraying Ireland as an escape from the modern world and by commodifying the past

Contract farming risks: A quantitative assessment

The objective of this study is to identify the key risks facing each of the stakeholders in the export-focused paprika value chain in Zambia. Although a deterministic cost-benefit analysis indicated that this outgrower scheme would have a very satisfactory net present value (NPV), a Monte Carlo analysis using an integrated financial–economic–stakeholder model identifies a number of risk variables that could make this system unsustainable. The major risks include the variability of the real exchange rate in Zambia; the international price of paprika; and the farm yield rates. This analysis points out that irrigation systems are very important for both stabilising and increasing yields. The analysis also shows the limitations of loan financing for such outgrower arrangements when at the sector level it is difficult or even impossible to mitigate the risks from real exchange rate movements and changes in international commodity prices. This micro-level analysis shows how critical real exchange rate management policies are in achieving sustainability of such export-oriented value chains

Development of PET Tracers of Glutamine Metabolism

The labeling of amino acids with positron-emitting radionuclides (such as fluorine-18) has been a widely used approach for the imaging of tumors as it often provides higher diagnostic accuracy than what is observed with [18F]FDG. In particular, PET tracers of glutamine metabolism have garnered significant attention in recent years. O-(2-[18F]fluoroethyl-L-tyrosine (18F-FET) is a promising PET tracer in this regard and is currently under investigation at Indiana University (IU) through an expanded access IND for patients with brain malignancies. Clinical production of 18F-FET at IU previously required the use of HPLC for purification, following the reaction of fluorine-18 with the precursor molecule for FET. While this method has been successful in removing undesirable impurities and byproducts, HPLC significantly increases synthesis time and is a common failure point in the synthesis of FET on our current radiochemistry module. To address this issue, we aimed to deploy a solid-phase-extraction (SPE) method for the purification of FET, thereby eliminating the need for HPLC purification. Several methods for the SPE purification of FET have been previously reported; however, none of these strategies afforded pure [18F]FET on our synthesis module, thus development of new methods was required. While several tracers capable of measuring different aspects of glutamine metabolism have been evaluated in both preclinical and clinical studies, there are metabolic liabilities that limit their utility and complicate data analysis. [18F]-4F-glutamine is one such tracer that has shown promise but has limitations due to undesirable metabolism in vivo. Herein we report our progress towards an improved synthesis of [18F]FET for ongoing clinical studies as well as our progress towards the development of a novel tracer that would address metabolic liabilities associated with currently available PET tracers of glutamine metabolism

Effect of using internal teat sealant with or without antibiotic therapy at dry-off on subsequent somatic cell count and milk production

peer-reviewedThe objective of this study was to assess the effect of treating cows with teat sealant only compared with antibiotic plus teat sealant at drying off on weekly somatic cell count, potential intramammary infection, and milk production across the entire subsequent lactation. In 3 research herds in the south of Ireland, cows with SCC that did not exceed 200,000 cells/mL in the previous lactation (LowSCC) were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatments at drying off: internal teat sealant alone (ITS) or antibiotic plus teat sealant (AB+ITS). Cows with SCC that exceeded 200,000 cells/mL in the previous lactation were treated with AB+ITS and included in the analyses as a separate group (HighSCC). Weekly individual animal composite SCC records were available for 654 cow lactations and were transformed to somatic cell scores (SCS) for the purpose of analysis. Data were divided into 3 data sets to represent records obtained (1) up to 35 DIM, (2) up to 120 DIM, and (3) across the lactation. Foremilk secretions were taken from all quarters at drying off, at calving, 2 wk after calving, and in mid-lactation and were cultured to detect the presence of bacteria. The LowSCC cows treated with ITS alone had higher daily milk yield (0.67 kg/d) across lactation compared with LowSCC cows treated with AB+ITS. The LowSCC cows treated with ITS alone had higher SCS in early, up to mid, and across lactation compared with LowSCC cows treated with AB+ITS. We detected no difference in weekly SCS of LowSCC cows treated with ITS alone and SCS of HighSCC cows. The least squares means back-transformed SCC across lactation of the LowSCC cows treated with ITS alone, LowSCC cows treated with AB+ITS, and HighSCC cows were 41,523, 34,001, and 38,939 cells/mL respectively. The odds of LowSCC cows treated with ITS alone having bacteria present in their foremilk across lactation was 2.7 (95% confidence interval: 1.91 to 3.85) and 1.6 (1.22 to 2.03) times the odds of LowSCC cows treated with AB+ITS and of HighSCC cows treated with AB+ITS, respectively. In this study, Staphylococcus aureus was the most prevalent pathogen isolated from the population. Recategorizing the threshold for LowSCC cows as ≤150,000 cells/mL or ≤100,000 cells/mL in the previous lactation had no effect on the results. The results indicate that herds with good mastitis control programs may use ITS alone at dry-off in cows with SCC <200,000 cells/mL across lactation with only a small effect on herd SCC

Effect of using internal teat sealant with or without antibiotic therapy at dry-off on subsequent somatic cell count and milk production

peer-reviewedThe objective of this study was to assess the effect of treating cows with teat sealant only compared with antibiotic plus teat sealant at drying off on weekly somatic cell count, potential intramammary infection, and milk production across the entire subsequent lactation. In 3 research herds in the south of Ireland, cows with SCC that did not exceed 200,000 cells/mL in the previous lactation (LowSCC) were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatments at drying off: internal teat sealant alone (ITS) or antibiotic plus teat sealant (AB+ITS). Cows with SCC that exceeded 200,000 cells/mL in the previous lactation were treated with AB+ITS and included in the analyses as a separate group (HighSCC). Weekly individual animal composite SCC records were available for 654 cow lactations and were transformed to somatic cell scores (SCS) for the purpose of analysis. Data were divided into 3 data sets to represent records obtained (1) up to 35 DIM, (2) up to 120 DIM, and (3) across the lactation. Foremilk secretions were taken from all quarters at drying off, at calving, 2 wk after calving, and in mid-lactation and were cultured to detect the presence of bacteria. The LowSCC cows treated with ITS alone had higher daily milk yield (0.67 kg/d) across lactation compared with LowSCC cows treated with AB+ITS. The LowSCC cows treated with ITS alone had higher SCS in early, up to mid, and across lactation compared with LowSCC cows treated with AB+ITS. We detected no difference in weekly SCS of LowSCC cows treated with ITS alone and SCS of HighSCC cows. The least squares means back-transformed SCC across lactation of the LowSCC cows treated with ITS alone, LowSCC cows treated with AB+ITS, and HighSCC cows were 41,523, 34,001, and 38,939 cells/mL respectively. The odds of LowSCC cows treated with ITS alone having bacteria present in their foremilk across lactation was 2.7 (95% confidence interval: 1.91 to 3.85) and 1.6 (1.22 to 2.03) times the odds of LowSCC cows treated with AB+ITS and of HighSCC cows treated with AB+ITS, respectively. In this study, Staphylococcus aureus was the most prevalent pathogen isolated from the population. Recategorizing the threshold for LowSCC cows as ≤150,000 cells/mL or ≤100,000 cells/mL in the previous lactation had no effect on the results. The results indicate that herds with good mastitis control programs may use ITS alone at dry-off in cows with SCC <200,000 cells/mL across lactation with only a small effect on herd SCC