The influence of breed and mh-genotype on carcass conformation, meat physico-chemical characteristics, and the fatty acid profile of muscle from yearling bulls

The influence of breed and mh-genotype on carcass conformation, meat physico-chemical characteristics and the fatty acid profile of muscle were studied. Samples from 16 yearling bulls from “Asturiana de los Valles” (AV, n = 12) and “Asturiana de la Montaña” (AM, n = 4) were collected. AV animals were classified into three groups according to the presence of the gene causing double-muscling (AV double-muscled (mh/mh), n = 4; AV heterozygous (mh/+), n = 4; AV normal (+/+), n = 4). Double-muscled animals displayed better carcass traits, lower total fat (comprised of subcutaneous (SC), intermuscular (IT) and intramuscular (IM) deposits), higher lean, moisture and drip loss, and lighter meat than AV normal animals. Heterozygous animals showed intermediate characteristics. AM animals, being a more rustic and smaller breed, showed lower conformation, higher total fat (SC, IT and IM), lower moisture and darker meat. According to the intramuscular fatty acid profile, mh/mh animals showed a lower proportion of SFA and MUFA, and a higher proportion of PUFA with an equal proportion of CLA in total fatty acid content. The P/S ratio increased with increasing number of mh alleles (or double-muscling character), while no differences between animal groups were found for the n − 6/n − 3 ratio

Enhancement of the Nutritional Value and Eating Quality of Beef

End of Project ReportThis project was supported by the European Commission (Healthy Beef, QLRT-CT-2000-31423).Consumer interest in the nutritional aspects of health has increased interest in developing methods to manipulate the fatty acid composition of ruminant products. Ruminant meats such as beef and lamb are often criticised by nutritionists for having high amounts of saturated fatty acids (S) and low polyunsaturated fatty acids (P).The P:S ratio in beef is approximately 0.1, the ideal being about 0.4. This project is part of a larger EU-supported project entitled Healthy Beef (Enhancing the content of beneficial fatty acids in beef and improving meat quality for the consumer: QLRT-CT-2000-31423). The Teagasc contribution, which was a collaboration between Grange Research Centre and The National Food Centre, focussed on nutritional manipulation of beef cattle. In particular, on exploiting grazing and fishoil as tools to enhance the concentration of “healthy” fatty acids in beef. The conclusions were: • The beneficial effect of a grazed grass-based diet on the fatty acid composition of beef was confirmed • The scale of this beneficial effect is strongly dependent on the duration of grazing • The optimum concentration of beneficial fatty acids was not achieved suggesting that feeding management prior to grazing is important • Grazing influenced beef colour and drip-loss in a durationdependent manner • Animals finished off grass for 40 or 98 days produced meat that was tougher than that from animals finished on silage and concentrates or fed grass for the last 158 days. • Fish oil supplementation enhanced the concentration in beef, of fatty acids that are beneficial to human health • The linear response to increasing level of fish oil consumption indicates scope to further enhance the concentrations of beneficial fatty acids in beef Wilting of grass prior to ensiling did not impact negatively on the overall content of n-3P in muscle, but it increased the concentration of conjugated linoleic acid • Dietary inclusion of fish oil or wilting of grass prior to ensiling did not affect muscle appearance • Fish oil seemed to increase tenderness but only at the high level of inclusion. This merits further study • There was some evidence that wilting of grass prior to ensiling enhanced meat tenderness. This needs to be confirmed.European Unio

Phaeoviral infections are present in macrocystis, ecklonia and undaria (laminariales) and are influenced by wave exposure in ectocarpales

Two sister orders of the brown macroalgae (class Phaeophyceae), the morphologically complex Laminariales (commonly referred to as kelp) and the morphologically simple Ectocarpales are natural hosts for the dsDNA phaeoviruses (family ) that persist as proviruses in the genomes of their hosts. We have previously shown that the major capsid protein (MCP) and DNA polymerase concatenated gene phylogeny splits phaeoviruses into two subgroups, A and B (both infecting Ectocarpales), while MCP-based phylogeny suggests that the kelp phaeoviruses form a distinct third subgroup C. Here we used MCP to better understand the host range of phaeoviruses by screening a further 96 and 909 samples representing 11 and 3 species of kelp and Ectocarpales, respectively. Sporophyte kelp samples were collected from their various natural coastal habitats spanning five continents: Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and South America. Our phylogenetic analyses showed that while most of the kelp phaeoviruses, including one from , belonged to the previously designated subgroup C, new lineages of in 3 kelp species, , , , grouped instead with subgroup A. In addition, we observed a prevalence of 26% and 63% in kelp and Ectocarpales, respectively. Although not common, multiple phaeoviral infections per individual were observed, with the Ectocarpales having both intra- and inter-subgroup phaeoviral infections. Only intra-subgroup phaeoviral infections were observed in kelp. Furthermore, prevalence of phaeoviral infections within the Ectocarpales is also linked to their exposure to waves. We conclude that phaeoviral infection is a widely occurring phenomenon in both lineages, and that phaeoviruses have diversified with their hosts at least since the divergence of the Laminariales and Ectocarpales

Fixing development: breakdown, repair and disposal in Kenya's off-grid solar market

The development project is a repair project. Schemes and initiatives to improve the human condition are borne from the belief that there is something broken in the status quo that we must fix. Small solar-powered products are one such fix. Portable lanterns and multilight home systems are being distributed across sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in rural areas, as part of efforts to reach universal energy access - a long-standing challenge of development. Yet these products themselves, like all things, break down. This thesis follows off-grid solar products in Kenya from moments of breakdown through sites of use, repair and disposal. The first half of the thesis looks at the historical development of the technology and the market that has grown up with and around it. Assemblage thinking shows that breakdown is more than a material process but is shaped by wider influences such as business and product design as well. The second half of the thesis describes what happens to the broken down solar product as it moves and is moved through Kenya. Despite differences in appearance and process in three different settings – the home, the repair clinic and the company - the thesis finds consistencies in people’s responses to breakdown. These consistencies appear as a form of bricolage as people draw on previous experience and make use of resources at-hand to reach an acceptable, if at times limited, functionality for their products. Disposal of that which is not repaired is found to always be prefaced by an indefinite period of waiting. The thesis is based on 16 months of fieldwork across the country which included observation of independent and company repair practices and rural and urban waste management processes. 44 interviews were conducted with independent repairmen, company representatives and other relevant individuals. Further information is drawn from a telephone survey of 262 users of solar products. If the macro project of international development is to fix the broken world, then this thesis argues it may benefit from closer examination of micro repair practices. By embracing the inevitability of future breakdown and adopting the principles of bricolage development might get closer to the improved world it aims for

Improving Dialysis Patient Outcomes Introducing ultrapure water to facilitate HiVOLHDF: An engineer’s perspective

Water quality is fundamental to haemodialysis regardless of the modality; this has two distinct strands namely chemical quality and microbiological quality. However, the water quality is far more critical with the high volume online haemodiafiltration (HiVOLHDF)* modality of treatment. A typical adult will be exposed to approximately fourteen litres of water a week. This is ingested orally, absorbed via the gastrointestinal tract, any excess is removed by the nephron in the kidney and exits the body with other waste products of metabolism in the urine. By contrast, the standard thrice weekly haemodialysis patient is exposed to 576 litres per week via the semipermeable dialyser. In addition, the high volume online HDF patient is exposed typically to an additional 60 L per week which is infused directly into the patient’s blood stream. Furthermore, as the majority of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients have zero, or very minimal residual renal function, toxins in the blood remain and cannot be ‘renally’ excreted between dialysis sessions. From the literature review, it has been unequivocally demonstrated that water quality is an essential component to the dialysis process. However, as of 2016 there is not a scientific consensus with regard to whether HiVOLHDF is a superior treatment of ESRD patients with regard to mortality and morbidity. Whilst this may be the current case, it is the author’s belief that this will be forthcoming in due course. In the interim, it should be considered best practice to strive towards implementation of ultrapure water systems in all dialysis units and performing HiVOLHDF, while we await the evidence. This viewpoint is compounded by the fact that there have been no negative reports from the studies reviewed relating to patient outcomes when treatment by HiVOLHDF versus alternative conventional haemodialysis treatments In addition, it would definitely seem prudent that when designing new dialysis facilities, ultrapure water should be considered the standard specification. This organisational development involved the transfer of an existing haemodialysis unit to a new state-of-the art redeveloped facility within the organisation. This facility would offer ultrapure water to facilitate HiVOLHDF as standard. There were numerous change strands to this project and the author incorporated the HSE change model and the CIPP evaluation framework to evaluate and guide the process. *The acronym HiVOLHDF has been developed by the author for the purpose of this project

The afterlives of solar power: Waste and repair off the grid in Kenya

One neglected socio-cultural and political dimension to the rapid diffusion of solar power in Sub-Saharan Africa is the question of what happens when things fall apart. Investors in the small-scale renewable energy sector are increasingly concerned with the status of broken or non-functioning products and there is an emerging consensus around the need for centralised recycling systems as the solution to future flows of ‘solar waste’.But what does the afterlife of off-grid solar products look like from below? Grounded in anthropology, geography and economic sociology, this paper tracks the impact of off grid solar products through contexts of breakdown, repair, and disposal. Combining stakeholder interviews, a longitudinal survey of product failure rates in Kenya and ethnographic research at a repair workshop in the town of Bomet, we challenge narratives of energy transitions that fail to address the environmental consequences of mass consumption and present an alternative approach to solar waste embedded in cultures and economies of repair

A Core Outcome Set for the prevention and treatment of fetal GROwth restriction: deVeloping Endpoints: the COSGROVE study.

BACKGROUND: Fetal growth restriction refers to a fetus that does not reach its genetically predetermined growth potential. It is well-recognized that growth-restricted fetuses are at increased risk of both short- and long-term adverse outcomes. Systematic evaluation of the evidence from clinical trials of fetal growth restriction is often difficult because of variation in the outcomes that are measured and reported. The development of core outcome sets for fetal growth restriction studies would enable future trials to measure similar meaningful outcomes. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to develop core outcome sets for trials of prevention or treatment of fetal growth restriction. STUDY DESIGN: This was a Delphi consensus study. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify outcomes that were reported in studies of prevention or treatment of fetal growth restriction. All outcomes were presented for prioritization to key stakeholders (135 healthcare providers, 68 researchers/academics, and 35 members of the public) in 3 rounds of online Delphi surveys. A priori consensus criteria were used to reach agreement on the final outcomes for inclusion in the core outcome set at a face-to-face meeting with 5 healthcare providers, 5 researchers/academics, and 6 maternity service users. RESULTS: In total, 22 outcomes were included in the final core outcome set. These outcomes were grouped under 4 domains: maternal (n=4), fetal (n=1), neonatal (n=12), and childhood (n=5). CONCLUSION: The Core Outcome Set for the prevention and treatment of fetal GROwth restriction: deVeloping Endpoints study identified a large number of potentially relevant outcomes and then reached consensus on those factors that, as a minimum, should be measured and reported in all future trials of prevention or treatment of fetal growth restriction. This will enable future trials to measure similar meaningful outcomes and to ensure that findings from different studies can be compared and combined

Phaeoviruses discovered in kelp (Laminariales)

Phaeoviruses are latent double-stranded DNA viruses that insert their genomes into those of their brown algal (Phaeophyceae) hosts. So far these viruses are known only from members of the Ectocarpales, which are small and short-lived macroalgae. Here we report molecular and morphological evidence for a new Phaeovirus cluster, referred to as sub-group C, infecting kelps (Laminariales) of the genera Laminaria and Saccharina, which are ecologically and commercially important seaweeds. Epifluorescence and TEM observations indicate that the Laminaria digitata Virus (LdigV), the type species of sub-group C, targets the host nucleus for its genome replication, followed by gradual degradation of the chloroplast and assembly of virions in the cytoplasm of both vegetative and reproductive cells. This study is the first to describe phaeoviruses in kelp. In the field, these viruses infected two thirds of their host populations; however, their biological impact remains unknown