New Zealand going global: The emerging relationships economy

The paper examines the value‐generating strategies used in some of New Zealand's primary activities in a rapidly changing trading context in which the countries of East Asia increasingly figure. These strategies range from scaling up volume, with a consequent conspicuous impact on rural landscapes, to innovative value‐enhancing relationships linking producers, processors and consumers in processes which value landscapes for the contribution they make to provenance stories. Our argument is that higher‐value strategies are necessarily more intensely collaborative and involve a pursuit of engaged relationships, especially between onshore producers and manufacturers and consumers at a distance. We term this collaborative form of strategising as ‘the relationships economy’. We illustrate our argument using two case studies, dairying and merino. While there are great differences in scale between them, and dairying focuses significantly on volume‐generating capacity, there are players in dairying who are adopting higher‐value relationships‐based approaches similar to those developed in the merino industry. The common thread connecting the case studies is that of intentional enactment, which echoes earlier periods in New Zealand's trading history when considerable work was undertaken by industry participants to create new markets for primary products.     

Dynamic tracheal collapse associated with disseminated histiocytic sarcoma in a cat

This case report describes an unusual presentation of histiocytic sarcoma in a domestic shorthair cat. Initial investigation revealed a haemodynamically insignificant hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, bronchitis and a mild irregularity of the cervical trachea. The cat's disease progressed over a two-week period. Repeat radiography and tracheoscopy revealed a marked dynamic tracheal collapse associated with a raised plaque-like lesion within the cervical trachea. Subsequent post-mortem examination and histopathology revealed disseminated histiocytic sarcoma involving the trachea and kidneys. This is the first reported case of a histiocytic sarcoma involving the trachea in either dogs or cats.     

Signal transduction. N-WASP regulation--the sting in the tail

Signaling proteins can be regulated by their interactions with other proteins and phospholipids. As Fawcett and Pawson discuss in their Perspective, activation of the N-WASP protein (which coordinates formation of actin filaments) is far more complex, depending on the interaction of N-WASP with both a protein and a phospholipid. The authors explain new results (Prehoda et al.) demonstrating that cooperative binding of the phospholipid PIP2 and the small GTPase Cdc42 to N-WASP results in its activation. The Arp2/3 complex is then able to bind to N-WASP and to proceed with its job of initiating the assembly of actin monomers into actin filaments.     

Predation of the juvenile stages of diadromous fish by sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) in the tidal reaches of an English chalk stream

• 1. The first incidence of predation by the sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) on lamprey ammocoetes and salmonid smolts is reported.
• 2. These preliminary findings suggest that there is a need for further investigation to determine if juvenile diadromous fish form a significant component of the diet of sea bass, and to identify whether the likelihood of enhanced abundance of sea bass in protected nursery areas presents a particular threat to the conservation of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar).
• 3. This will require further sampling of the stomach contents of sea bass and estimates of the sea bass population in nursery areas to be determined, linked with an assessment of the impact of such predation on the conservation status of particular stocks of diadromous fish. © 2011 Crown copyright. Reproduced with the permission of her Majesty's Stationery Office. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

     

Bark beetles on pine logs: forecasting winter colonisation dynamics based on trap catches and temperature records

Journal of Pest Science - Seasonality influences the abundance and activity of forest insects. Harvesting during periods of reduced activity could minimise colonisation risk on logs and reduce the...     

Comparison of arterial blood pressure measurements obtained invasively or oscillometrically using a Datex S/5 Compact monitor in anaesthetised adult horses

Objective

To assess agreement between noninvasive blood pressure (NIBP) oscillometrically-derived values from a multiparameter monitor (Datex Ohmeda S/5 Compact) with those obtained by invasive blood pressure (IBP) measurement in anaesthetised horses undergoing elective surgery.

Development of a behaviour-based scale to measure acute pain in dogs

A composite scale for assessing pain in dogs in a hospital setting has been developed on the basis of observations of their behaviour. Initially, 279 words and expressions suggested by 69 veterinary surgeons were reduced into 47 words and expressions which were allocated into seven behaviour categories: demeanour and response to people, posture, mobility, activity, response to touch, attention to painful area and vocalisation. Three statistical methods, hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis, Cronbach's alpha coefficient, and analysis of variance with multiple comparisons and empirical cumulative distributions, were used to validate these procedures, and a questionnaire accompanied by a list of definitions was designed around the expressions. The new composite scale is more detailed than previously reported scales for assessing pain in dogs on the basis of their behaviour, and the methods used in its development are based on sound scientific principles.     

Cellophane banding of congenital intrahepatic portosystemic shunts in two Irish wolfhounds

Two three-month-old, male Irish wolfhound siblings were diagnosed with breed-typical left divisional congenital intrahepatic portosystemic shunts consistent with patent ductus venosus. The shunts were amenable to surgical dissection at a posthepatic location. Both dogs had cellophane banding for shunt attenuation. One dog was euthanased after developing post-ligation neurological dysfunction, which was refractory to treatment. The other dog survived and demonstrated shunt attenuation. Successful surgical management using cellophane banding of a patent ductus venosus has not been previously described in a large-breed dog.     

The foot-and-mouth disease epidemic in Dumfries and Galloway, 2001. 1: Characteristics and control

The foot-and-mouth disease epidemic in Dumfries and Galloway in south-west Scotland comprised 177 infected premises (IPS) in 24 geographical clusters, and ran from March 1 until May 23, 2001. Initial seeding of infection was by livestock (predominantly sheep) that had passed through Longtown Market in adjacent Cumbria. Thereafter, spread within existing, and to new, clusters was associated with the movement of personnel and vehicles, with further transmission by Longtown Market contacts and across common boundaries. Sheep and cattle premises were equally affected. After the peak of the epidemic at the beginning of the third week of March, the upper possible limit of attack rates for premises contiguous to IPS, and premises within 3 km, remained around 10 per cent, with new clusters emerging more distantly. Control procedures included traditional methods of slaughter of all animals on IPS and, elsewhere, of animals considered by veterinary assessment to be Dangerous Contacts; movement restrictions; enhanced biosecurity; tracing of potential sources and spread of virus; and surveillance of premises subsequently considered at risk. These methods were supplemented by the novel pre-emptive slaughter, without veterinary assessment, of all susceptible livestock on all premises contiguous to IPS, and of small ruminants and pigs within a 3 km radius (known as the Protection Zone) around IPS. In total, approximately 80,000 cattle, 564,000 sheep, 2600 pigs and 500 goats were slaughtered, the novel methods accounting for 29 per cent of all cattle and 75 per cent of all sheep killed. Limitations of existing national databases necessitated the development of local databases to administer control procedures.