Effects of music stimulus on behavior response,cortisol level,and horizontal immunity of growing pigs

An enriched environment is widely used to improve domestic animals’ welfare and promote their natural behaviors. Music can reduce abnormal behavior in humans, nonhuman primates, and rodents. However, little is known about the effects of music on pigs. This study aims to explore the effects of repeated music stimulation on the behavior, physiology, and immunity of growing pigs. A total of 72 hybrid piglets (Large White × Duroc × Minpig) were randomly divided into three groups, including music (Mozart K.448, 60 to 70 dB), noise (recorded mechanical noise, 80 to 85 dB), and control (natural background sound, <40 dB), and 6 h sound stimulation was given per day (1000 to 1600 hours) from 40 to 100 d of age. The behavioral activities of the pigs were observed during the music stimulation, and their serum cortisol, salivary cortisol, and serum immune indices were also measured. Compared with the control group, the music group and noise group increased activity but decreased lying of pigs (P < 0.05). A significant increase in tail-wagging, playing, and exploring behaviors of pigs was found in the music group (P < 0.05), and the noise significantly increased the aggressive behavior of the pigs (P < 0.05). Tail-wagging, playing, exploring, manipulating, and aggressive behaviors decreased over time. Short-term (8 d) music stimulus had a lower cortisol level than that of the noise and control groups (P < 0.05), whereas long-term (60 d) music stimulus increased immunoglobulin G (IgG), interleukin-2 (IL-2), and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) levels (P < 0.05) and decreased interleukin-4 (IL-4) level (P < 0.05). Long-term noise stimulus significantly reduced the level of IgG (P < 0.05) but did not affect the level of IL-2, IL-4, and IFN-γ levels (P > 0.05). In conclusion, short-term music stimulus (8 d) reduced the stress response, whereas long-term music stimulus (60 d) enhanced the immune responses. In addition, the noise increased the aggressive behavior, and long-term noise reduced the immunity of the growing pigs.     

低风险疾病情境下农村居民健康信息规避行为研究

[目的/意义]本研究旨在揭示低风险疾病情境下农村居民健康信息规避的程度、策略、成因及其关联。[方法/过程]研究采用理论抽样方法和半结构化访谈法收集了江苏省45位农村居民的相关数据。研究采用开放式编码和主轴编码方法对访谈数据进行分析,同时采用社会网络分析软件对规避策略和成因之间的关系进行可视化展示。[结果/结论]（1）农村居民在低风险疾病情境下存在全面型和选择型两种不同程度的健康信息规避。其中,全面型健康信息规避主要发生在信息需求阶段,具体的规避策略为完全不治疗;而选择型信息规避发生在信息获取阶段,具体的规避策略为自己治疗或者拖延治疗。（2）该情境下农村居民健康信息规避的成因主要包括感知风险、对信息源的信任、健康信息素养水平、文化水平、情绪、经济水平、小世界、时间和医疗资源的可及性。（3）农民健康信息规避的成因与规避策略存在特定的关联。文化水平和医疗资源的可及性只对完全不治疗规避策略有影响;情绪因素只对拖延治疗规避策略有影响;健康信息素养水平只对自己治疗规避策略有影响。该研究可为改善农村居民的健康状况提供指导建议。     

无源蓄冷控温运输箱设计与试验

针对蓄冷运输箱信息化程度低、控温时间短、控温困难等问题,设计了一款集控温、远程监控、定位、故障诊断等功能于一体的蓄冷运输箱。以脐橙为试验对象,结合能耗模型,对蓄冷控温箱控温性能进行了研究。结果表明,箱内各截面温度不均匀系数分别为0.38、0.47、0.78,温度极差最大值为2.8℃,均匀性较好;当蓄冷剂用量为180 kg,预冷脐橙660 kg,在外部环境平均温度26.39℃的条件下,总控温时长为122 h,风机共执行控温21次,且随着蓄冷量减少,风机开启控温所用时间呈指数上升趋势,决定系数不小于0.928 0;结合能耗模型分析得出,该箱体在广州夏季高温环境下可控温5 d以上,能够满足远距离运输要求。     

A releaser pheromone that attracts methyltestosterone- treated immature fish in the urine of ovulated female rainbow trout

SUMMARY: Behavioral experiments concerning a releaser pheromone in the urine of female rainbow trout were performed using immature fish administered orally with 17α-methyltestosterone (MT) during the non-spawning season. The urine was collected by catheter. The frequency of entries of test fish was recorded in each channel scented by test and control solutions in a Y-maze trough. The behavior of both MT-treated and control fish demonstrated that they could not discriminate the differences between distilled and environmental water as control solutions. There was also no difference between MT-treated and control fish when distilled and environmental water were introduced. The MT-treated immature fish were attracted to the channel scented by ovulated female urine. Neither coelomic fluid nor the immature female urine had any effect on the behavioral responses of MT-treated fish, while immature control fish had no preference for the urine of ovulated females. These results suggest in rainbow trout that ovulated female urine contains a releaser pheromone to attract mature males, and that androgens are involved in the sensory mechanisms detecting the releaser pheromone in fish.     

优质鲜食橄榄新品种‘甜榄1号’选育研究

‘甜榄1号’是从大量橄榄实生树中选出的橄榄鲜食新品种。果实梭形，果皮黄绿色，纵横径3．0cm×1．7cm，平均单果重5．5g，果实可溶性固形物含量11．9％，可食率78．2％。在福建省闽清县，果实于11月中下旬成熟。果肉黄白色，肉质细嫩清脆，化渣，风味香甜，回味好，鲜食品质明显优于‘檀香’等现有主栽鲜食品种。     

Adverse impact of industrial animal agriculture on the health and welfare of farmed animals

Industrial animal agriculture is grounded in the concept of maximizing productivity and profit. Selective breeding for maximum productivity in one characteristic of the animal (e.g. milk yield in cows, or breast meat in broiler chickens) has resulted in genotypes and phenotypes that may predispose the animals to poor health and welfare. The conditions in which these individuals are kept may also frustrate many inherited behaviors that they are strongly motivated to perform. In order to curb the resulting harmful aberrant behaviors, such as feather‐pecking in chickens, we sometimes resort to mutilating the animals. In many places chickens are routinely de‐beaked by means of a hot metal guillotine. Compassion in World Farming (an international organization that promotes the humane treatment of farm animals) believes that it is unethical to treat sentient beings in such ways. We have a duty to respect farm animals' sentience by providing them with housing conditions that take their needs and wants into account, and by reverting to the use of dual‐purpose, slower‐growing breeds that have the potential for good welfare. Alternatives to current farming practices are available, and we owe it to the animals, and to our consciences, to pursue them.     

Validation of the accuracy of household reporting of subsistence fishing catch and effort: a Fijian case study

Abstract  The accuracy of household reporting of subsistence fishing catch and effort and seafood consumption on the Fijian island of Ono-i-Lau was studied. A creel survey was carried out concurrently to validate the household survey data. Reported estimates of fishing participation, effort, and fish consumption were not significantly different to the creel survey estimates. Householder's appeared to overestimate the number of fish from the most abundant family Lethrinidae, and underestimate rarer fish. However, there was no significant difference between the reported and observed contribution of the majority of finfish families and invertebrate taxa. The reported and observed catch rate estimates were not significantly different, indicating that Ono-i-Lau villagers are relatively accurate in their estimation of the number and size of fish from recalled catches.     

三阶时滞泛函微分方程解的渐近性

本文讨论一类三阶时滞泛函微分方程解的渐近性质,给出了若干解的有界性及解趋于零的判定准则.