Quantitative analysis of acid-base balance in show jumpers before and after exercise

The acid-base status of venous blood was studied in 17 show jumpers before and after exercise using both a traditional and a quantitative approach. Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PCO(2)), pH, haemoglobin, and plasma concentrations of sodium (Na(+)), chloride (Cl(-)), potasium (K(+)), ionized calcium (Ca(2+)), total proteins, albumin, lactate and phosphorus were measured in jugular venous blood samples obtained before and immediately after finishing a show jumping competition. Bicarbonate, anion gap and globulin concentration were calculated from the measured parameters. 'Quantitative analysis' of acid-base balance was performed utilising values for three independent variables: PCO(2), strong ion difference [SID = (Na(+)+ K(+)+ Ca(2+)) - (Cl(-)+ Lact)] and total concentration of weak acids [A(T)= Alb (1 paragraph sign23 pH - 6 paragraph sign31) + Pi (0 paragraph sign309 pH - 0 paragraph sign469) 10/30 paragraph sign97]; plasma concentrations of hydrogen ion ([H(+)]) were also calculated from these variables using Stewart's equation. No significant changes in blood pH were detected after the show jumping competition. Exercise resulted in a significant increase in lactate, Na(+), K(+), haemoglobin, total proteins, albumin, globulin and anion gap, and a decrease in bicarbonate, Cl(-)and Ca(2+). PCO(2)decreased after exercise while SID and A(T)increased. A significant correlation between measured and calculated [H(+)] was found both before and after exercise. However, individual [H(+)] values were not accurately predicted from Stewart's equation. In conclusion, even though pH did not change, significant modifications in the acid-base balance of horses have been found after a show jumping competition. In addition, quantitative analysis has been shown to provide an adequate interpretation of acid-base status in show jumpers before and after exercise.     

Data management for monitoring forest soils in Europe for the Biosoil project

Growing environmental awareness and advances in modelling have generated interest in soil monitoring networks. Data management tools have to be developed in order to store data, check for errors and retrieve data for sharing and for analysis. As a result, we have designed a web application and a database for the Biosoil project that focuses on European forest soils. Integral to the system are authentication of users and access rights to the modules and data. It also logs all activities of each user. During data submission, the system automatically manages data transfer from the flat file (ASCII file) to the database after compliance checks. Then error tracking is followed by automated expert checks. These checks identify potential mistakes that can be corrected or commented on by data providers. The database is intended to cope with the challenges of transnational monitoring and integrates data quality assurance/quality control mechanisms. Benefits from the architecture of the database and from the services provided by the software may be generalized to all soil monitoring databases in order to improve data management and quality control.     

Nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism in rabbits

The present study was designed to document the effect of a low (0.6%) calcium-high (1.2%) phosphorus (LCaHP) diet on the development of parathyroid gland hyperplasia in rabbits and to describe the dynamics of parathyroid function (PTH–Ca²⁺ curves) in rabbits with nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism (N2HPT). Parathyroid gland weight, parathyroid cell proliferation (measured as percentage of cells in S-phase), and parathyroid calcium (CaRmRNA) and Vitamin D (VDRmRNA) receptor expression were measured in normal rabbits and in rabbits with N2HPT. The PTH–Ca²⁺ curve was studied in normal rabbits (Group I) and in rabbits with N2HPT at two stages: 2–3 weeks (Group IIA) and 5–6 weeks (Group IIB) after being fed LCaHP diet. An increase in parathyroid gland weight and percentage of cells in S-phase was detected in the course of N2HPT. After receiving a LCaHP diet for 6 weeks rabbits had decreased levels of CaRmRNA but VDRmRNA remained unchanged. A progressive increase in the concentrations of plasma PTH (Group IIA = 167 ± 14 pg/ml and Group IIB = 377 ± 54 pg/ml, P < 0.05 versus Group I = 27 ± 3 pg/ml) was detected in the rabbits fed a LCaHP diet. This was accompanied by an increase in maximal and minimal PTH, reductions in plasma Ca²⁺ and calcitriol and elevations in plasma phosphate and creatinine. In conclusion, feeding a LCaHPD results in a rapid induction of N2HPT in rabbits. After 6 weeks on the LCaHPD rabbits develop parathyroid hyperplasia characterized by increases in PTH secretion, glandular weight and proliferation and by a decrease in CaRmRNA.     

Expert opinion as 'validation' of risk assessment applied to calf welfare

Background

Recently, a Risk Assessment methodology was applied to animal welfare issues in a report of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on intensively housed calves.

Methods

Because this is a new and potentially influential approach to derive conclusions on animal welfare issues, a so-called semantic-modelling type ''validation'' study was conducted by asking expert scientists, who had been involved or quoted in the report, to give welfare scores for housing systems and for welfare hazards.

Results

Kendall''s coefficient of concordance among experts (n = 24) was highly significant (P < 0.001), but low (0.29 and 0.18 for housing systems and hazards respectively). Overall correlations with EFSA scores were significant only for experts with a veterinary or mixed (veterinary and applied ethological) background. Significant differences in welfare scores were found between housing systems, between hazards, and between experts with different backgrounds. For example, veterinarians gave higher overall welfare scores for housing systems than ethologists did, probably reflecting a difference in their perception of animal welfare.Systems with the lowest scores were veal calves kept individually in so-called "baby boxes" (veal crates) or in small groups, and feedlots. A suckler herd on pasture was rated as the best for calf welfare. The main hazards were related to underfeeding, inadequate colostrum intake, poor stockperson education, insufficient space, inadequate roughage, iron deficiency, inadequate ventilation, poor floor conditions and no bedding. Points for improvement of the Risk Assessment applied to animal welfare include linking information, reporting uncertainty and transparency about underlying values.

Conclusion

The study provides novel information on expert opinion in relation to calf welfare and shows that Risk Assessment applied to animal welfare can benefit from a semantic modelling approach.     

Plasma ionized calcium and parathyroid hormone concentrations in horses after endurance rides

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate changes in plasma ionized calcium (Ca2+) and parathyroid hormone (PTH) concentrations in horses competing in endurance rides. DESIGN: Longitudinal clinical study. ANIMALS: 28 horses. PROCEDURE: Venous blood samples were obtained from horses before and after racing 80 km. Plasma pH and concentrations of Ca2+, PTH, inorganic phosphorus, albumin, lactate, and magnesium were measured. RESULTS: Overall, a significant decrease in mean (+/- SD) plasma Ca2+ concentration (from 6.44 +/- 0.42 to 5.64 +/- 0.42 mg/dl) and a significant increase in plasma PTH concentration (from 49.9 +/- 30.1 to 148.1 +/- 183.0 pg/ml) were found after exercise. Exercise also resulted in significant increases in plasma inorganic phosphorus, albumin, and lactate concentrations. No changes in plasma magnesium concentration or pH were detected after exercise. Plasma PTH concentration was not increased after exercise in 8 horses; in these horses, plasma PTH concentration decreased from 58.2 +/- 26.3 to 27.4 +/- 22.4 pg/ml, although plasma Ca2+ concentration was also decreased. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Plasma Ca2+ concentration was decreased after racing for 80 km, compared with values obtained before racing. In most horses, an increase in plasma PTH concentration that was commensurate with the decrease in plasma Ca2+ was detected; however, some horses had decreased plasma PTH concentrations.     

The feasibility of offshore aquaculture and its potential for multi-use in the North Sea

Following the Blue Growth ambition of the European Commission, the interest in the potential of offshore is growing. This paper aimed to contribute to the discussion on the feasibility of offshore aquaculture development and its potential for multi-use with other maritime activities. A review of national and international projects forms the basis of the paper, where the Dutch North Sea is used as a case-study area. Analysis of technical, economic and ecological boundaries indicated that the potential of fish culture is limited, that seaweed cultivation is likely to gain potential when challenges related to processing will be overcome and that mussel culture has the highest potential in the near future. The North Sea is an area where many stakeholders claim space, which might set boundaries to the number of sites available for mussel culture. Competing claims are a potential source of conflict but may also lead to mutual benefits when smart combinations are sought, e.g. with wind parks, fisheries and nature conservation; especially, the possibility of combining mussel culture in or around wind parks is worthwhile to be further explored. A spatial distribution model adapted for the Dutch North Sea conditions demonstrated that offshore mussel production in wind farms can be profitable. Yet, the commercial interest for offshore development of mussel culture is still limited. Actions required to stimulate further development of the offshore mussel industry are presented for the government, the private sector, research institutes and civil society organizations.     

Implementation failure of the forest expansion policy in Flanders (Northern Belgium) and the policy learning potential

The current study is an illustrative example of intersectoral land conflicts in a highly populated region that resulted in the non-implementation of an already agreed-upon policy. More specifically, it evaluates the implementation of the forest expansion policy in Flanders (Northern Belgium) and assesses the potential to adjust current policy. The policy implementation analysis based on the variables checklist of the new top down models points out that the forest expansion program is not successful. This is mainly due to inconsistencies within the objectives and grant schemes used in agriculture and nature conservation policy and local resistance of the agricultural sector. The Advocacy Coalition Framework was used to examine the potential to adjust current policy. For the legislative changes, no adjustments were possible because two persistent coalitions, ‘continuity-oriented’ and ‘change-oriented’, with polarized core beliefs exist. The existence of these coalitions also emerged from a Detrended Correspondence Analysis of the binary table of all questioned topics. In contrast with the legislative changes, adjustment of forest grants would be possible. Hence, only less complicated policy adjustments seem possible for the Flemish forest expansion policy, and the outlook of this policy appears bleak.     

Forests,discourses, institutions: A discursive-institutional analysis of global forest governance

The leading question of this Forest Policy and Economics special issue is whether, how and to what extent forest governance processes can be better understood by means of discourse analysis and the science-policy interface. This article focuses on discourses only, but it does so from an institutional perspective. The reasons to advocate this so-called discursive-institutional approach are threefold: (1) to acknowledge the relevance of both meanings and rules in policy continuity and change; (2) to emphasize the role of ideas, concepts and narratives in institutional dynamics; and (3) to make a useful distinction between discourses and practices (‘analytical dualism’). As an example of applying this approach, we analyze the case of global forest politics from the early 1980s till today. It shows that new ideas and meanings concerning sustainability, biodiversity and governance have been institutionalized in this field over time, implying policy change and innovation. Compared to more ‘classical’ analyses, for example based on rationalistic or (purely) institutional accounts, the discursive-institutional approach draws another picture of global forest policy.     

Triazole fungicides and the selection of resistance to medical triazoles in the opportunistic mould Aspergillus fumigatus

Azole resistance is an emerging problem in the opportunistic mould Aspergillus fumigatus. The triazoles are the most important agents for the management of Aspergillus diseases in humans. Selection for acquired resistance may occur in the hospital setting through exposure to high doses of azoles during azole therapy, but evidence is accumulating that A. fumigatus may become resistant to medical triazoles through environmental exposure to fungicides. The recovery of A. fumigatus isolates resistant to the medical triazoles from azole‐naive patients as well as from the environment strongly indicates an environmental route of resistance selection. Molecule alignment studies have identified five fungicides that share a very similar molecule structure with the medical triazoles, and thus may have selected for mechanisms that confer resistance to both groups of compounds. It is important to explore further the presumed fungicide‐driven route of resistance selection in order to implement effective preventive measures as the prevalence of azole resistance in A. fumigatus continues to increase and causes major challenges in the management of azole‐resistant Aspergillus diseases. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry