Conduct,Oversight, and Ethical Considerations of Clinical Trials in Companion Animals with Cancer: Report of a Workshop on Best Practice Recommendations

Development of effective and safe treatments for companion animals with cancer requires the collaboration of numerous animal health professionals and the full engagement of animal owners. Establishing ‘Best Practice Recommendations’ for clinical trials in veterinary oncology represents an important step toward meeting the goal of rigorous clinical trial design and conduct that is required to establish valid evidence. Likewise, optimizing patient welfare and owner education and advocacy is crucial to meet the unique ethical obligations to both owners and animals enrolled in these clinical trials and to ensure trust in the team conducting the research. To date, ‘Best Practice Recommendations’ for clinical trial conduct have not been reported for veterinary oncology. This document summarizes the consensus of a workshop held in November, 2014 to identify relevant ethical principles and to ensure responsible conduct of clinical research in companion animals with cancer. It is intended as a working document that will be updated as advances in science and ethical considerations require. To the extent possible, existing guidelines for the conduct and oversight of clinical trials in humans have been adapted for veterinary trials to avoid duplicative effort and to facilitate integration of clinical trials such that translational research with benefits for both companion animals and humans are encouraged.     

Behaviour in one fast-growing and one slower-growing broiler (Gallus gallus domesticus) hybrid fed a high- or low-protein diet during a 10-week rearing period

This study compared behavioural time budgets, presence of comfort behaviours and social behaviours in two different broiler genotypes (the fast-growing Ross 308 (R) and the slower-growing Rowan Ranger (RR)) fed organic diets with high (17.0% crude protein (CP)) or low (14.5% CP) protein content during a 10-week rearing period. 429-day-old chicks (218 R and 211 RR, respectively) were included in the study and behaviour was recorded at 2, 6 and 9 weeks of age. The results showed no effect of diet treatments but that R broilers were less active and sat, ate and drank more frequently than RR broilers, which stood and perched more frequently. However, both hybrids showed decreasing activity and foraging behaviour with increasing age, while time spent eating and sleeping was approximately similar over the entire rearing period.     

Quantification of stress sensitive markers in single fecal samples do not accurately predict excretion of these in the pig

All feces produced during 24 h were collected from five pigs and cortisol and immunoreactive cortisol metabolites (CICM), and IgA were quantified. Within pigs, the concentrations of CICM and IgA varied extensively between random samples obtained from a single fecal dropping, and deviated in most cases significantly from the true concentration measured in total fecal output (CV 6.7-130%). The CICM and IgA contents varied considerably (CV 8.1-114%) within and between individual fecal droppings from the same pig compared to the total fecal excretion. In conclusion, single random samples could not be used to reliably quantify the total fecal concentration or excretion of CICM or IgA in pigs. Analyses of all feces collected during shorter periods than 24 h did not provide an accurate estimate of the daily excretion of CICM. Thus, the concentration of stress sensitive molecules in random single fecal samples as an indicator of animal welfare should be interpreted with prudence.     

Detection of Ecballium elaterium in hedgerow olive orchards using a low-cost uncrewed aerial vehicle and open-source algorithms

BACKGROUND

Ecballium elaterium (common name: squirting cucumber) is an emerging weed problem in hedgerow or superintensive olive groves under no tillage. It colonizes the inter-row area infesting the natural or sown cover crops, and is considered a hard-to-control weed. Research in other woody crops has shown E. elaterium has a patchy distribution, which makes this weed susceptible to design a site-specific control strategy only addressed to E. elaterium patches. Therefore, the aim of this work was to develop a methodology based on the analysis of imagery acquired with an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) to detect and map E. elaterium infestations in hedgerow olive orchards.

RESULTS

The study was conducted in two superintensive olive orchards, and the images were taken using a UAV equipped with an RGB sensor. Flights were conducted on two dates: in May, when there were various weeds infesting the orchard, and in September, when E. elaterium was the only infesting weed. UAV-orthomosaics in the first scenario were classified using random forest models, and the orthomosaics from September with E. elaterium as the only weed, were analyzed using an unsupervised algorithm. In both cases, the overall accuracies were over 0.85, and the producer's accuracies for E. elaterium ranged between 0.74 and 1.00.

CONCLUSION

These results allow the design of a site-specific and efficient herbicide control protocol which would represent a step forward in sustainable weed management. The development of these algorithms in free and open-source software fosters their application in small and medium farms. © 2022 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.     

苜蓿地撂荒过程中土壤-微生物-胞外酶及化学计量的变化

紫花苜蓿(Medicago sativa L.)作为优良修复草种在黄土高原广泛种植,然而随着农村人口迁移及土地利用变化,苜蓿人工草地大量弃置的问题已引起广泛关注。为研究苜蓿弃置草地土壤质量变化规律,本研究分析了不同弃置年限(0年、5年和10年)苜蓿草地土壤养分、微生物量、参与土壤碳氮磷(C,N,P)循环的胞外酶活性及其化学计量变化。结果表明：总体上,土壤和微生物C,N含量随弃置年限呈增加趋势,而C,N相关胞外酶活性和化学计量变化幅度较小;土壤和微生物P含量随弃置年限增加而显著降低,但P相关胞外酶活性及化学计量均有不同程度的增加。进一步分析发现：相较于其他土层,表层(0～20 cm)土壤C,N,P含量及其酶活性较高,其变化趋势与总体结果相似;亚表层土壤(20～40 cm)和(80～100 cm)深层土壤C,N,P含量及其酶活性呈先增后减趋势,且各指标较于表层土壤均降低40%～80%。相关分析表明弃置草地土壤由于P匮乏而逐步退化,可通过补施磷肥改善。     

A survey on the use of rugs in Australian horses

The practice of horse rugging has important implications for horse welfare and performance, but in Australia, rugging practices have not been properly documented. The objective of this study was to obtain an understanding of Australian horse rugging practices. An online survey reviewed the management of 2659 Australian horses over 12 months. Of the reported horses a total of 84.8% were rugged, although most owners (69.5%) indicated that they were unsure whether horses needed to be rugged at all. Rugging was felt by 59.8% of owners to be a requirement for horses in competition. Riding and competition were significantly associated with the use of rugs. Nearly all respondents (89.0%) felt that ‘over-rugging’ was a concern. However, 4.8% of owners would use up to 4 rugs at any one time on their horse and 21.4% of horses were still rugged in temperatures above 20°C in Australia. Many Australian horse owners (42.8%) also believe that horses feel cold if they are not rugged. Anthropomorphism when it comes to rugging horses cannot be justified as the horse has a much wider thermoneutral zone (TNZ) than humans. Australian climate, owner opinions, equestrian discipline and whether a horse is used for riding influence Australian horse rugging practices. However, current practices are based on limited available research and are not necessarily to the benefit of the horse. The major limitation was that the survey likely attracted respondents who are interested in the topic creating a self-selection bias.     

经济绿肥覆盖对西双版纳胶园土壤性状的综合影响

论述了经济绿肥覆盖对提高土壤肥力、改善土壤物理性状、水土保持、提高抗病性、增加收入等方面的作用和重要意义。阐明了经济绿肥覆盖在西双版纳胶园的应用前景，它将实现经济效益和生态效益并重的胶园可持续发展。同时提出了在胶林行间特别是保护带陡坡地种植绿肥覆盖物的发展思路及相应措施，即完成胶园经济绿肥良种的筛选、经济效益和生态效益评价、及配套栽培技术试验示范。     

生态技术在现代农业中的地位及其技术群构成

提出了现代农业的主要支撑技术包括生态技术、生物技术和管理技术,并分析了此三类支撑技术的相互关系;通过深入比较,指出生态技术在现代农业中应占主导地位,这是现代农业发展的内在要求,是中国生态环境现状的必然选择,是建立社会主义和谐社会的必然趋势;同时提出了生态技术群中应该重点发展的主要技术:立体农业技术、综合养殖生态技术、特色农业技术、多色农业技术、设施农业技术、农业综合节水技术、农业污染综合防治技术和无公害绿色农产品标准化生产技术等。     

农村公共产品供给与减轻农民负担

农民负担实际上是与农民有关的公共产品成本的分摊，而这种分摊存在着体制缺陷，这种缺陷导致了农民的生产效益低下，农民负担逐步加重。要改变这种现状就必须对农村公共产品供给体制进行改革和完善，以期从根本上减轻农民负担。