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Lambs
Kinds of Lambs Terms modified by Lambs Selected AbstractsInteraction of amphotericin B lipid formulations and triazoles with human polymorphonuclear leucocytes for antifungal activity against ZygomycetesMYCOSES, Issue 2 2008Maria Simitsopoulou Summary The frequency of zygomycosis has increased considerably over recent years mainly in immunocompromised and diabetic patients. Little is known about the effects of host innate immunity against different Zygomycetes especially under the influence of antifungal agents. The antifungal activity of human polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMN) in combination with liposomal amphotericin B (LAMB), amphotericin B lipid complex (ABLC), voriconazole (VRC) and posaconazole (PSC) against Rhizopus oryzae and Rhizopus microsporus, frequently isolated Zygomycetes, were studied and compared with Absidia corymbifera, a less pathogenic Zygomycete. Antifungal activity was evaluated as per cent of hyphal damage using the XTT metabolic assay. While A. corymbifera was more susceptible to PMN than the other two Zygomycetes, R. microsporus appeared to be the most susceptible to combined effects of amphotericin B formulations and VRC with PMN. LAMB exhibited synergistic activity with PMN in inducing hyphal damage to R. microsporus but not to the other fungi. In contrast, ABLC exhibited synergistic or additive activity with PMN against all three fungi. Among triazoles, only VRC exhibited additive effect with PMN against R. microsporus. Lipid formulations of amphotericin B and particularly ABLC interact with PMN predominantly in inducing augmented hyphal damage to three different species of Zygomycetes. [source] WEDDING FEAST OF THE LAMB: EUCHARISTIC THEOLOGY FROM A HISTORICAL, BIBLICAL AND SYSTEMATIC PERSPECTIVE by Roch A. Kereszty OCist SHEER GRACE: LIVING THE MYSTERY OF GOD by Dra,ko DizdarNEW BLACKFRIARS, Issue 1031 2010DOMINIC WHITE OP No abstract is available for this article. [source] ,YOU MIGHT AS WELL BE HUNG FOR A SHEEP AS A LAMB': THE LOSS FUNCTION OF AN AGENT,THE MANCHESTER SCHOOL, Issue 3 2008MARGARET BRAY Most of those who take macro and monetary policy decisions are agents. The worst penalty which can be applied to these agents is to sack them. Agents thus have loss functions which are bounded above. We work with a bell loss function which has this property. With additive uncertainty the certainty equivalence which holds for a quadratic loss function breaks down with a bell loss function when there are two or more targets. With multiplicative (Brainard) uncertainty policy is more conservative than in the absence of multiplicative uncertainty, but less so with the bell than the quadratic loss function. [source] Identification of potential substrate proteins for the periplasmic Escherichia coli chaperone SkpPROTEINS: STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND BIOINFORMATICS, Issue 23-24 2008Svenja Jarchow Abstract The "seventeen kilodalton protein" (Skp) is a predominant periplasmic chaperone of Escherichia coli, which is involved in the biogenesis of abundant outer membrane proteins (OMPs) such as OmpA, PhoE, and LamB. In this study the substrate profile of Skp was investigated in a proteomics approach. Skp was overexpressed in a deficient E. coli strain as a fusion protein with the Strep,tag and captured, together with any host proteins associated with it, from the periplasmic cell extract under mild conditions via one-step Strep,Tactin affinity chromatography. Copurified substrate proteins were then identified by high resolution 2-DE with immobilized pH-gradients, followed by MALDI-TOF MS. Apart from the known Skp substrates, including OmpA and LamB, more than 30 other interacting proteins were detected, especially from the outer membrane, among these FadL and BtuB, and from the periplasm such as MalE and OppA. Thus, Skp does not only serve as a specialized chaperone for a small set of OMPs, but it seems to exhibit a broader substrate spectrum, including soluble periplasmic proteins. These findings should prompt further investigation into the physiological role of Skp and may promote its use for the bacterial production of biochemically active heterologous proteins whose folding requires secretion into the oxidizing milieu of the periplasm. [source] Analysis of outer membrane proteome of Escherichia coli related to resistance to ampicillin and tetracyclinePROTEINS: STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND BIOINFORMATICS, Issue 2 2006Changxin Xu Abstract The elucidation of the molecular details of antibiotic resistance will lead to improvements in extending the efficacy of current antimicrobials. In the current study, proteomic methodologies were applied to characterize functional outer membrane proteins (Omps) of E.,coli,K-12 responded to tetracycline and ampicillin resistance for understanding of universal pathways that form barriers for antimicrobial agents. For this purpose, E.,coli,K-12 expressional outer membrane proteome was characterized and identified with the use of 2-DE and MALDI-TOF/MS methods. Then, differential Omps due to tetracycline or ampcilin resistance were determined by comparison between tetracycline minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)10, ampicillin,MIC10, control0 and control10, showing 9,proteins with 11,spots for tetracycline and 8,protein with 9,spots for ampicillin, showing a difference in only 1,protein (decreased LamB in tetracyclin) between the two antibiotics. Among the proteins, 3,were known as antibiotic-resistant proteins, including TolC, OmpC and YhiU, while FimD precursor, LamB, Tsx, YfiO, OmpW, NlpB were first reported here to be antibiotic-resistance-related proteins. Our findings will be helpful for further understanding of antibiotic-resistant mechanism(s). This study also shows that the combination of Omp purification methods certainly contributes the sensitivity of Omp detection. [source] ANOTHER LOOK AT THE DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCHFAMILY COURT REVIEW, Issue 4 2001Access Decisions for Young Children", Commentary on Kelly, Lamb's "Using Child Development Research to Make Appropriate Custody Kelly and Lamb (2000) recently provided a summary of the attachment literature and a set of guidelines for visitation and custody for young children in divorced and separated families. Here, Solomon and Biringen review the same literature with an eye to critically evaluating these guidelines, especially the suggestion that more, rather than fewer, transitions between parents are appropriate for very young children. Three types of empirical findings raise questions regarding the appropriateness of Kelly and Lamb's guidelines. These include differences in the development of infant-mother and infant-father attachments, young children's sensitivity to overnight separations from the primary caregiver, and the possibility of infant preferences for primary versus secondary caregivers in times of stress. The authors argue that considerably more rigorous research is required before submitting Kelly and Lamb's suggestion to social policy. [source] Piezoelectric wafer active sensors for in situ ultrasonic-guided wave SHMFATIGUE & FRACTURE OF ENGINEERING MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES, Issue 8 2008L. YU ABSTRACT In situ structural health monitoring aims to perform on-demand interrogation of the structure to determine the presence of service-induced damage and defects using non-destructive evaluation ultrasonic wave methods. Recently emerged piezoelectric wafer active sensors (PWAS) have the potential to significantly improve damage detection and health monitoring. PWAS are low-profile transducers that can be permanently attached onto the structure or inserted in between composite laminates, and can perform structural damage detection in thin-wall structures using guided wave methods (Lamb, Rayleigh, SH, etc.). This paper describes the analytical and experimental work of using PWAS-guided waves for in situ structural damage detection on thin-wall structures. We begin with reviewing the guided wave theory in plate structures and PWAS principles. The mechanisms of Lamb wave excitation and detection using PWAS is presented. Subsequently, we address in turn the use of PWAS to generate Lamb waves for damage (cracks and corrosion) detection in metallic structures. Pulse-echo, pitch-catch, phased array and time reversal methods are illustrated demonstrating that PWAS Lamb-waves techniques are suitable for damage detection and structural health monitoring. The last part of the paper treats analytically and experimentally PWAS excitation and tuning in composite materials. The research results presented in this paper show that in situ SHM methodologies using PWAS transducers hold the promise for more efficient, effective and timely damage detection in thin-wall structures. [source] Evaluating low level sequence identitiesFEBS JOURNAL, Issue 2 2001AROM homologous?, Are Aspergillus QUTA A review published several years ago [Hawkins, A.R. & Lamb, H.K. (1995) Eur. J. Biochem. 232, 7,18] proposed that genetic, biochemical and physiological data can override sequence comparison in the determination of homology in instances where structural information is unavailable. Their lead example was the hypothesis that the transcriptional activator protein for quinate catabolism in Aspergillus nidulans, QUTA, is derived from the pentafunctional AROM protein by a gene duplication followed by cleavage [Hawkins, A.R., Lamb, H.K., Moore, J.D. & Roberts, C.F. (1993) Gene136, 49,54]. We tested this hypothesis by a sensitive combination of position-specific log-odds scoring matrix methods. The position-specific log-odds scoring matrices were derived from a large number of 3-dehydroquinate synthase and 5- enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase domains that were proposed to be the domains from the AROM protein that gave rise to the transcriptional activator protein for quinate metabolism. We show that the degree and pattern of similarity between these position-specific log-odds scoring matrices and the transcriptional activator protein for quinate catabolism in A. nidulans is that expected for random sequences of the same composition. This level of similarity provides no support for the suggested gene duplication and cleavage. The lack of any trace of evidence for homology following a comprehensive sequence analysis indicates that the homology hypothesis is without foundation, underlining the necessity to accept only similarity of sequence and/or structure as evidence of evolutionary relatedness. Further, QUTA is homologous throughout its entire length to an extended family of fungal transcriptional regulatory proteins, rendering the hypothesized QUTA,AROM homology even more problematic. [source] Relationship between atmospheric circulation types over Greece and western,central Europe during the period 1958,97INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 14 2004Christina Anagnostopoulou Abstract An attempt is made to examine the relationship of the surface circulation prevailing over Europe with the corresponding surface and 500 hPa over Greece by correlating Lamb weather types for western Europe and Hess and Brezowsky (HB) types for central Europe with those derived from a new classification scheme for the Greek area. It was found that it was difficult to formulate rules controlling the frequency distributions of the circulation types over the Greek area in relation to the circulation over western and central Europe. However, statistically significant correlation was found between certain types with high frequency, which is greater between Lamb and HB types with the surface circulation types over the Greek area, compared with 500 hPa circulation types. For the most correlated pairs, seasonal composites of mean sea-level pressure and 500 hPa geopotential height anomalies demonstrated that the formation of the circulation types over the Greek area depends on the extent, intensity of the anticyclonic or cyclonic centres, air mass characteristics, and stability profile in the lower troposphere over the regions examined, but especially over the central and eastern Mediterranean. Copyright © 2004 Royal Meteorological Society [source] ,Wild Originality': the Romantic writings of Lady Caroline LambLITERATURE COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2005Rosemary March Lady Caroline Lamb (1785,1828), author of three Romantic novels, two long poems and several shorter lyrics was a Romantic sensation, and is probably still best known for her affair with Lord Byron. Unfortunately, Lamb the ,Byron woman', a figure remembered only as one of Byron's greatest ,fans', has subsumed Lamb the Romantic writer. [source] White Saris and Sweet Mangoes: Aging, Gender, and Body in North IndiaAMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 3 2001Julia Thompson White Saris and Sweet Mangoes: Aging, Gender, and Body in North India. Sarah Lamb. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000. 306 pp. [source] Diprosopiasis in a Lamb.ANATOMIA, HISTOLOGIA, EMBRYOLOGIA, Issue 1 2003A Case Report Summary Conjoined twinning has been reported in most of the domestic animal species. Among them, sheep have the highest incidence of craniofacial defects. A live male crossbreed dystocic two-headed lamb was delivered from a 2-year-old Pinzerita sheep after first mating. After 40 h of life, the lamb spontaneously died. The most important gross findings involved the head, whereas the examination of different organ and tissue sections did not reveal remarkable histomorphological changes. The lamb was classified as a conjoined twinning and, on the basis of the facial duplication, as a diprosopus tetraophtalmus. [source] On the Run: The Narrative of an Asylum SeekerANTHROPOLOGY & HUMANISM, Issue 2 2004Solrun Williksen The object of the article is to try and understand how a young woman managed to live through the experience of losing everything that was dear to her, first of all of her sister being "sold" to an old man, then of being threatened with death, then having to leave the picture of her mother behind, and then traveling into the unknown to a new existence in a country that she had never heard of,until she was told the name by the immigration police. It is the story of how to create an experience out of chaos, and how to come to terms with it through looking back and groping for words to give shape and sense to what has happened. In a wider theoretical perspective the article explores the problem of the interplay between the lived experience and the story in the making. This might indicate a dichotomy between experience and narrative, and that acting in the world, in this case being on the run, is lived experience, whereas the telling is just that ,telling, thus removed from the drama of getting on with the living of it. That is not how I see it. When I was in the middle of unraveling Ada's life story I read an article by Sarah Lamb, "Being a Widow" (2001), where she shows that the widow's story is part of her lived life. However, I find the distinctions in approaches very subtle and have, in fact, never quite seen how anything concerned with human experience, let alone one's own life story, can be seen as outside of lived life, outside of reality, like a text. It is true that to the person in this account, a young asylum seeker in Norway, it may seem at times as if the story she is telling is about somebody else. "Sometimes I don't know who I am. How can all this have happened and yet I am still alive?" she asks. Nevertheless I was inspired by Lamb's insistence on the creative practice, and indeed experience, of the narrative presentation itself. Although I have encouraged Ada,as she will be called here,to tell her story, I have done so with a small feeling of doubt. Is it really the case that a forgotten period needs to be recaptured in order for people to feel they own their own lives? She herself has said, "If I told people everything that happened, nobody would believe me and I wouldn't know what words to use either, or how to start." [source] Nonnutritive sucking: One of the major determinants of filial loveDEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY, Issue 3 2006David Val-Laillet Abstract The present study investigated the rewarding effects of nonnutritive sucking on the development of a filial preference. Two experiments were conducted to test whether nonnutritive visceral and oral stimuli have reinforcing properties independent from each other or act in synergy. Lambs could interact freely with their dam but were deprived of suckling by covering the udder for the first 12 hr. In Experiment 1, suckling was prevented and replaced by human giving, in the presence of the mother, either a bottle of water (B5 and B2.5: 5% or 2.5% birth weight, BW, divided into seven portions over 12 hr) or water via tube-feeding (I5 and I2.5: 5% or 2.5% BW, also divided into seven portions over 12 hr). During a two-choice test performed at 12 hr after birth, only B5 and I5 lambs preferred their mother to an alien ewe however, B5 were faster at choosing their mother at the beginning of the test. B2.5 and I2.5 lambs made a random choice. In Experiment 2, suckling was prevented and replaced by human giving, in the presence of the mother, either a bottle of water (B2.5: 2.5% BW, divided into seven portions over 12 hr) or water via tube-feeding (I10 and I2.5: 10% or 2.5% BW, also divided into seven portions over 12 hr). During a two-choice test at 12 hr, tube-fed lambs (I10 and I2.5) preferred their mother to a human. B2.5 lambs were equally attracted to both partners and spent more time near the human than lambs from the other groups. In a test of reactivity to a human performed on neonates isolated from their mother, B2.5 lambs explored the human much more than the other lambs. The presence of the human had soothing properties in B2.5 lambs and once the human left, they were the only lambs displaying enhanced vocal and locomotor activity. In these experiments, nonnutritive gastrointestinal stimuli induced a preference for the mother whereas nonnutritive sucking led to a strong positive relationship with the human. These results suggest that when lambs suckle their dam, the development of filial bonding is facilitated through the combined effects of oral and gastrointestinal stimuli. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psyshobiol 48: 220,232, 2006. [source] Effects of continuous or rotational grazing of two perennial ryegrass varieties on the chemical composition of the herbage and the performance of finishing lambsGRASS & FORAGE SCIENCE, Issue 3 2007C. L. Marley Abstract Plant breeding has developed perennial ryegrass varieties with increased concentrations of water-soluble carbohydrates (WSCs) compared with conventional varieties. Water-soluble carbohydrates are major metabolic and storage components in ryegrass. Therefore, if perennial ryegrass herbage is allowed to grow to greater heights it should contain higher water-soluble carbohydrates concentrations, for example as under rotational grazing rather than continuous grazing by livestock. This study investigated this hypothesis and measured the performance of lambs grazed rotationally and continuously. Replicated plots of the variety AberDart (bred to express high WSC concentrations) or the variety Fennema were grazed by a core group of ten male Cheviot lambs for 10 weeks. Lambs were weighed and replicate forage samples were taken every 7 d. Concentrations of WSC in AberDart herbage were significantly (P < 0·05), but not substantially, higher than those in Fennema herbage. Rotational grazing did not increase the differential in WSC concentration between the AberDart and Fennema varieties. However, there was a tendency (P = 0·07) for lambs rotationally grazing the AberDart swards to have a higher final live weight than lambs grazing the Fennema swards. Overall, lamb performance was increased when either perennial ryegrass variety was rotationally rather than continuously grazed (P < 0·001). [source] Effect of different liquid cultures of live yeast strains on performance, ruminal fermentation and microbial protein synthesis in lambsJOURNAL OF ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY AND NUTRITION, Issue 6 2008M. K. Tripathi Summary Three yeast strains, Kluyveromyces marximanus NRRL-3234 (KM), Saccharomyces cerevisiae NCDC-42 (SC) and Saccharomyces uvarum ATCC-9080 (SU), and a mixed culture (1:1:1 ratio) were evaluated for their value as probiotics in lamb feeding in two experiment. In experiment I and II, 20 and 30 pre-weaner lambs were fed for 63 and 60 days in two and three equal groups respectively. All lambs were offered ad libitum a creep mixture and Zizyphus nummularia leaves, and yeasts were dosed orally. In experiment I, one group received no yeast, the other of the mixed culture (1.5,2 × 1010 live cells/ml). In experiment II, yeast cultivation was modified yielding 1.5,2 × 1013 live cells/ml. Lambs of the three experimental groups received 1 ml/kg live weight of one of the individual yeasts. Feed intake did not differ among groups of both experiments with the exception of SC-supplemented lambs in experiment II which showed a trend to higher intakes per kg metabolic body weight and in percentage of body weight when compared with KM- and SU-supplemented lambs. Supplementation of the mixed yeast culture had no effect on intakes of digestible crude protein and metabolisable energy, nutrient digestibility, nitrogen balance and rumen fermentation characteristics (pH, ammonia, volatile fatty acid concentration, protozoa count) and urinary allantoin as an indicator of microbial protein synthesis. The same was true for comparisons in experiment II except ciliate protozoa counts, which showed a trend to be the highest with SU and the lowest with SC. The results of present study show that the response of lambs to supplemented live yeast cultures is inconsistent, as it lacked to have an effect in the present study, and that differences among strains were small, even when supplemented at a much higher live cell count. [source] Effect of dietary supplementation with vitamin E on characteristics of vacuum-packed lambJOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, Issue 4 2007Jesús de la Fuente Abstract The effect of dietary vitamin E supplementation on lamb during vacuum-packed storage was studied. Thirty-six weaned male Manchego breed lambs were offered four dietary treatments (20, 270, 520 and 1020 mg vitamin E kg,1 feed). Lambs were fed the vitamin E-supplemented diet from 13 until 26 kg live weight. Pieces of M. longissimus dorsi were stored under vacuum at 2 ± 1 °C in the dark and meat quality was assessed after 5, 14 and 28 days of storage. Dietary supplementation significantly increased the ,-tocopherol concentration in the muscle (P < 0.001). Initially, lipid oxidation, meat colour and bacterial load were similar in all groups. In meat of non-supplemented lambs the thiobarbituric acid reactive substance value increased throughout storage, whereas in meat of supplemented lambs it did not increase. Meat pigments and discolouration proportion were significantly affected by storage time (P < 0.001). The bacterial load was low initially, but after 28 days of storage it was close to 7 log10 colony-forming units (cfu) cm,2 and Enterobacteriaceae surpassed the limit of acceptability of 2.5 log10 cfu cm,2, making the lamb unsuitable for human consumption. Meat of supplemented lambs displayed less lipid oxidation than that of their non-supplemented counterparts, while meat colour and bacterial load were not affected by supplementation. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Pastoral and species flavour in lambs raised on pasture, lucerne or maizeJOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, Issue 2 2003Owen A Young Abstract Variations in diet, age and castration were employed to generate a range of flavours that were chemically analysed to find the cause of ,pastoral' flavour in sheepmeat and its relationship to species flavour. Lambs were raised on pasture (ram or castrate) or on a maize-based or lucerne-based concentrate diet (ram only). They were slaughtered at 132 and 232 days. Fat from animals raised on concentrates had lower proportions of fat-hardening stearic acid and higher proportions of oxidation-prone fat-softening oleic and linoleic acids. Concentrations of species-characterising short branched-chain fatty acids (BCFAs), typified by 4-methyloctanoic acid, were lower for pasture-fed lambs, particularly at 232 days, although between-animal variation was high. Castration did not statistically affect BCFA concentration at this age. Correlations between BCFAs and testes weight were not significant, suggesting that they were not acting as sex pheromones. Concentrations of 3-methylindole (skatole) in perirenal fat were higher for the pasture diet at both slaughter dates. Concentrations of 4-methylphenol in the fat were not affected by diet. However, 3-methylphenol was more abundant in pasture treatments. A sensory panel found that the intensity of ,sheepmeat' flavour was higher for pasture-raised animals, but that associations of ,barnyard' flavour (which has been linked to pastoral flavour) with diet were more complex. The issue was resolved by fat sniffing. Panel responses to heated subcutaneous fat were recorded as frequency of descriptive terms drawn from a limited lexicon. Volatiles from fats pooled by treatment were resolved on a gas chromatographic column whose effluent was monitored by odourport sniffing. Compounds were identified by parallel chromatographic/mass spectrometric runs. The headspace concentrations of these compounds were then measured for individual animals. These data were related to frequency data by the principal component method. ,Mutton' and ,sheepmeat' odour notes were clearly linked to indoles (skatole particularly) and, to a lesser extent, methylphenol, setting these notes apart from ,lamb', an odour note more associated with lucerne and maize diets through higher concentrations of BCFAs. It was concluded that 3-methylindole was the major cause of pastoral flavour in sheepmeat, and that fat oxidation products represented a background flavour that varied quantitatively but not qualitatively with fatty acid profile. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry [source] No Change Detected in Body Weight, Scrotal Circumference, Semen Characteristics and Sexual Behaviour during the Development of Prepubertal Milchschaf Lambs after Weekly Administration of eCGREPRODUCTION IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS, Issue 4 2008R Ungerfeld Contents To study the effects of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) on pubertal development, 38 Milchschaf spring born male lambs fathered by the same ram and grazing over native pasture as a single mob during all the experiment were divided into three groups as follows: group 100 (100 IU of eCG weekly i.m., n = 11), group 400 (400 IU of eCG weekly i.m., n = 12) and group 0 (controls, n = 15). Lambs were weighed and scrotal circumference was registered every 2 weeks since birth until 170 days of age (end of experiment). On days 125 and 167 semen was collected using an electroejaculator. Semen volume and concentration, mass and individual sperm motility (scale 0 to 5) and total number of spermatozoa in the ejaculate were recorded. The sexual behaviour of the lambs was evaluated twice, on days 127 and 170 in a pen test with oestrous ewes. There were no significant effects of treatment on body weight or scrotal circumference, semen characteristics or sexual behaviour. At least in the administration regimens tested, eCG treatment has no effect on prepubertal reproductive development of male lambs. [source] Age, FSH Dose and Follicular Aspiration Frequency Affect Oocyte Yield from Juvenile Donor LambsREPRODUCTION IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS, Issue 3 2007I Valasi Contents Experiments were conducted to determine the effects of lamb age, frequency of follicular aspirations, and hormone stimulation by fixed or variable FSH dose, on the number of collected oocytes and their maturational competence. In trial 1, the characteristics of follicular population (number and diameter of follicles) were studied in 40 lambs which were slaughtered at the age of 30 days (S1), 42 days (S2), 60 days (S3) and 5,6 months (S4), each n = 10. In trial 2, 27 lambs were divided into four groups. group MF lambs (n = 6) had follicular aspiration (OPU) in four monthly intervals commencing from the age of 8,9 weeks (sessions MF1, MF2, MF3 and MF4). In groups SF2, SF3 and SF4 (each n = 6), OPU was conducted once during the 12,13, 16,17 and 20,21 week of age, respectively. Ovarian stimulation was conducted with fixed FSH dose (3.52 mg/animal). In trial 3, 10 lambs (group MV) were treated as those of group MF apart from the FSH dose, which was administered according to the body weight in a dose of 0.27 mg/kg. The number and the size of follicles, the number and the quality of collected oocytes and the maturational competence of the oocytes were compared between and within groups. In trial 1, the total number and the number of small follicles were greater in groups S1 and S2 compared with those of S3 and S4 (p < 0.01). Similarly, the follicular population was greater in group MF1 than in group SF3 (p < 0.01). In sessions MF2, MF3, MV2, MV3 and MV4, more oocytes were collected in comparison with those from the respective once-aspirated age mates (groups SF2, SF3 and SF4). In total, more (p = 0.02) oocytes per donor were collected from group MV (15.2 ± 5.5) than from group MF (9.0 ± 3.2). An absolute maturational failure was observed in oocytes collected from groups SF2 and SF3. Maturational competence varied between 16.7% and 58.3% (p = 0.017) among sessions of group MF, but it was more uniform among sessions of group MV (range 12.5,42.9%, p > 0.05). Our results indicate that firstly, the number and the quality of harvested oocytes from juvenile lambs can be much improved if follicular stimulation regime is adjusted to the body weight. Secondly, in terms of follicular population and oocyte quality, 3 and 4-month-old lambs are naturally bad oocyte donors, but this characteristic can be reversed by a previous follicular ablation. [source] Deposing an American Cultural Totem: Clarice Starling and Postmodern Heroism in Thomas Harris's Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs, and HannibalTHE JOURNAL OF POPULAR CULTURE, Issue 5 2005Stephen M. Fuller First page of article [source] Vaginocervical stimulation of Ewes induces the rapid formation of a new bond with an alien young without interfering with a previous bondDEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY, Issue 6 2010F. Lévy Abstract Ewes form a selective olfactory memory for their lambs after 2,hr of mother,young interaction following parturition. Mothers will subsequently reject any strange lamb at suckling. The present study investigated whether artificial vaginocervical stimulation (VCS) allows the formation of a selective bond with an unfamiliar lamb and whether it interferes with the maintenance of the bond formed with the familiar lamb. At 2,hr postpartum, mothers were separated from their familiar lamb after having formed a selective bond with it and were given 10,min of mechanical VCS. In the "VCS,+,lamb" group (n,=,24) an unfamiliar lamb was left with the ewe for 2,hr whereas in the "VCS no lamb" group (n,=,26) the mother was left alone for the same period of time. Ewes of the "no VCS" group (n,=,14) did not receive any VCS. In the majority of animals of the "VCS,+,lamb" group (23/24) VCS induced a complete acceptance of the unfamiliar lamb without any disruption of the bond previously formed with the familiar lamb. VCS or 2,hr of separation did not disrupt the maintenance of the selective bond initially formed with the familiar lamb since all the ewes of the "VCS no lamb" and "no VCS" groups accepted it at suckling. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 52: 537,544, 2010. [source] Behavioural and neurobiological effects of colostrum ingestion in the newborn lamb associated with filial bondingEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 4 2009David Val-Laillet Abstract In sheep, the onset of filial bonding relies on early intake of colostrum. The aim of our work was to describe in the newborn lamb housed with its mother the immediate post-ingestive effects of colostrum intake, in terms of behaviour and brain activity. In Experiment 1, lambs received five nasogastric infusions of colostrum, or saline, or sham intubations during the first 6 h after birth. Mother,young interactions were recorded before and after the first, third and fifth infusions. The activity of the dam and of the young, which diminished over time in all groups, was temporarily increased in both partners just after each intubation procedure. The number of high-pitched bleats was significantly lower in lambs that received colostrum than in the sham group, suggesting soothing or satiating properties of colostrum. In Experiment 2, newborn lambs received a single nasogastric infusion of colostrum or saline 4.5 h after birth, or were sham intubated. Neuronal activation was investigated 1.5 h later for maximum c-Fos activity. Infusion of colostrum and saline induced different patterns of c-Fos-like immunoreactivity in the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei of the hypothalamus as compared with the sham group. A specific oxytocinergic/vasopressinergic (OT/VSP) cell population in the paraventricular nucleus was activated following colostrum and saline infusion, but not sham intubation. Only colostrum induced the activation of the cortical amygdala and insular cortex, two structures involved in learning, associative processes, reward and emotion. We hypothesize that filial bonding may be triggered through colostrum-rewarded learning/calming processes and that the OT/VSP system may play a role. [source] Redistribution of the sheep neonatal Fc receptor in the mammary gland around the time of parturition in ewes and its localization in the small intestine of neonatal lambsIMMUNOLOGY, Issue 3 2002Balázs Mayer Summary Maternal immunity is mediated exclusively by colostral immunoglobulins in ruminants. As the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) is suggested to be involved in the transport of immunoglobulin G (IgG) in the mammary gland, we cloned this receptor from sheep and analysed its expression in the mammary gland around the time of parturition and also in the small intestine from the newborn lamb. FcRn heavy-chain mRNA was detected (by using in situ hybridization) exclusively in the acinar and ductal epithelial cells in mammary gland biopsies both before and after parturition. Immunohistochemistry revealed that the cytoplasm of the epithelial cells of the acini and ducts in the mammary gland biopsies stained homogeneously before parturition. A remarkable difference was observed in the pattern after lambing, where the apical side of the cells was strongly stained. The presence of the FcRn in the acinar and ductal epithelial cells of the mammary gland, and the obvious change in distribution before and after parturition, indicate that the FcRn plays an important role in the transport of IgG during colostrum formation in ruminants. Immunohistochemical analysis detected a strong apical and a weak basal FcRn signal in the duodenal crypt cells of a neonatal lamb, which have been previously demonstrated to secrete IgG1 in newborn ruminants. The FcRn was not detected in the duodenal enterocytes, which absorb intact IgG from the colostrum in a non-specific manner. These data suggest that FcRn is involved in IgG1 secretion in ruminant epithelial cells. [source] PPAR, and PP2A are involved in the proapoptotic effect of conjugated linoleic acid on human hepatoma cell line SK-HEP-1INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER, Issue 11 2007Giuliana Muzio Abstract Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), found in dairy products, in beef and lamb has been demonstrated to possess anticancer properties protecting several tissues from developing cancer. Moreover, it has been shown to modulate apoptosis in several cancer cell lines. The aim of this study was to investigate which signaling transduction pathways were modulated in CLA-induced apoptosis in human hepatoma SK-HEP-1 cells. The cells exposed to CLA were evaluated for PPAR,, PP2A, pro-apoptotic proteins Bak, Bad and caspases, and anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL. Cells were also treated with okadaic acid, a PP2A inhibitor, or with Wy-14643, a specific PPAR, agonist. The CLA-induced apoptosis was concomitant to the increase of percentage of cells in the S phase, PPAR,, PP2A and pro-apoptotic proteins; simultaneously, antiapoptotic proteins decreased. Inhibition of PP2A prevented apoptosis, and PPAR, agonist showed similar effect as CLA. The increased PP2A could be responsible for the dephosphorylation of Bcl-2 and Bad, permitting apoptotic activity of Bax and Bad. The increase of caspase 8 and 9 suggested that both the intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways were induced. PP2A was probably increased by PPAR,, since putative PPRE sequences were found in genes encoding its subunits. In conclusion, CLA induces apoptosis in human hepatoma SK-HEP-1 cells, by increasing PPAR,, PP2A and pro-apoptotic proteins. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Comparison of risk factors for colon and rectal cancerINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER, Issue 3 2004Esther K. Wei Abstract Predictors of colorectal cancer have been extensively studied with some evidence suggesting that risk factors vary by subsite. Using data from 2 prospective cohort studies, we examined established risk factors to determine whether they were differentially associated with colon and rectal cancer. Our study population included 87,733 women from the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and 46,632 men from the Health Professionals Follow Up Study (HPFS). Exposure information was collected via biennial questionnaires (dietary variables were collected every 4 years). During the follow-up period (NHS: 1980 to May 31, 2000; HPFS: 1986 to January 31, 2000), we identified 1,139 cases of colon cancer and 339 cases of rectal cancer. We used pooled logistic regression to estimate multivariate relative risks for the 2 outcomes separately and then used polytomous logistic regression to compare these estimates. In the combined cohort, age, gender, family history of colon or rectal cancer, height, body mass index, physical activity, folate, intake of beef, pork or lamb as a main dish, intake of processed meat and alcohol were significantly associated with colon cancer risk. However, only age and sex were associated with rectal cancer. In a stepwise polytomous logistic regression procedure, family history and physical activity were associated with statistically significant different relative risks of colon and rectal cancer. Our findings support previous suggestions that family history and physical activity are not strong contributors to the etiology of rectal cancer. Future investigations of colon or rectal cancer should take into consideration risk factor differences by subsite. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Psychrophilic and psychrotrophic clostridia: sporulation and germination processes and their role in the spoilage of chilled, vacuum-packaged beef, lamb and venisonINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, Issue 8 2010Katharine H. Adam Summary Spoilage of beef, lamb and venison by psychrophilic and psychrotrophic clostridial species renders meat unacceptable resulting in financial losses and reduced consumer confidence. A number of clostridial strains, including Clostridium algidicarnis, Clostridium algidixylanolyticum, Clostridium estertheticum, Clostridium frigidicarnis and Clostridium gasigenes, have been implicated in red meat spoilage. Unlike other spoilers, these clostridia are able to grow in anaerobic conditions and at chilled temperatures (some at ,1.5 °C the optimal storage temperature for chilled red meat). The spoilage they cause is characterised by softening of the meat, production of large amounts of drip (exudates), offensive odours and in the case of C. estertheticum and C. gasigenes production of gas. Spoilage occurs following the introduction of clostridial spores into vacuum packages during processing. Germination of spores is necessary for the growth of vegetative cells, which cause spoilage. Current mitigation strategies focus on good management practice within meat processing plants. However, this is not always sufficient to prevent spoilage. This review summarises the issues associated with meat spoilage because of psychrotolerant clostridia and discusses areas that require further study. [source] Development and design of a ,ready-to-use' reaction plate for a PCR-based simultaneous detection of animal species used in foodsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, Issue 1 2007Ines Laube Summary Different TaqManTM -polymerase chain reaction systems have been developed, which allow the detection of even minute amounts of beef, pork, lamb, goat, chicken, turkey and duck in processed foods. The species-specific systems are able to amplify DNA regions with no more than 108 bp in size (exception: duck, 212 bp) located on the single-copy genes cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cyclic GMP) phosphodiesterase, ryanodine receptor and interleukin -2 precursor. The parallel detection of the common ingredient ,meat' produced from mammals and poultry was based on the amplification of a region of the myostatin gene. The limit of detection was determined to be ten genome copies for each system. The relative SD under repeatability condition was below 30%. In addition, a ,ready-to-use' reaction plate has been developed, which makes it possible to investigate the presence of the seven animal species in parallel after a single real-time run. [source] Age-associated plasticity in the intrinsic innervation of the ovine rumenJOURNAL OF ANATOMY, Issue 3 2003Helga Pfannkuche Abstract The rumen of adult sheep functions as a large fermentation chamber. In the newborn suckling ruminant, the rumen is bypassed and milk enters the abomasum directly. It was the aim of our study to investigate whether the transmitter content of intrinsic nerves changes with the developmental stage. The neurochemical code of myenteric neurons in the rumen from suckling lambs, fattened lambs and adult sheep was determined by using quadruple immunohistochemistry against choline-acetyltransferase (ChAT), nitric oxide synthase (NOS), substance P (SP) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP). Three neurochemically distinct subpopulations were identified within the rumen. They expressed the code ChAT/,, ChAT/SP and NOS/VIP. The number of ChAT/SP neurons did not change during development. It was 62% in the newborn lamb and remained stable in fattened lambs (63%) and adult sheep (63%). By contrast, the number of ChAT/, neurons decreased significantly from 20% in suckling lambs to 11% and 7% in fattened lambs and adult sheep, respectively. Simultaneously, the proportion of NOS/VIP neurons increased from 16% in suckling lambs to 29% in adult sheep. The increase in the proportion of NOS/VIP immunoreactive neurons indicates an adaptation to large volumes of ingesta at the beginning of roughage intake and rumination. We conclude that the age-associated changes in neurochemical code of myenteric neurons in the forestomach are related to the adaption of the rumen to different functional properties during development. [source] Individual variation in reproductive costs of reproduction: high-quality females always do betterJOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2009Sandra Hamel Summary 1Although life-history theory predicts substantial costs of reproduction, individuals often show positive correlations among life-history traits, rather than trade-offs. The apparent absence of reproductive costs may result from heterogeneity in individual quality. 2Using detailed longitudinal data from three contrasted ungulate populations (mountain goats, Oreamnos americanus; bighorn sheep, Ovis canadensis; and roe deer, Capreolus capreolus), we assessed how individual quality affects the probability of detecting a cost of current reproduction on future reproduction for females. We used a composite measure of individual quality based on variations in longevity (all species), success in the last breeding opportunity before death (goats and sheep), adult mass (all species), and social rank (goats only). 3In all species, high-quality females consistently had a higher probability of reproduction, irrespective of previous reproductive status. In mountain goats, we detected a cost of reproduction only after accounting for differences in individual quality. Only low-quality female goats were less likely to reproduce following years of breeding than of nonbreeding. Offspring survival was lower in bighorn ewes following years of successful breeding than after years when no lamb was produced, but only for low-quality females, suggesting that a cost of reproduction only occurred for low-quality females. 4Because costs of reproduction differ among females, studies of life-history evolution must account for heterogeneity in individual quality. 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