Peaceful coexistence? The role of religious schools and NGOs in the growth of female secondary schooling in Bangladesh

Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), runs a large number of non-formal primary schools in Bangladesh which target out-of-school children from poor families. These schools are well-known for their effectiveness in closing the gender gap in primary school enrolment. On the other hand, registered non-government secondary madrasas (or Islamic schools) today enrol one girl against every boy student. In this article, we document a positive spillover effect of BRAC schools on female secondary enrolment in registered madrasas. Drawing upon school enrolment data aggregated at the region level, we first show that regions that had more registered madrasas experienced greater secondary female enrolment growth during 1999–2003, holding the number of secular secondary schools constant. In this context we test the impact of BRAC-run primary schools on female enrolment in registered madrasas. We deal with the potential endogeneity of placement of BRAC schools using an instrumental variable approach. Controlling for factors such as local-level poverty, road access and distance from major cities, we show that regions with a greater presence of BRAC schools have higher female enrolment growth in secondary madrasas. The effect is much bigger when compared to that on secondary schools.

Effect of forage conservation method on plasma lipids, mammary lipogenesis, and milk fatty acid composition in lactating cows fed diets containing a 60:40 forage-to-concentrate ratio

The effects of forage conservation method on plasma lipids, mammary lipogenesis, and milk fat were examined in 2 complementary experiments. Treatments comprised fresh grass, hay, or untreated (UTS) or formic acid treated silage (FAS) prepared from the same grass sward. Preparation of conserved forages coincided with the collection of samples from cows fed fresh grass. In the first experiment, 5 multiparous Finnish Ayrshire cows (229 d in milk) were used to compare a diet based on fresh grass followed by hay during 2 consecutive 14-d periods, separated by a 5-d transition during which extensively wilted grass was fed. In the second experiment, 5 multiparous Finnish Ayrshire cows (53 d in milk) were assigned to 1 of 2 blocks and allocated treatments according to a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square design, with 14-d periods to compare hay, UTS, and FAS. Cows received 7 or 9 kg/d of the same concentrate in experiments 1 and 2, respectively. Arterial concentrations of triacylglycerol (TAG) and phospholipid were higher in cows fed fresh grass, UTS, and FAS compared with hay. Nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentrations and the relative abundance of 18:2n-6 and 18:3n-3 in TAG of arterial blood were also higher in cows fed fresh grass than conserved forages. On all diets, TAG was the principle source of fatty acids (FA) for milk fat synthesis, whereas mammary extraction of NEFA was negligible, except during zero-grazing, which was associated with a lower, albeit positive calculated energy balance. Mammary FA uptake was higher and the synthesis of 16:0 lower in cows fed fresh grass than hay. Conservation of grass by drying or ensiling had no influence on mammary extraction of TAG and NEFA, despite an increase in milk fat secretion for silages compared with hay and for FAS than UTS. Relative to hay, milk fat from fresh grass contained lower 12:0, 14:0, and 16:0 and higher S3,R7,R11,15-tetramethyl-16:0, cis-9 18:1, trans-11 18:1, cis-9,trans-11 18:2, 18:2n-6, and 18:3n-3 concentrations. Even though conserved forages altered mammary lipogenesis, differences in milk FA composition were relatively minor, other than a higher enrichment of S3,R7,R11,15-tetramethyl-16:0 in milk from silages compared with hay. In conclusion, differences in milk fat composition on fresh grass relative to conserved forages were associated with a lower energy balance, increased uptake of preformed FA, and decreased synthesis of 16:0 de novo in the mammary glands, in the absence of alterations in stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase activity.

Short communication: plasma concentration of glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide may regulate milk energy production in lactating dairy cows

In dairy cows, an increase in plasma concentration of glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) is associated with an increase in metabolizable energy intake, but the role of GIP in energy partitioning of dairy cattle is not certain. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between plasma GIP concentrations and energy partitioning toward milk production. Four mid-lactation, primiparous, rumenfistulated Holstein-Friesian cows were fed a control diet of 55% forage and 45% concentrate [dry matter (DM) basis] in a 4 × 4 Latin square design with 4-wk periods. The 4 treatments were (1) control diet fed at 1000 and 1600 h, and (2) once-daily (1000 h) feeding, (3) twice daily (1000 and 1600 h) feeding, and (4) 4 times/d (1000, 1600, 2200 and 0400 h) feeding of the control diet plus 1 dose (1.75 kg on a DM basis at 0955 h) into the rumen of supplemental vegetable proteins (Amino Green; SCA NuTec Ltd., Thirsk, UK). Measurements of respiratory exchange and energy balance were obtained over 4 d during the last week of each period while cows were housed in open-circuit respiration chambers. Blood was collected from the jugular vein every 30 min for 12 h, using indwelling catheters, starting at 0800 h on d 20 of each period. Plasma GIP concentration was measured in samples pooled over each 5 consecutive blood samplings. The relationships between plasma GIP, DM intake, heat production, respiratory quotient, milk yield, and milk energy output were analyzed using linear correlation procedures, with metabolizable intake as a partial variant. Plasma GIP concentration was not correlated with heat production, or milk yield, but was positively correlated with milk energy yield (correlation coefficient = 0.67) and negatively correlated with RQ (correlation coefficient = −0.72). The correlations between GIP and RQ and milk energy output do not imply causality, but suggest that a role for GIP may exist in the regulation of energy metabolism in dairy cows.

The effect of adding stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) haylage to a total mixed ration on performance and rumen function of lactating dairy cows

In vitro studies found that inclusion of dried stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) at 100 mg/g dry matter (DM) increased the pH of a rumen fluid inoculated fermentation buffer by 30% and the effect was persistent for 7 days. Our objective was to evaluate the effects of adding stinging nettle haylage to a total mixed ration on feed intake, eating and rumination activity, rumen pH, milk yield, and milk composition of lactating dairy cows. Six lactating Holstein-Friesian cows were used in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin Square design experiment with 3 treatments and 3 week periods. Treatments were a control (C) high-starch (311 g/kg DM) total mixed ration diet and two treatment diets containing 50 (N5) and 100 (N10) g nettle haylage (DM/kg) as a replacement for ryegrass silage (Lolium perenne). There was an increase (linear, P < 0.010) in the proportion of large particles and a reduction in medium (linear, P = 0.045) and fine particles (linear, P = 0.026) in the diet offered with increasing nettle inclusion. A numerical decrease (linear, P = 0.106) in DM intake (DMI) was observed as nettle inclusion in the diet increased. Milk yield averaged 20.3 kg/day and was not affected by diet. There was a decrease (quadratic, P = 0.01) in the time animals spent ruminating as nettle inclusion in the diet increased, in spite of an increase in the number of boli produced daily for the N5 diet (quadratic, P = 0.031). Animals fed the N10 diet spent less time with a rumen pH below 5.5 (P < 0.05) than cows fed the N5 diet. Averaged over an 8.5 h sampling period, there were no changes in the concentration or proportions of acetate or propionate in the rumen, but feeding nettle haylage reduced the concentrations of n-butyrate (quadratic, P < 0.001), i-butyrate (linear, P < 0.009) and n-caproate (linear, P < 0.003). Milk and fat and protein corrected milk yield were not affected when nettles replaced ryegrass silage in the diet of lactating dairy cows, despite a numerical reduction in feed intake. Rumination activity was reduced by the addition of nettle haylage to the diet, which may reflect differences in fibre structure between the nettle haylage and ryegrass silage fed. Changes observed in rumen pH suggest potential benefits of feeding nettle haylage for reducing rumen acidosis. However, the extent to which these effects were due to the fermentability and structure of the nettle haylage compared to the ryegrass silage fed, or a bioactive component of the nettles, is not certain

Effects of 3-nitrooxypropanol on methane emission,digestion, and energy and nitrogen balance of lactating dairy cows

The objective was to measure effects of 3-nitrooxypropanol (3NP) on methane production of lactating dairy cows and any associated changes in digestion and energy and nitrogen metabolism. Six Holstein-Friesian dairy cows in mid-lactation were fed twice daily a total mixed ration with maize silage as the primary forage source. Cows received 1 of 3 treatments using an experimental design based on two 3 × 3 Latin squares with 5-wk periods. Treatments were a control placebo or 500 or 2,500 mg/d of 3NP delivered directly into the rumen, via the rumen fistula, in equal doses before each feeding. Measurements of methane production and energy and nitrogen balance were obtained during wk 5 of each period using respiration calorimeters and digestion trials. Measurements of rumen pH (48 h) and postprandial volatile fatty acid and ammonia concentrations were made at the end of wk 4. Daily methane production was reduced by 3NP, but the effects were not dose dependent (reductions of 6.6 and 9.8% for 500 and 2,500 mg/d, respectively). Dosing 3NP had a transitory inhibitory effect on methane production, which may have been due to the product leaving the rumen in liquid outflow or through absorption or metabolism. Changes in rumen concentrations of volatile fatty acids indicated that the pattern of rumen fermentation was affected by both doses of the product, with a decrease in acetate:propionate ratio observed, but that acetate production was inhibited by the higher dose. Dry matter, organic matter, acid detergent fiber, N, and energy digestibility were reduced at the higher dose of the product. The decrease in digestible energy supply was not completely countered by the decrease in methane excretion such that metabolizable energy supply, metabolizable energy concentration of the diet, and net energy balance (milk plus tissue energy) were reduced by the highest dose of 3NP. Similarly, the decrease in nitrogen digestibility at the higher dose of the product was associated with a decrease in body nitrogen balance that was not observed for the lower dose. Milk yield and milk fat concentration and fatty acid composition were not affected but milk protein concentration was greater for the higher dose of 3NP. Twice-daily rumen dosing of 3NP reduced methane production by lactating dairy cows, but the dose of 2,500 mg/d reduced rumen acetate concentration, diet digestibility, and energy supply. Further research is warranted to determine the optimal dose and delivery method of the product. Key words: 3-nitrooxypropanol, methane, digestion, rumen, dairy cow

“The suffering black male body and the threatened white female body": ambiguous bodies in Candyman

This article explores the roles of monster and victim as experienced through the body, and considers how the relationship between violence and the body affects the presentation of these roles through close analysis of performance in Candyman (Bernard Rose, 1992). I aim to demonstrate that commitment to such a detailed approach, offers a more intricate and rewarding critical interaction, reflecting the complexity of narrative film. Consideration of the particulars of performance is crucial, in its affect on our engagement with the performer and their physical presence. Through this attention I intend to demonstrate how the seemingly fixed role of monster is in fact more fluid than first apparent, that monster and victim can co-exist in the same body. Candyman’s physicality and the way it is presented foregrounds the oscillations between violence and suffering, the relationship between the body and the violence inflicted on and by it, ambiguities which are also found in the heroine’s development, thus enhancing the film’s striking preoccupation with the shifting parallels between monster and victim.

An isotope dilution model for partitioning phenylalanine and tyrosine uptake by the mammary gland of lactating dairy cows

An isotope dilution model for partitioning phenylalanine and tyrosine uptake by the mammary gland of the lactating dairy cow is constructed and solved in the steady state. The model contains four intracellular and four extracellular pools and conservation of mass principles are applied to generate the fundamental equations describing the behaviour of the system. The experimental measurements required for model solution are milk secretion and plasma flow rate across the gland in combination with phenylalanine and tyrosine concentrations and plateau isotopic enrichments in arterial and venous plasma and free and protein bound milk during a constant infusion of [1-(13)C]phenylalanine and [2,3,5,6-(2)H]tyrosine tracer. If assumptions are made, model solution enables determination of steady state flows for phenylalanine and tyrosine inflow to the gland, outflow from it and bypass, and flows representing the synthesis and degradation of constitutive protein and hydroxylation. The model is effective in providing information about the fates of phenylalanine and tyrosine in the mammary gland and could be used as part of a more complex system describing amino acid metabolism in the whole ruminant.

Effects of forage type and extruded linseed supplementation on methane production and milk fatty acid composition of lactating dairy cows

Replacing dietary grass silage (GS) with maize silage (MS) and dietary fat supplements may reduce milk concentration of specific saturated fatty acids (SFA) and can reduce methane production by dairy cows. The present study investigated the effect of feeding an extruded linseed supplement on milk fatty acid (FA) composition and methane production of lactating dairy cows, and whether basal forage type, in diets formulated for similar neutral detergent fiber and starch, altered the response to the extruded linseed supplement. Four mid-lactation Holstein-Friesian cows were fed diets as total mixed rations, containing either high proportions of MS or GS, both with or without extruded linseed supplement, in a 4 × 4 Latin square design experiment with 28-d periods. Diets contained 500 g of forage/kg of dry matter (DM) containing MS and GS in proportions (DM basis) of either 75:25 or 25:75 for high MS or high GS diets, respectively. Extruded linseed supplement (275 g/kg ether extract, DM basis) was included in treatment diets at 50 g/kg of DM. Milk yields, DM intake, milk composition, and methane production were measured at the end of each experimental period when cows were housed in respiration chambers. Whereas DM intake was higher for the MS-based diet, forage type and extruded linseed had no significant effect on milk yield, milk fat, protein, or lactose concentration, methane production, or methane per kilogram of DM intake or milk yield. Total milk fat SFA concentrations were lower with MS compared with GS-based diets (65.4 vs. 68.4 g/100 g of FA, respectively) and with extruded linseed compared with no extruded linseed (65.2 vs. 68.6 g/100 g of FA, respectively), and these effects were additive. Concentrations of total trans FA were higher with MS compared with GS-based diets (7.0 vs. 5.4 g/100 g of FA, respectively) and when extruded linseed was fed (6.8 vs. 5.6 g/100 g of FA, respectively). Total n-3 FA were higher when extruded linseed was fed compared with no extruded linseed (1.2 vs. 0.8 g/100 g of FA, respectively), whereas total n-6 polyunsaturated FA were higher when feeding MS compared with GS (2.5 vs. 2.1 g/100 g of FA, respectively). Feeding extruded linseed and MS both provided potentially beneficial decreases in SFA concentration of milk, and no significant interactions were found between extruded linseed supplementation and forage type. However, both MS and extruded linseed increased trans FA concentration in milk fat. Neither MS nor extruded linseed had significant effects on methane production or yield, but the amounts of supplemental lipid provided by extruded linseed were relatively small.

Prediction of metabolisable energy concentrations of fresh cut grass using digestibility data measured with non-pregnant non-lactating cows

Pasture-based ruminant production systems are common in certain areas of the world, but energy evaluation in grazing cattle is performed with equations developed, in their majority, with sheep or cattle fed total mixed rations. The aim of the current study was to develop predictions of metabolisable energy (ME) concentrations in fresh-cut grass offered to non-pregnant non-lactating cows at maintenance energy level, which may be more suitable for grazing cattle. Data were collected from three digestibility trials performed over consecutive grazing seasons. In order to cover a range of commercial conditions and data availability in pasture-based systems, thirty-eight equations for the prediction of energy concentrations and ratios were developed. An internal validation was performed for all equations and also for existing predictions of grass ME. Prediction error for ME using nutrient digestibility was lowest when gross energy (GE) or organic matter digestibilities were used as sole predictors, while the addition of grass nutrient contents reduced the difference between predicted and actual values, and explained more variation. Addition of N, GE and diethyl ether extract (EE) contents improved accuracy when digestible organic matter in DM was the primary predictor. When digestible energy was the primary explanatory variable, prediction error was relatively low, but addition of water-soluble carbohydrates, EE and acid-detergent fibre contents of grass decreased prediction error. Equations developed in the current study showed lower prediction errors when compared with those of existing equations, and may thus allow for an improved prediction of ME in practice, which is critical for the sustainability of pasture-based systems.

Aberrant brain responses to emotionally valent words is normalised after cognitive behavioural therapy in female depressed adolescents

AbstractBackground Depression in adolescence is debilitating with high recurrence in adulthood, yet its pathophysiological mechanism remains enigmatic. To examine the interaction between emotion, cognition and treatment, functional brain responses to sad and happy distractors in an affective go/no-go task were explored before and after Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) in depressed female adolescents, and healthy participants. Methods Eighty-two Depressed and 24 healthy female adolescents, aged 12 to 17 years, performed a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) affective go/no-go task at baseline. Participants were instructed to withhold their responses upon seeing happy or sad words. Among these participants, 13 patients had CBT over approximately 30 weeks. These participants and 20 matched controls then repeated the task. Results At baseline, increased activation in response to happy relative to neutral distractors was observed in the orbitofrontal cortex in depressed patients which was normalized after CBT. No significant group differences were found behaviourally or in brain activation in response to sad distractors. Improvements in symptoms (mean: 9.31, 95% CI: 5.35-13.27) were related at trend-level to activation changes in orbitofrontal cortex. Limitations In the follow-up section, a limited number of post-CBT patients were recruited. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first fMRI study addressing the effect of CBT in adolescent depression. Although a bias toward negative information is widely accepted as a hallmark of depression, aberrant brain hyperactivity to positive distractors was found and normalised after CBT. Research, assessment and treatment focused on positive stimuli could be a future consideration. Moreover, a pathophysiological mechanism distinct from adult depression may be suggested and awaits further exploration.