Opening a can of worms : perceptions and practices of teachers in Newfoundland and Labrador incorporating the role of a therapist

Educational trends of inclusion and collaboration have led to changing roles of teachers, including an emphasis on personal support. To provide for social, emotional, and behavioural needs, teachers may adopt a therapeutic role. Many models for such support are proposed, with most models including the importance of student-teacher relationships, a focus on social, emotional, and behavioural development, and direct instruction of related skills. This study includes 20 interview participants. In addition, 4 of the 20 interview participants also took part in a case study. It examines whether participants adopt a therapeutic role, their beliefs about student-teacher relationships, whether they provide interventions in personal issues, and instructed social, emotional, and behaviour skills. Findings show that teachers adopt an academic role as well as a therapeutic role, believe student-teacher relationships are important, are approached about personal issues, and instruct social, emotional, and behavioural skills. Talking and listening are commonly used to provide support, typically exclusive of formal curricular goals. The challenges in providing front-line support issues that may be shared within an established student-teacher relationship are considered. Support in turn for teachers who choose to provide support for personal issues in the classroom within a therapeutic role are suggested, including recommendations for support and referral related to specific social, emotional, or behavioural scenarios that may arise in the school community.

An evaluation of the use of Cottonseed cake in the diet of growing pigs

An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of including cottonseed cake in rations for weaned growing pigs. Thirty-two Landrace x Large White pigs, weighing 20-24 kg, were included in four blocks formed on the basis of initial weight within sex in an otherwise completely randomized block design. The pigs were killed when they reached a live weight of 75.0 +/- 2.0 kg and the half careases were analysed into cuts and the weights of the organs were recorded. An estimate of the productivity of the pigs on each diet was calculated. Cottonseed cake reduced the voluntary feed intake (p < 0.001) and live weight gains (p < 0.001) and increased the heart, kidney and liver weights (p < 0.01). The pigs on the soya bean-based control diet took the shortest time to reach slaughter weight. The result was probably in part due to lysine deficiency and in part to the effect of free gossypol. It was found that it is at present cost-effective to include cottonseed cake in pig weaner grower diets up to 300 g/kg in Cameroon.

Enhancing the selenium content of bovine milk through alteration of the form and concentration of selenium in the diet of the dairy cow

Since estimated dietary selenium intake in the UK has declined steadily from around 60 mug day(-1) in 1975 to 34 mug day(-1) in 1997, there is a need to increase selenium intake from staple foods such as milk and milk products. An experiment was therefore done to investigate the relationship between dietary source and concentration of selenium and the selenium content of bovine milk. In a 3 x 3 factorial design, 90 mid-lactation Holstein dairy cows were supplemented over 8 weeks with either sodium selenite (S), a chelated selenium product (Selenium Metasolate(TM)) (C) or a selenium yeast (Sel-plex(TM)) (Y) at three different dietary inclusion levels of 0.38 (L), 0.76 (M) and 1.14 (H) mg kg(-1) dry matter (DM). Significant increases in milk selenium concentration were observed for all three sources with increasing inclusion level in the diet, but Y gave a much greater response (up to +65 mug l(-1)) than the other two sources of selenium (S and C up to +4 and +6 mug l(-1) respectively). The Y source also resulted in a substantially higher apparent efficiency of transfer of selenium from diet to milk than S or C. Feeding Y at the lowest dietary concentration, and thus within the maximum level permitted under EU regulations, resulted in milk with a selenium concentration of 28 mug l(-1). If the selenium concentration of milk in the UK was increased to this value, it would, at current consumption rates, provide an extra 8.7 mug selenium day(-1), or 11 and 14% of daily recommended national intake for men and women respectively. (C) 2004 Society of Chemical Industry.

Examination of the persistency of milk fatty acid composition responses to fish oil and sunflower oil in the diet of dairy cows

Based on the potential benefits of cis-9, trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) for human health, there is a need to develop effective strategies for enhancing milk fat CLA concentrations. Levels of cis-9, trans-11 CLA in milk can be increased by supplements of fish oil (FO) and sunflower oil (SO), but there is considerable variation in the response. Part of this variance may reflect time-dependent ruminal adaptations to high levels of lipid in the diet, which lead to alterations in the formation of specific biohydrogenation intermediates. To test this hypothesis, 16 late lactation Holstein-British Friesian cows were used in a repeated measures randomized block design to examine milk fatty acid composition responses to FO and SO in the diet over a 28-d period. Cows were allocated at random to corn silage-based rations (8 per treatment) containing 0 (control) or 45 g of oil supplement/ kg of dry matter consisting (1:2; wt/wt) of FO and SO (FSO), and milk composition was determined on alternate days from d 1. Compared with the control, the FSO diet decreased mean dry matter intake (21.1 vs. 17.9 kg/d), milk fat (47.7 vs. 32.6 g/kg), and protein content (36.1 vs. 33.3 g/kg), but had no effect on milk yield (27.1 vs. 26.4 kg/d). Reductions in milk fat content relative to the FSO diet were associated with increases in milk trans-10 18: 1, trans-10, cis-12 CLA, and trans-9, cis-11 CLA concentrations (r(2) = 0.74, 0.57, and 0.80, respectively). Compared with the control, the FSO diet reduced milk 4: 0 to 18: 0 and cis 18:1 content and increased trans 18:1, trans 18:2, cis-9, trans-11 CLA, 20: 5 n-3, and 22: 6 n-3 concentrations. The FSO diet caused a rapid elevation in milk cis-9, trans-11 CLA content, reaching a maximum of 5.37 g/100 g of fatty acids on d 5, but these increases were transient, declining to 2.35 g/100 g of fatty acids by d 15. They remained relatively constant thereafter. Even though concentrations of trans-11 18: 1 followed the same pattern of temporal changes as cis-9, trans-11 CLA, the total trans 18:1 content of FSO milk was unchanged because of the concomitant increases in the concentration of other isomers (Delta(4-10) and Delta(12-15)), predominantely trans-10 18:1. In conclusion, supplementing diets with FSO enhances milk fat cis-9, trans-11 CLA content, but the high level of enrichment declines because of changes in ruminal biohydrogenation that result in trans-10 replacing trans-11 as the major 18:1 biohydrogenation intermediate formed in the rumen.

The inclusion of forage mixtures in the diet of growing dairy heifers: impacts on digestion, energy utilisation, and methane emissions

Intensive farming focusing on monoculture grass species to maximise forage production has led to a reduction in the extent and diversity of species-rich grasslands. However, plant communities with higher species number (richness) are a potential strategy for more sustainable production and mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Research has indicated the need to understand opportunities that forage mixtures can offer sustainable ruminant production systems. The objective of the two experiments reported here were to evaluate multiple species forage mixtures in comparison to ryegrass-dominant pasture, when conserved or grazed, on digestion, energy utilisation, N excretion, and methane emissions by growing 10–15 month old heifers. Experiment 1 was a 4 × 4 Latin square design with five week periods. Four forage treatments of: (1) ryegrass (control); permanent pasture with perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne); (2) clover; a ryegrass:red clover (Trifolium pratense) mixture; (3) trefoil; a ryegrass:birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) mixture; and (4) flowers; a ryegrass:wild flower mixture of predominately sorrel (Rumex acetosa), ox-eye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare), yarrow (Achillea millefolium), knapweed (Centaurea nigra) and ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata), were fed as haylages to four dairy heifers. Measurements included digestibility, N excretion, and energy utilisation (including methane emissions measured in respiration chambers). Experiment 2 used 12 different dairy heifers grazing three of the same forage treatments used to make haylage in experiment 1 (ryegrass, clover and flowers) and methane emissions were estimated using the sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) tracer technique. Distribution of ryegrass to other species (dry matter (DM) basis) was approximately 70:30 (clover), 80:20 (trefoil), and 40:60 (flowers) for experiment 1. During the first and second grazing rotations (respectively) in experiment 2, perennial ryegrass accounted for 95 and 98% of DM in ryegrass, and 84 and 52% of DM in clover, with red clover accounting for almost all of the remainder. In the flowers mixture, perennial ryegrass was 52% of the DM in the first grazing rotation and only 30% in the second, with a variety of other flower species occupying the remainder. Across both experiments, compared to the forage mixtures (clover, trefoil and flowers), ryegrass had a higher crude protein (CP) content (P < 0.001, 187 vs. 115 g kg −1 DM) and DM intake (P < 0.05, 9.0 vs. 8.1 kg day −1). Heifers in experiment 1 fed ryegrass, compared to the forage mixtures, had greater total tract digestibility (g kg −1) of DM (DMD; P < 0.008, 713 vs. 641) and CP (CPD, P < 0.001, 699 vs. 475), and used more intake energy (%) for body tissue deposition (P < 0.05, 2.6 vs. −4.9). For both experiments, heifers fed flowers differed the most compared to the ryegrass control for a number of measurements. Compared to ryegrass, flowers had 40% lower CP content (P < 0.001, 113 vs. 187 g kg −1), 18% lower DMD (P < 0.01, 585 vs. 713 g kg −1), 42% lower CPD (P < 0.001, 407 vs. 699 g kg −1), and 10% lower methane yield (P < 0.05, 22.6 vs. 25.1 g kg −1 DM intake). This study has shown inclusion of flowers in forage mixtures resulted in a lower CP concentration, digestibility and intake. These differences were due in part to sward management and maturity at harvest. Further research is needed to determine how best to exploit the potential environmental benefits of forage mixtures in sustainable ruminant production systems.

Poor survival on an artificial diet of two genotypes of the aphid Myzus persicae: a fitness cost of insecticide resistance?

A fully susceptible genotype (4106A) of Myzus persicae survived the longest on an artificial diet and, in several of the eight replicates, monitoring was terminated when the culture was still thriving. A genotype with elevated carboxylesterase FE4 at the R3 level (800F) had a mean survival of only 98.13 days, whereas 794J, which combines R3 E4 carboxylesterase with target-site resistance (knockdown resistance), survived for the even shorter mean time of 84.38 days. The poorer survival of the two genotypes with extremely elevated carboxylesterase-resistance was not the result of a reluctance to transfer to new diet at each diet change. Although available for only two replicates, a revertant clone of 794J (794Jrev), which has the same genotype as 794J but the amplified E4 genes are not expressed leading to a fully susceptible phenotype, did not appear to survive any better than this clone. This suggests that the poor survival on an artificial diet of the extreme-carboxylesterase genotypes is not the result of the cost of over-producing the enzyme. The frequency of insecticide-resistant genotypes is low in the population until insecticide is applied, indicating that they have reduced fitness, although this does not necessarily reflect a direct cost of expressing the resistance mechanism.

Spatial, temporal and size-class variation in the diet of estuary perch (Macquaria colonorum) in the Hopkins River, Victoria, Australia

The dietary importance of prey of estuary perch (Macquaria colonorum; Percicthyidae: Günther) was examined spatially, temporally and among size classes. Fish were collected from the Hopkins River, south-western Victoria, from September 1998 to February 1999. The species is a euryhaline, euryphagic carnivore with spatial, temporal and size class variations in diets. Fish caught from estuarine locations consumed primarily Paratya australiensis (40% IRI) while freshwater fish consumed mostly Tricopteran larvae (63.5% IRI). In both freshwater and estuarine locations, the relative importance of P. australiensis decreased with increasing length of fish. Diet changed seasonally, indicating opportunistic changes in prey. The species selected particular prey items relative to environmental availability (P. australiensis, Amarinus lacustrine).

The diet of powerful owls (Ninox strenua) and prey availability in a continuum of habitats from disturbed urban fringe to protected forest environments in south-eastern Australia

This study investigates the diet of six breeding pairs of powerful owls in the Yarra Valley Corridor in Victoria, Australia, and compares prey consumption with prey availability. The six sites represent a continuum of habitats, ranging from urban Melbourne, through the urban fringe interface to a more forested landscape. We found that powerful owls in the Yarra Valley Corridor are reliant almost exclusively on arboreal marsupial prey as their preferred diet, with 99% of their overall diet comprising four arboreal marsupial species. These four species (the common ringtail possum, common brushtail possum, sugar glider and greater glider) were also the most abundant species observed while spotlighting; however, their abundance varied along the continuum. There was a strong positive relationship with the presence of these species in the diet and their site-specific availability, indicating that the powerful owl is a generalist hunter, preying on the most available prey at a given site and in a given season. This study suggests that food resources are high in these disturbed urban fringe sites and it is unlikely that food availability in urban environments will limit the potential survival of urban powerful owls.

Change in the diet of sooty owls (Tyto tenebricosa) since European settlement: from terrestrial to arboreal prey and increased overlap with powerful owls

The current diet of the sooty owl (Tyto tenebricosa) was determined by analysing freshly regurgitated pellets collected beneath their roosting sites in East Gippsland, Victoria. Comparisons were then made with: (i) prehistoric and historic diet from bone deposits found in cave roosts, and (ii) diet of a sympatric owl species, the powerful owl (Ninox strenua). Sooty owls consumed a large array of terrestrial mammal species before European settlement, but only three terrestrial species were detected in their current diet, a reduction of at least eight species since European settlement. To compensate, sooty owls have increased their consumption of arboreal prey from 55% to 81% of their diet. Arboreal species are also a major component of the powerful owl diet and this prey shift by sooty owls has increased dietary overlap between these two species. Predation by foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and other feral species is likely to have reduced the amount of terrestrial prey available to sooty owls since European settlement. Investigation of changes in the diet of sooty owls may offer a unique monitoring system for evaluating the ability of fox-control strategies to influence increases in numbers of critical-weight-range mammals.

Home range, habitat selection and diet of foxes (vulpes vulpes) in a semi-urban riparian environment

Between 2000 and 2002 the home range, habitat selection and diet of foxes were examined in the Dandenong Creek Valley, Melbourne, Australia. The mean home range was 44.6 ha (range 19.2–152.6 ha). A significant selection towards blackberry and gorse used as diurnal shelter was found during the day with an active avoidance of less structurally complex vegetation types. Although there was obvious selection of certain habitats, the diet of the foxes was highly general and opportunistic and thus offers little potential as a factor to manipulate in order to reduce fox abundance. Given the strong preference for blackberry and gorse as a shelter resource, a habitat-manipulation strategy is suggested whereby patches of blackberry and gorse are removed and replaced with less structurally complex vegetation. Such a strategy has the potential to influence the density of foxes in semi-urban riparian environments such as those discussed in this study.

The diet of a Southern Boobook Ninox novaeseelandiae in Box-ironbark country, central Victoria

The diet of a Southern Boobook Ninox novaeseelandiae in a Box-Ironbark woodland remnant in central Victoria was studied. An analysis of 42.5 pellets found invertebrates to represent 82% of the total prey items, but vertebrates, in the form of the House Mouse Mus domesticus, to represent 88% of the biomass. The proportion of spiders as prey items in the diet in this instance (43%) was significantly higher than in other studies on mainland Australia.

Effect of proximity to the shelf edge on the diet of female Australian fur seals

The Australian fur seal Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus is a temperate latitude species with a breeding distribution restricted to Bass Strait, Australia. Recent studies of the foraging behaviour of female Australian fur seals indicated that they feed demersally in the shallow continental shelf waters, a behaviour that is in contrast to the epipelagic foraging of females of most other arctocephaline (Southern Hemisphere fur seals) species and akin to that observed in sea lions. These studies, however, were conducted at one colony (Kanowna Island) located in central northern Bass Strait, and it was suggested that the observed foraging behaviour may have been due to the distance of this colony from the continental shelf edge (180 km), making it inefficient to forage beyond it. Here, the diet of lactating Australian fur seals was compared between 2 colonies to test if differing proximity to the continental shelf edge resulted in differences in foraging behaviour. The 2 breeding colonies studied, Kanowna Island and The Skerries, were 180 and 25 km from the nearest shelf edge, respectively. We analysed a total of 917 scat samples collected at the 2 colonies between 1997 and 2001. From faecal analysis, 45 primarily demersal on-shelf species of fishes and cephalopods were identified. Only 4 species had a frequency of occurrence greater than 10%: redbait Emmelichthys nitidus, jack mackerel Trachurus sp., red rock cod Pseudophycis bachus, and Gould’s squid Nototodarus gouldi. No seasonal, annual or spatial differences were found between the 2 colonies, indicating that proximity to the shelf edge does not influence diet.

Further Observations on the Diet of the Sooty Owl Tyto Tenebricosa in the Royal National Park, Sydney

Dietary samples from four Sooty Owl Tyto tenebricosa roost-sites within one territory in the Royal National Park, Sydney, New South Wales, were collected in December 2005. A total of 144 dietary items was identified, representing eight mammal species and at least one bird species. The samples were compared with those collected during a study 10 years earlier (in 1994-96) that included samples from the same roost-sites. Ten years later, the diet of the Sooty Owl in this territory appears little changed, except that the Sugar Glider Petaurus breviceps is now taken more frequently. The Common Ringtail Possum Pseudocheirus peregrinus continued to be the principal prey species taken by the Owls at this location. The Long-nosed Bandicoot Perameles nasuta may have declined in the Sooty Owl's diet during this period, but this trend was not significant statistically. This study showed that Sooty Owl diet at a single location is relatively stable, despite the occurrence of a major disturbance to habitat caused by a severe wildfire 12 years previously.