The influence of providing perches and string on activity levels, fearfulness and leg health in commercial broiler chickens

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of providing environmental enrichment in the form of perches and string on the behaviour and welfare of commercial broiler chickens. Houses containing ~23 000 broiler chickens were assigned to one of four treatments in a 2×2 factorial design. Treatments involved two levels of access to perches (P) (present (24/house) ‘+P’ or absent ‘−P’) and two levels of access to string (S) (present (24/house) ‘+S’ or absent ‘−S’). All houses contained windows, and 30 straw bales were provided from day 10 of the rearing cycle. Treatments were applied in one of four houses on a single farm, and were replicated over four production cycles. Behaviour and leg health were observed in weeks 3 to 5 of the rearing cycle. Production performance and environmental parameters were also measured. There was an interaction between perches and age in the percentage of birds observed lying, with higher percentages of birds observed lying in the +P treatment than in the −P treatment during weeks 4 and 5. There was also a significant interaction between string and age in the percentage of birds observed in locomotion, with higher percentages observed in locomotion in the −S treatment than in the +S treatment during weeks 4 and 5. There was also an interaction between string and age in average gait scores, with lower gait scores in the +S treatment than in the −S treatment during weeks 3 and 5 but not within week 4. Daytime observations showed that perches and strings were used frequently, with one bout of perching occurring approximately every 80 s/perch, and one bout of pecking at string occurring every 78 s/string on average. There was a significant effect of age on use of perches (P<0.001) and string (P<0.001), with perching peaking during week 5 and string pecking peaking during week 3. We conclude that commercial broilers in windowed houses with access to straw bales display an interest in additional enrichment stimuli in the form of perches and string, and therefore that these stimuli have the potential to improve welfare. In addition, provision of string as a pecking device appeared to positively influence walking ability. However, this effect was numerically small, was only shown in certain weeks and was not reflected in the other leg health measure (latency to lie). The results also showed an apparent negative effect of string and perches on the activity levels of birds (recorded away from the immediate vicinity of these enrichments) towards the end of the production cycle. These results emphasise the need for further research into optimum design and layout of enrichment stimuli for modern broilers in windowed houses to ensure that their provision leads to clear welfare benefits.

Assessment of commercial sand barge radar for detecting overwintering diving ducks at Lough Neagh

Overwintering diving ducks at Lough Neagh have declined dramatically in recent years, but it has been suggested that on-to-offshore redistribution may have led to an underestimate of numbers. Most species feed nocturnally and their distribution at night is unknown. We used radar and visual observations from on board commercial sand barges to determine the diurnal distribution of diving duck flocks in an effort to assess the feasibility of using standard
boat-mounted radar to describe their nocturnal feeding distribution. Sand barge radar was poor in identifying flocks compared to independent visual observations as it was sensitive to interference by waves during windy conditions. However, visual observations were useful in describing diurnal distribution. Sand barges were on average 1.5km from shore when a flock of diving ducks was observed and the probability of detection declined with distance from shore. This supports the reliability of shore-based counts in monitoring and surveillance. Given the poor performance of commercially available boatmounted radar systems, we recommend the use of specialised terrestrial Bird Detecting Radar to determine the movements of diving ducks at Lough Neagh.

Young children's food brand knowledge. Early development and associations with television viewing and parent's diet

Brand knowledge is a prerequisite of children's requests and choices for branded foods. We explored the development of young children's brand knowledge of foods highly advertised on television - both healthy and less healthy. Participants were 172 children aged 3-5 years in diverse socio-economic settings, from two jurisdictions on the island of Ireland with different regulatory environments. Results indicated that food brand knowledge (i) did not differ across jurisdictions; (ii) increased significantly between 3 and 4 years; and (iii) children had significantly greater knowledge of unhealthy food brands, compared with similarly advertised healthy brands. In addition, (iv) children's healthy food brand knowledge was not related to their television viewing, their mother's education, or parent or child eating. However, (v) unhealthy brand knowledge was significantly related to all these factors, although only parent eating and children's age were independent predictors. Findings indicate that effects of food marketing for unhealthy foods take place through routes other than television advertising alone, and are present before pre-schoolers develop the concept of healthy eating. Implications are that marketing restrictions of unhealthy foods should extend beyond television advertising; and that family-focused obesity prevention programmes should begin before children are 3 years of age.

Second Equal Treatment Act for the commercial sector

This book analyses one of the first pieces of legislation promoted by Angela Merkel, who started her political career as a minister for women's equality under Helmut Kohl. The name of the Act, Second Equal Treatment Act, allured to the Equal Treatment Act of the 1950s which implemented the barest minimum requirements to make the German constitution's demand to guarantee equal rights for women more than a hollow formula. However, this Act, while abolishing blatant discrimination of women through statute in fields such as family law, did nothing to further substantive equality. In 1990, when Germany was reunited, women from Eastern Germany had a first hand experience what the absence of such furtherance meant under capitalism. Used to being at nor risk to fall into poverty just because they divorced, or decided to become a mother without male protection, to being in full employment and not at the mercy of payments by their husbands, women from Eastern Germany were dismissed in large numbers, and found themselves sent back to the kitchen. The first minister for women affairs from their ranks made the "2nd Equality Act", but this act did little more than the minimum required by the EEC legislation. Again, substantive equality was not addressed through German Federal legislation. This was left to some of the German states - whose competences were limited to the public services. Most of those states which did create positive action measures for women employed in the public services were governed not by Christian Democrats - but this was the theme of another book.

Associations between Achievement Goal Orientations and Academic Performance Among Students at a UK Pharmacy School

Objective. To ascertain goal orientations of pharmacy students and establish whether associations exist between academic performance, gender, or year of study. Methods. Goal orientations were assessed using a validated questionnaire. Respondents were categorized as high or low performers based on university grades. Associations and statistical significance were ascertained using parametric and nonparametric tests and linear regression, as appropriate. Results. A response rate of 60.7% was obtained. High performers were more likely to be female than male. The highest mean score was for mastery approach; the lowest for work avoidance. The mean score for work avoidance was significantly greater for low performers than for high performers and for males than for females. First-year students were most likely to have top scores in mastery and performance approaches. Conclusion. It is encouraging that the highest mean score was for mastery approach orientation, as goal orientation may play a role in academic performance of pharmacy students.

Family-based associations in measures of psychological distress and quality of life in a cardiac screening clinic for inheritable cardiac diseases: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Family-based cardiac screening programmes for persons at risk for genetic cardiac diseases are now recommended. However, the psychological wellbeing and health related quality of life (QoL) of such screened patients is poorly understood, especially in younger patients. We sought to examine wellbeing and QoL in a representative group of adults aged 16 and over in a dedicated family cardiac screening clinic.

METHODS: Prospective survey of consecutive consenting patients attending a cardiac screening clinic, over a 12 month period. Data were collected using two health measurement tools: the Short Form 12 (version 2) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), along with baseline demographic and screening visit-related data. The HADS and SF-12v.2 outcomes were compared by age group. Associations with a higher HADS score were examined using logistic regression, with multi-level modelling used to account for the family-based structure of the data.

RESULTS: There was a study response rate of 86.6%, with n=334 patients providing valid HADS data (valid response rate 79.5%), and data on n=316 retained for analysis. One-fifth of patients were aged under 25 (n=61). Younger patients were less likely than older to describe significant depression on their HADS scale (p<0.0001), although there were overall no difference between the prevalence of a significant HADS score between the younger and older age groups (18.0% vs 20.0%, p=0.73). Significant positive associates of a higher HADS score were having lower educational attainment, being single or separated, and being closely related to the family proband. Between-family variance in anxiety and depression scores was greater than within-family variance.

CONCLUSIONS: High levels of anxiety were seen amongst patients attending a family-based cardiac screening clinic.Younger patients also had high rates of clinically significant anxiety. Higher levels of anxiety and depression tends to run in families, and this has implications for family screening and intervention programmes.

Towards an understanding of bacterial metabolites prodigiosin and violacein and their potential for use in commercial sunscreens

Synopsis
Objectives

To exploit the microbial ecology of bacterial metabolite production and, specifically, to: (i) evaluate the potential use of the pigments prodigiosin and violacein as additives to commercial sunscreens for protection of human skin, and (ii) determine antioxidant and antimicrobial activities (against pathogenic bacteria) for these two pigments.

Methods
Prodigiosin and violacein were used to supplement extracts of Aloe vera leaf and Cucumis sativus (cucumber) fruit which are known to have photoprotective activity, as well as some commercial sunscreen preparations. For each, sunscreen protection factors (SPFs) were determined spectrophotometrically. Assays for antimicrobial activity were carried out using 96-well plates to quantify growth inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.
Results
For the plant extracts, SPFs were increased by an order of magnitude (i.e. up to ~3.5) and those for the commercial sunscreens increased by 10–22% (for 4% w/w violacein) and 20–65% (for 4% w/w prodigiosin). The antioxidant activities of prodigiosin and violacein were approximately 30% and 20% those of ascorbic acid (a well-characterized, potent antioxidant). Violacein inhibited S. aureus (IC_{506.99 ± 0.146 μM) but not E. coli, whereas prodigiosin was effective against both of these bacteria (IC50 values were 0.68 ± 0.06 μM and 0.53 ± 0.03 μM, respectively).}

Conclusion
The bacterial pigments prodigiosin and violacein exhibited antioxidant and antimicrobial activities and were able to increase the SPF of commercial sunscreens as well as the extracts of the two plant species tested. These pigments have potential as ingredients for a new product range of and, indeed, represent a new paradigm for sunscreens that utilize substances of biological origin. We discussed the biotechnological potential of these bacterial metabolites for use in commercial sunscreens, and the need for studies of mammalian cells to determine safety.

The effect of level of straw bale provision on the behaviour and leg health of commercial broiler chickens

This study aimed to assess the effect of the number of straw bales (SBs) provided on the behaviour and leg health of commercial broiler chickens. Houses containing ~23 000 broiler chickens were assigned to one of two treatments: (1) access to 30 SBs per house, ‘30SB’ or (2) access to 45 SB per house, ‘45SB’. This equated to bale densities of 1 bale/44 m2 and 1 bale/29 m2 of floor space within houses, respectively. Treatments were applied in one of two houses on a commercial farm, and were replicated over six production cycles. Both houses had windows and were also artificially lit. Behaviour was observed in weeks 3 to5 of the cycle. This involved observations of general behaviour and activity, gait scores (0: perfect to 5: unable to walk) and latency to lie (measured in seconds from when a bird had been encouraged to stand). Production performance and environmental parameters were also measured. SB density had no significant effect on activity levels (P>0.05) or walking ability (P>0.05). However, the average latency to lie was greater in 30SB birds compared with 45SB birds (P<0.05). The incidence of hock burn and podo dermatitis, average BW at slaughter and levels of mortality and culling were unaffected by SB density (P>0.05). The results from this study suggest that increasing SB levels from 1 bale/44 m2 to 1 bale/29 m2 floor space does not lead to significant improvements in the welfare of commercial broiler chickens in windowed houses.

A new statistical framework for the quantification of covariate associations with species distributions

Identifying processes that shape species geographical ranges is a prerequisite for understanding environmental change. Currently, species distribution modelling methods do not offer credible statistical tests of the relative influence of climate factors and typically ignore other processes (e.g. biotic interactions and dispersal limitation). We use a hierarchical model fitted with Markov Chain Monte Carlo to combine ecologically plausible niche structures using regression splines to describe unimodal but potentially skewed response terms. We apply spatially explicit error terms that account for (and may help identify) missing variables. Using three example distributions of European bird species, we map model results to show sensitivity to change in each covariate. We show that the overall strength of climatic association differs between species and that each species has considerable spatial variation in both the strength of the climatic association and the sensitivity to climate change. Our methods are widely applicable to many species distribution modelling problems and enable accurate assessment of the statistical importance of biotic and abiotic influences on distributions.

Evaluating environmental enrichment options for commercial broiler chickens

Implications Provision of environmental enrichment in line with that required by welfare-based quality assurance schemesdoes not always appear to lead to clear improvements in broiler chicken welfare. This research perhaps serves to highlightthe deficit in information regarding the ‘real world’ implications of enrichment with perches, string and straw bales.

Introduction Earlier work showed that provision of natural light and straw bales improved leg health in commercial broilerchickens (Bailie et al., 2013). This research aimed to determine if additional welfare benefits were shown in windowedhouses by increasing straw bale provision (Study 1), or by providing perches and string in addition to straw bales (Study 2).

Material and methods Commercial windowed houses in Northern Ireland containing ~23,000 broiler chickens (placed inhouses as hatched) were used in this research which took place in 2011. In Study 1 two houses on a single farm wereassigned to one of two treatments: (1) 30 straw bales per house (1 bale/44m2), or (2) 45 straw bales per house (1bale/29m2). Bales of wheat straw, each measuring 80cm x 40cm x 40cm were provided from day 10 of the rearing cycle,as in Bailie et al. (2013). Treatments were replicated over 6 production cycles (using 276,000 Ross 308 and Cobb birds),and were swapped between houses in each replicate. In Study 2, four houses on a single farm were assigned to 1 of 4treatments in a 2 x 2 factorial design. Treatments involved 2 levels of access to perches (present (24/house), or absent), and2 levels of access to string (present (24/house), or absent), and both types of enrichment were provided from the start of thecycle. Each perch consisted of a horizontal, wooden beam (300 cm x 5 cm x 5cm) with a rounded upper edge resting on 2supports (15 cm high). In the string treatment, 6 pieces of white nylon string (60 cm x 10 mm) were tied at their mid-pointto the wire above each of 4 feeder lines. Thirty straw bales were also provided per house from day 10. This study wasreplicated over 4 production cycles using 368,000 Ross 308 birds. In both studies behaviour was observed between 0900and 1800 hours in weeks 3-5 of the cycle. In Study 1, 8 focal birds were selected in each house each week, and generalactivity, exploratory and social behaviours recorded directly for 10 minutes. In Study 2, 10 minute video recordings weremade of 6 different areas (that did not contain enrichment) of each house each week. The percentage of birds engaged inlocomotion or standing was determined through scan sampling these recordings at 120 second intervals. Four perches andfour pieces of string were filmed for 25 mins in each house that contained these enrichments on one day per week. The totalnumber of times the perch or string was used was recorded, along with the duration of each bout. In both studies, gaitscores (0 (perfect) to 5 (unable to walk)) and latency to lie (measured in seconds from when a bird had been encouraged tostand) were recorded in 25 birds in each house each week. Farm and abattoir records were also used in both studies todetermine the number of birds culled for leg and other problems, mortality levels, slaughter weights, and levels of pododermatitis and hock burn. Data were analysed using SPSS (version 20.0) and treatment and age effects on behaviouralparameters were determined in normally distributed data using ANOVA (‘Straw bale density*week’, or‘string*perches*week’ as appropriate), and in non-normally distributed data using Kuskall-Wallace tests (P<0.05 forsignificance) . Treatment (but not age) effects on performance and health data were determined using the same testsdepending on normality of data.

Results Average slaughter weight, and levels of mortality, culling, hock burn and pododermatitis were not affected bytreatment in either study (P<0.05). In Study 1 straw bale (SB) density had no significant effect on the frequency orduration of behaviours including standing, walking, ground pecking, dust bathing, pecking at bales or aggression, or onaverage gait score (P>0.05). However, the average latency to lie was greater when fewer SB were provided (30SB 23.38s,45SB 18.62s, P<0.01). In Study 2 there was an interaction between perches (Pe) and age in lying behaviour, with higherpercentages of birds observed lying in the Pe treatment during weeks 4 and 5 (week 3 +Pe 77.0 -Pe 80.9, week 4 +Pe 79.5 -Pe 75.2, week 5 +Pe 78.4 -Pe 76.2, P<0.02). There was also a significant interaction between string (S) and age inlocomotory behaviour, with higher percentages of birds observed in locomotion in the string treatment during week 3 butnot weeks 4 and 5 (week 3 +S 4.9 -S 3.9, week 4 +S 3.3 -S 3.7, week 5 +S 2.6 -S 2.8, P<0.04). There was also aninteraction between S and age in average gait scores, with lower gait scores in the string treatment in weeks 3 and 5 (week3: +S 0.7, -S 0.9, week 4: +S 1.5, -S 1.4, week 5: +S 1.9, -S 2.0, P<0.05). On average per 25 min observation there were15.1 (±13.6) bouts of perching and 19.2 (±14.08) bouts of string pecking, lasting 117.4 (±92.7) and 4.2 (±2.0) s for perchesand string, respectively.

Conclusion Increasing straw bale levels from 1 bale/44m2 to 1 bale/29m2 floor space does not appear to lead to significantimprovements in the welfare of broilers in windowed houses. The frequent use of perches and string suggests that thesestimuli have the potential to improve welfare. Provision of string also appeared to positively influence walking ability.However, this effect was numerically small, was only shown in certain weeks and was not reflected in the latency to lie.Further research on optimum design and level of provision of enrichment items for broiler chickens is warranted. Thisshould include measures of overall levels of activity (both in the vicinity of, and away from, enrichment items).