An evaluation of the effect of altering nutrition and nutritional strategies in early lactation on reproductive performance and estrous behavior of high-yielding Holstein-Friesian dairy cows

Reproductive performance in the high-yielding dairy cow has severely decreased in the last 40 yr. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of 4 nutritional strategies in improving the reproductive performance of high-yielding dairy cows. It was hypothesized that offering cows a high-starch ration in early lactation would enhance the onset of luteal activity, and that decreasing the severity of negative energy balance in the early postcalving period would improve reproductive parameters. Nutritional regimens aimed at improving fertility were applied to 96 Holstein-Friesian dairy animals. Upon calving, animals were allocated in a balanced manner to one of 4 dietary treatments. Primiparous animals were balanced according to live weight, body condition score and calving date. Multiparous animals were balanced according to parity, previous lactation milk yield, liveweight, body condition score and calving date. Treatment 1 was based on an industry best practice diet (control) to contain 170 g of crude protein/kg of dry matter. Treatment 2 was an individual cow feeding strategy, whereby the energy balance (EB) of individual animals was managed so as to achieve a predetermined target daily EB profile (+/- 10 MJ/d). Treatment 3 was a high-starch/high-fat combination treatment, whereby an insulinogenic (high-starch) diet was offered in early lactation to encourage cyclicity and followed by a lipogenic (low-starch, high-fat) diet to promote embryo development. Treatment 4 was a low-protein diet, containing 140 g of crude protein/kg of dry matter, supplemented with protected methionine at an inclusion level of 40 g per animal per day. The nutritional strategies implemented in this study had no statistically significant effects on cow fertility measures, which included the onset of luteal activity, conception rate, in-calf rate, and the incidence of atypical cycles. The individual cow feeding strategy improved EB in early lactation but had no benefit on conception rate to first insemination. However, conception rate to second insemination, 100-d pregnancy rate (from the commencement of breeding), and overall pregnancy rate tended to be higher in this group. The high-starch/high-fat treatment tended to decrease the proportion of delayed ovulations and increase the proportion of animals cycling by d 50 postcalving. Animals that failed to conceive to first insemination had a significantly longer luteal phase in the first cycle postpartum and a longer inter-ovulatory interval in the second cycle postpartum. With regards to estrous behavior, results indicate that as the size of the sexually active group increased, the intensity of estrus and the expression of mounting or attempting to mount another cow also increased. Furthermore, cows that became pregnant displayed more intense estrous behavior than cows that failed to become pregnant.

Visual function and dysfunction in early and late age-related maculopathy

Late age-related maculopathy (ARM) is responsible for the majority of blind registrations in the Western world among persons over 50 years of age. It has devastating effects on quality of life and independence and is becoming a major public health concern. Current treatment options are limited and most aim to slow progression rather than restore vision; therefore, early detection to identify those patients most suitable for these interventions is essential. In this work, we review the literature encompassing the investigation of visual function in ARM in order to highlight those visual function parameters which are affected very early in the disease process. We pay particular attention to measures of acuity, contrast sensitivity (CS), cone function, electrophysiology, visual adaptation, central visual field sensitivity and metamorphopsia. We also consider the impact of bilateral late ARM on visual function as well as the relationship between measures of vision function and self-reported visual functioning. Much interest has centred on the identification of functional changes which may predict progression to neovascular disease; therefore, we outline the longitudinal studies, which to date have reported dark-adaptation time, short-wavelength cone sensitivity, colour-match area effect, dark-adapted foveal sensitivity, foveal flicker sensitivity, slow recovery from glare and slower foveal electroretinogram implicit time as functional risk factors for the development of neovascular disease. Despite progress in this area, we emphasise the need for longitudinal studies designed in light of developments in disease classification and retinal imaging, which would ensure the correct classification of cases and controls, and provide increased understanding of the natural course and progression of the disease and further elucidate the structure-function relationships in this devastating disorder.

Neonatal procedural pain and preterm infant cortisol response to novelty at 8 months

Stress systems may be altered in the long term in preterm infants for multiple reasons, including early exposure to procedural pain in neonatal intensive care. This question has received little attention beyond hospital discharge. Stress responses (cortisol) to visual novelty in preterm infants who were born at extremely low gestational age (ELGA; <or =28 weeks), very low gestational age (VLGA; 29-32 weeks), and term were compared at 8 months of age corrected for prematurity (corrected chronological age [CCA]). In addition, among the preterm infants, we evaluated whether cortisol levels at 8 months were related to neonatal exposure to procedural pain and morphine in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Committing to Economic Openness in Ireland: The Importance of Domestic Institutional Capabilities

This chapter sets out to explain the factors behind Ireland's exceptional period of economic growth from the early 1990s to the mid 2000s. It suggests that an unbending commitment to economic openness and an on-going effort to establish quality domestic institutions were the main drivers of the so-called ‘Celtic tiger’ phenomenon. The commitment to economic openness manifested itself in the relentless search for inward investment and a willingness to accept deep forms of European integration. Building domestic institutional capabilities involved adopting new-classical macroeconomic policies, creating a robust system of social partnership and reforming the educational system. The two factors positively interacted with each other to create dynamic effects.

Precursors to aggression are evident by 6 months of age

We tested the hypothesis that developmental precursors to aggression are apparent in infancy. Up to three informants rated 301 firstborn infants for early signs of anger, hitting and biting; 279 (93%) were assessed again as toddlers. Informants' ratings were validated by direct observation at both ages. The precursor behaviours were significantly associated with known risk factors for high levels of aggressiveness. Individual differences were stable from early infancy to the third year and predicted broader conduct problems. These findings suggest that some individuals set forth on the trajectory to high levels of aggression by 6 months of age. The findings have implications for developmental studies of aggression, clinical prevention and intervention strategies, and theoretical considerations regarding the detection of precursors in different domains of development.

Neolithic and Bronze age migration to Ireland and establishment of the insular Atlantic genome

The Neolithic and Bronze Age transitions were profound cultural shifts catalyzed in parts of Europe by migrations, first of early farmers from the Near East and then Bronze Age herders from the Pontic Steppe. However, a decades-long, unresolved controversy is whether population change or cultural adoption occurred at the Atlantic edge, within the British Isles. We address this issue by using the first whole genome data from prehistoric Irish individuals. A Neolithic woman (3343–3020 cal BC) from a megalithic burial (10.3× coverage) possessed a genome of predominantly Near Eastern origin. She had some hunter–gatherer ancestry but belonged to a population of large effective size, suggesting a substantial influx of early farmers to the island. Three Bronze Age individuals from Rathlin Island (2026–1534 cal BC), including one high coverage (10.5×) genome, showed substantial Steppe genetic heritage indicating that the European population upheavals of the third millennium manifested all of the way from southern Siberia to the western ocean. This turnover invites the possibility of accompanying introduction of Indo-European, perhaps early Celtic, language. Irish Bronze Age haplotypic similarity is strongest within modern Irish, Scottish, and Welsh populations, and several important genetic variants that today show maximal or very high frequencies in Ireland appear at this horizon. These include those coding for lactase persistence, blue eye color, Y chromosome R1b haplotypes, and the hemochromatosis C282Y allele; to our knowledge, the first detection of a known Mendelian disease variant in prehistory. These findings together suggest the establishment of central attributes of the Irish genome 4,000 y ago.

Remembering forwards: or how to live together in the future with divided memories

Memory is thought to be about the past. The past is a problem in conflict transformation. This lecture suggests memory can also be about the future. It introduces the notion of remembering forwards, which is contrasted with remembering backwards. The distinction between these two forms of remembering defines the burden of memory in post-conflict societies generally and specifically in Ireland. In societies emerging out of conflict, where divided memories in part constituted the conflict, social memory privileges remembering backward. Collective and personal memories elide within social memory to perpetuate divided group identities and contested personal narratives. Above all, social memory works to arbitrate the future, by predisposing an extreme memory culture that locks people into the past. Forgetting the past is impossible and undesirable. What is needed in societies emerging out of conflict is to be released from the hold that oppressive and haunting memories have over people. This lecture will suggest that this is found in the idea of remembering forwards. This is not the same as forgetting. It is remembering to cease to remember oppressive and haunting memories. It does not involve non-remembrance but active remembering: remembering to cease to remember the past. While the past lives in us always, remembering forwards assists us in not living in the past. Remembering forwards thus allows us to live in tolerance in the future despite the reality that divided memories endure and live on. The lecture further argues that these enduring divided memories need to be reimagined by the application of truth, tolerance, togetherness and trajectory. The lecture suggests that it is through remembering forwards with truth, tolerance, togetherness and trajectory that people in post-conflict societies can inherit the future despite their divided pasts and live in tolerance in the midst of contested memories.

A World Drawn: An Introduction to the art of Julian Opie (for a Polish Audience)

Essay in a monograph associated with the exhibition Julian Opie: Sculptures, Paintings, Films at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow, Poland, 18 October 2014 to 25 January 2015. Slyce attempts to re-examine the lineaments of Opie's practice for a new and broader audience. During which, he calls attention in the writing to the processes of its commissioning and early request to do so for a 'Polish audience'. He attempts to bring to light some of these often invisible moves in the commissioning of catalogue essays, while also re-examining Julian Opie's practice in light of its established reception in Britain.

Contribuição dos métodos geofísicos para o modelo evolutivo da região de Santo André desde o último máximo glaciário

Tese de doutoramento, Geologia (Geologia Económica e do Ambiente), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2014

Changes in the Pollen Seasons of the Early Flowering Trees Alnus spp. and Corylus spp. in Worcester United Kingdom 1996-2005

Previous work on Betula spp. (birch) in the UK and at five sites in Europe has shown that pollen seasons for this taxon have tended to become earlier by about 5–10 days per decade in most regions investigated over the last 30 years. This pattern has been linked to the trend to warmer winters and springs in recent years. However, little work has been done to investigate the changes in the pollen seasons for the early flowering trees. Several of these, such as Alnus spp. and Corylus spp., have allergens, which cross-react with those of Betula spp., and so have a priming effect on allergic people. This paper investigates pollen seasons for Alnus spp. and Corylus spp. for the years 1996–2005 at Worcester, in the West Midlands, United Kingdom. Pollen data for daily average counts were collected using a Burkard volumetric trap sited on the exposed roof of a three-storey building. The climate is western maritime. Meteorological data for daily temperatures (maximum and minimum) and rainfall were obtained from the local monitoring sites. The local area up to approximately 10 km surrounding the site is mostly level terrain with some undulating hills and valleys. The local vegetation is mixed farmland and deciduous woodland. The pollen seasons for the two taxa investigated are typically late December or early January to late March. Various ways of defining the start and end of the pollen seasons were considered for these taxa, but the most useful was the 1% method whereby the season is deemed to have started when 1% of the total catch is achieved and to have ended when 99% is reached. The cumulative catches (in grains/m3) for Alnus spp. varied from 698 (2001) to 3,467 (2004). For Corylus spp., they varied from 65 (2001) to 4,933 (2004). The start dates for Alnus spp. showed 39 days difference in the 10 years (earliest 2000 day 21, latest 1996 day 60). The end dates differed by 26 days and the length of season differed by 15 days. The last 4 years in the set had notably higher cumulative counts than the first 2, but there was no trend towards earlier starts. For Corylus spp. start days also differed by 39 days (earliest 1999 day 5, latest 1996 day 44). The end date differed by 35 days and length of season by 26 days. Cumulative counts and lengths of season showed a distinct pattern of alternative high (long) and low (short) years. There is some evidence of a synchronous pattern for Alnus spp.. These patterns show some significant correlations with temperature and rainfall through the autumn, winter and early spring, and some relationships with growth degree 4s and chill units, but the series is too short to discern trends. The analysis has provided insight to the variation in the seasons for these early flowering trees and will form a basis for future work on building predictive models for these taxa.

Early Development of Auditory-Verbal and Visual-Spatial Short-Term Memory: Age and Sex Effects

Memory is a multi-component cognitive ability to retain and retrieve information presented in different modalities. Research on memory development has shown that the memory capacity and the processes improve gradually from early childhood to adolescence. Findings related to the sex-differences in memory abilities in early childhood have been inconsistent. Although previous research has demonstrated the effects of the modality of stimulus presentation (auditory versus verbal) and the type of material to be remembered (visual/spatial versus auditory/verbal) on the memory processes and memory organization, the recent research with children is rather limited. The present study is a secondary analysis of data, originally collected from 530 typically developing Turkish children and adolescents. The purpose of the present study was to examine the age-related developments and sex differences in auditory-verbal and visual-spatial short-term memory (STM) in 177 typically developing male and female children, 5 to 8 years of age. Dot-Locations and Word-Lists from the Children's Memory Scale were used to measure visual-spatial and auditory-verbal STM performances, respectively. The findings of the present study suggest age-related differences in both visual-spatial and auditory-verbal STM. Sex-differences were observed only in one visual-spatial STM subtest performance. Modality comparisons revealed age- and task-related differences between auditory-verbal and visual-spatial STM performances. There were no sex-related effects in terms of modality specific performances. Overall, the results of this study provide evidence of STM development in early childhood, and these effects were mostly independent of sex and the modality of the task.

Optimizing Computational Frameworks to Study the Influence of the Protein Environment on the Individual Site Energies of Chromophores in Photosystem II of Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is a process in which electromagnetic radiation is converted into chemical energy. Photosystems capture photons with chromophores and transfer their energy to reaction centers using chromophores as a medium. In the reaction center, the excitation energy is used to perform chemical reactions. Knowledge of chromophore site energies is crucial to the understanding of excitation energy transfer pathways in photosystems and the ability to compute the site energies in a fast and accurate manner is mandatory for investigating how protein dynamics ef-fect the site energies and ultimately energy pathways with time. In this work we developed two software frameworks designed to optimize the calculations of chro-mophore site energies within a protein environment. The first is for performing quantum mechanical energy optimizations on molecules and the second is for com-puting site energies of chromophores in a fast and accurate manner using the polar-izability embedding method. The two frameworks allow for the fast and accurate calculation of chromophore site energies within proteins, ultimately allowing for the effect of protein dynamics on energy pathways to be studied. We use these frame-works to compute the site energies of the eight chromophores in the reaction center of photosystem II (PSII) using a 1.9 Å resolution x-ray structure of photosystem II. We compare our results to conflicting experimental data obtained from both isolat-ed intact PSII core preparations and the minimal reaction center preparation of PSII, and find our work more supportive of the former.

L'universalité des droits humains dans le contexte du pluralisme axiologique inhérent aux relations internationales : le cas du confucianisme

Résumé La démonstration qui est ici à l’œuvre s’apparente, dans une certaine mesure, à celle qu’élabore Amartya Kumar Sen dans 'The Argumentative Indian'. Dans cet ouvrage, Sen discute de l’héritage intellectuel et politique de l’Inde et de la manière dont cette tradition est essentielle pour le succès de la démocratie et des politiques séculières de l’État indien. Pour notre part, nous ne nous intéressons point à l’Inde, mais à la Chine, notamment à l’héritage intellectuel, politique et moral des lettrés confucéens de l’Antiquité chinoise et à la pertinence de revisiter, aujourd’hui, la réflexion confucéenne classique pour mieux penser et fonder les droits humains en Chine. Plus précisément, notre réflexion s’inscrit au sein du débat contemporain, qui a lieu à l’échelle internationale, entourant les soi-disant valeurs asiatiques et les droits humains. Pour les partisans de la thèse des valeurs asiatiques, les valeurs asiatiques seraient associées au modèle de développement dit asiatique, lequel se distinguerait du modèle « occidental » en étant en outre réfractaire aux droits humains. Ces droits ayant une origine occidentale et étant, à maints égards, en rupture avec les valeurs asiatiques, ils ne seraient ni souhaitables en Asie (notamment en Chine) ni compatibles avec les valeurs asiatiques (spécialement avec les valeurs confucéennes). Dans notre thèse, nous réfutons ce point de vue. Par l’entremise d’une analyse de la 'Déclaration universelle des droits de l’homme' de 1948 et d’un examen des quatre textes fondateurs du confucianisme classique que sont : les 'Entretiens' (Lunyu), le 'Mencius' (Mengzi), la 'Grande Étude' (Daxue) et la 'Pratique du Milieu' (Zhongyong), nous démontrons que cette compréhension des choses s’avère injustifiée. Les droits humains ne sont pas incompatibles avec les valeurs confucéennes et leur adoption est souhaitable en Asie (notamment en Chine), tout comme elle l’est en Occident. De fait, la philosophie des droits humains et la pensée confucéenne classique ont de nombreuses affinités conceptuelles, axiologiques et normatives. Loin d’être en rupture, ces univers théoriques convergent, car ils ont tous deux à cœur l’être humain, ses besoins vitaux et son épanouissement au sein de la communauté. Notre démonstration s’appuie, pour une large part, sur l’analyse d’un concept phare de la pensée éthique et politique confucéenne, soit la notion d’humanité ou du sens de l’humain (ren) ainsi que d’une autre notion qui lui est étroitement liée, soit celle de l’homme de bien ou de la personne moralement noble (junzi).

Vers une scène commune : rapports croisés entre poésie et chanson chez Raoul Duguay (1966-1970)

Ce mémoire porte sur les deux premiers recueils de Raoul Duguay (ruts et or le cycle du sang dure donc). Il cherche à examiner les liens étroits qu’entretient la poésie de Duguay avec la production parallèle du poète, qui s’oriente dès la fin des années 1960 vers la chanson. Le mémoire s’attachera d’abord, dans le premier chapitre, à présenter l’histoire des liens entre les poètes et la chanson au Québec afin de relever les points de contact significatifs au cours des années 1960 et de poser le cadre théorique de la chanson comme objet d’étude. Dans un deuxième temps, l’analyse des deux premiers recueils de poèmes de Duguay nous mènera à une réflexion sur la présence de la métaphore du chant, puis de la parole poétique en poésie québécoise, qui annonce un changement de paradigme dans l’approche du lyrisme et du sujet lyrique. Enfin, le troisième chapitre se penchera sur le contexte contre-culturel québécois, pour examiner le discours et le contre-discours sur la poésie, pour expliquer le phénomène de décloisonnement des genres qui conduit Raoul Duguay à investir le champ de la culture populaire de sa poésie. Il y sera aussi question du sujet « dans le langage », de l’expérience de la langue et de la subjectivité de la voix.

L'espace public de Jürgen Habermas, réexaminé à la lumière de ses écrits de jeunesse

L'espace public (1962) de Jürgen Habermas est souvent lu comme le premier ouvrage de sa carrière. Notre mémoire tâche de porter un éclairage différent sur celui-ci, de lire L'espace public comme point d'aboutissement de la pensée habermassienne des années 1950. Par l'exploration d'un certain nombre d'écrits mineurs et majeurs pré-1962, L'espace public se révèle une sorte de théorie critique de la société, encore fortement empreinte de marxisme, faisant figure de synthèse partielle des écrits de jeunesse.