Working equids support the livelihoods of millions of low-income households worldwide and face several welfare challenges. Although equipment-related wounds are common, little is known about specific risk factors. This cross-sectional study surveyed equids used for cart-work in three Ethiopian towns. Number, size, severity and location of wounds were recorded for each animal, as well as work equipment characteristics and indicators of equipment fit and assembly. Questionnaires were conducted with each cart-driver focusing on equipment practices and attitudes. Logistic regression models were generated to investigate associations between equipment-related wounds (outcome) and equipment, work, driver and animal-related factors (predictors). In total, 369 equids and cart-drivers were surveyed. The prevalence of equipment-related wounds was 72.6% (268/369) with girth wounds being the predominant wound type in horses (50%; 122/244) while donkeys had predominantly shaft-related wounds (59%; 72/122). Donkeys were two times more likely to have equipment-related wounds than horses. The presence of equipment-related wounds was associated with factors such as previously having wounds, inadequate collar positioning and using purchased equipment compared to partly home-made equipment. Characteristics of specific equipment components were also associated with certain wound types, such as narrow saddle pressure points and saddle wounds. Equipment-related wounds are highly prevalent in working equids, representing a serious welfare concern. Factors relating to equipment design, fit and assembly were associated with the presence of wounds. Importantly, species differences require tailoring of preventive approaches amongst working equids. A better understanding of work equipment should therefore be promoted as part of wound prevention and animal welfare strategies.

We present a theoretical framework for describing electromagnetic kinetic turbulence in a multi-species, magnetized, pressure-anisotropic plasma. The turbulent fluctuations are assumed to be small compared to the mean field, to be spatially anisotropic with respect to it and to have frequencies small compared to the ion cyclotron frequency. At scales above the ion-Larmor radius, the theory reduces to the pressure-anisotropic generalization of kinetic reduced magnetohydrodynamics (KRMHD) formulated by Kunz et al. (J. Plasma Phys., vol. 81, 2015, 325810501). At scales at and below the ion-Larmor radius, three main objectives are achieved. First, we analyse the linear response of the pressure-anisotropic gyrokinetic system, and show it to be a generalization of previously explored limits. The effects of pressure anisotropy on the stability and collisionless damping of Alfvénic and compressive fluctuations are highlighted, with attention paid to the spectral location and width of the frequency jump that occurs as Alfvén waves transition into kinetic Alfvén waves. Secondly, we derive and discuss a very general gyrokinetic free-energy conservation law, which captures both the KRMHD free-energy conservation at long wavelengths and dual cascades of kinetic Alfvén waves and ion entropy at sub-ion-Larmor scales. We show that non-Maxwellian features in the distribution function change the amount of phase mixing and the efficiency of magnetic stresses, and thus influence the partitioning of free energy amongst the cascade channels. Thirdly, a simple model is used to show that pressure anisotropy, even within the bounds imposed on it by firehose and mirror instabilities, can cause order-of-magnitude variations in the ion-to-electron heating ratio due to the dissipation of Alfvénic turbulence. Our theory provides a foundation for determining how pressure anisotropy affects turbulent fluctuation spectra, the differential heating of particle species and the ratio of parallel and perpendicular phase mixing in space and astrophysical plasmas.

The study aims to assess whether supplementation with the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001 (HN001) can reduce the prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). A double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled parallel trial was conducted in New Zealand (NZ) (Wellington and Auckland). Pregnant women with a personal or partner history of atopic disease were randomised at 14–16 weeks’ gestation to receive HN001 (6×109 colony-forming units) (n 212) or placebo (n 211) daily. GDM at 24–30 weeks was assessed using the definition of the International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups (IADPSG) (fasting plasma glucose ≥5·1 mmol/l, or 1 h post 75 g glucose level at ≥10 mmol/l or at 2 h ≥8·5 mmol/l) and NZ definition (fasting plasma glucose ≥5·5 mmol/l or 2 h post 75 g glucose at ≥9 mmol/l). All analyses were intention-to-treat. A total of 184 (87 %) women took HN001 and 189 (90 %) women took placebo. There was a trend towards lower relative rates (RR) of GDM (IADPSG definition) in the HN001 group, 0·59 (95 % CI 0·32, 1·08) (P=0·08). HN001 was associated with lower rates of GDM in women aged ≥35 years (RR 0·31; 95 % CI 0·12, 0·81, P=0·009) and women with a history of GDM (RR 0·00; 95 % CI 0·00, 0·66, P=0·004). These rates did not differ significantly from those of women without these characteristics. Using the NZ definition, GDM prevalence was significantly lower in the HN001 group, 2·1 % (95 % CI 0·6, 5·2), v. 6·5 % (95 % CI 3·5, 10·9) in the placebo group (P=0·03). HN001 supplementation from 14 to 16 weeks’ gestation may reduce GDM prevalence, particularly among older women and those with previous GDM.

A theoretical framework for low-frequency electromagnetic (drift-)kinetic turbulence in a collisionless, multi-species plasma is presented. The result generalises reduced magnetohydrodynamics (RMHD) and kinetic RMHD (Schekochihin et al., Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser., vol. 182, 2009, pp. 310–377) to the case where the mean distribution function of the plasma is pressure-anisotropic and different ion species are allowed to drift with respect to each other – a situation routinely encountered in the solar wind and presumably ubiquitous in hot dilute astrophysical plasmas such as the intracluster medium. Two main objectives are achieved. First, in a non-Maxwellian plasma, the relationships between fluctuating fields (e.g. the Alfvén ratio) are order-unity modified compared to the more commonly considered Maxwellian case, and so a quantitative theory is developed to support quantitative measurements now possible in the solar wind. Beyond these order-unity corrections, the main physical feature of low-frequency plasma turbulence survives the generalisation to non-Maxwellian distributions: Alfvénic and compressive fluctuations are energetically decoupled, with the latter passively advected by the former; the Alfvénic cascade is fluid, satisfying RMHD equations (with the Alfvén speed modified by pressure anisotropy and species drifts), whereas the compressive cascade is kinetic and subject to collisionless damping (and for a bi-Maxwellian plasma splits into three independent collisionless cascades). Secondly, the organising principle of this turbulence is elucidated in the form of a conservation law for the appropriately generalised kinetic free energy. It is shown that non-Maxwellian features in the distribution function reduce the rate of phase mixing and the efficacy of magnetic stresses, and that these changes influence the partitioning of free energy amongst the various cascade channels. As the firehose or mirror instability thresholds are approached, the dynamics of the plasma are modified so as to reduce the energetic cost of bending magnetic-field lines or of compressing/rarefying them. Finally, it is shown that this theory can be derived as a long-wavelength limit of non-Maxwellian slab gyrokinetics.

Feet and legs issues are some of the main causes for sow removal in the US swine industry. More timely lameness detection among breeding herd females will allow better treatment decisions and outcomes. Producers will be able to treat lame females before the problem becomes too severe and cull females while they still have salvage value. The objective of this study was to compare the predictive abilities and accuracies of weight distribution and gait measures relative to each other and to a visual lameness detection method when detecting induced lameness among multiparous sows. Developing an objective lameness diagnosis algorithm will benefit animals, producers and scientists in timely and effective identification of lame individuals as well as aid producers in their efforts to decrease herd lameness by selecting animals that are less prone to become lame. In the early stages of lameness, weight distribution and gait are impacted. Lameness was chemically induced for a short time period in 24 multiparous sows and their weight distribution and walking gait were measured in the days following lameness induction. A linear mixed model was used to determine differences between measurements collected from day to day. Using a classification tree analysis, it was determined that the mean weight being placed on each leg was the most predictive measurement when determining whether the leg was sound or lame. The classification tree’s predictive ability decreased as the number of days post-lameness induction increased. The weight distribution measurements had a greater predictive ability compared with the gait measurements. The error rates associated with the weight distribution trees were 29.2% and 31.3% at 6 days post-lameness induction for front and rear injected feet, respectively. For the gait classification trees, the error rates were 60.9% and 29.8% at 6 days post-lameness induction for front and rear injected feet, respectively. More timely lameness detection can improve sow lifetime productivity as well as animal welfare.

The relationships between different levels of severity of ambulatory cerebral palsy, defined by the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), and several pediatric outcome instruments were examined. Data from the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM), Pediatric Orthopaedic Data Collection Instrument (PODCI), temporal–spatial gait parameters, and oxygen cost were collected from six sites. The sample size for each assessment tool ranged from 226 to 1047 participants. There were significant differences among GMFCS levels I, II, and III for many of the outcome tools assessed in this study. Strong correlations were seen between GMFCS level and each of the GMFM sections D and E scores, the PODCI measures of Transfer and Mobility, and Sports and Physical Function, Gait Velocity, and Oxygen Cost. Correlations among tools demonstrated that the GMFM sections D and E scores correlated with the largest number of other tools. Logistic regression showed GMFM section E score to be a significant predictor of GMFCS level. GMFM section E score can be used to predict GMFCS level relatively accurately (76.6%). Study data indicate that the assessed outcome tools can distinguish between children with different GMFCS levels. This study establishes justification for using the GMFCS as a classification system in clinical studies.

Thin films of lanthanum cuprate were grown on SrTiO3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition and made superconducting (Tc ∼ 38 K) through the process of post-deposition fluorination using elemental fluorine. A microstructural analysis showed that the [110] zone of the film grows parallel to the [100] zone of the SrTiO3 substrate, reducing the lattice mismatch from 37.5% to 2.4%. At the film–substrate interface there is an intermediate layer 3–4 nm thick and twin-related grains emanate from this region. Stacking faults are present in the bulk of the film, with misoriented subgrains present at the deposit surface.

Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) has fabricated cerium-activated lithium silicate scintillating fibers via a hot-downdraw process. These fibers, which, as produced, typically have a transmission length (e−1 length) of greater than 2 meters, are found to undergo aging when subjected to room air. The aging, which is complete in a few weeks, reduces the transmission length to the order of 0.5 meter. Because of the high alkali content of the glass (on the order of 20-30 mole % lithia), we have attributed this aging to aqueous corrosion at the polymer cladding/glass interface. Changes in transmission with chemical treatment of the surface support the corrosion model. Fiber transmission performance has been preserved by modifying the hot-downdraw to a double crucible to produce glass-on-glass waveguides.