The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis of an improved growth, dietary nutrient availability and overall health of broiler chickens reared on recycled litter when fed a standardised combination of essential oils (EO; carvacrol, cinnamaldehyde and capsicum oleoresin). To assess the effect of dietary treatments, feed intake, weight gain, feed efficiency, availability of dietary nutrients and energy, villus morphometry, excreta sialic acid concentration, hepatic antioxidants and serum amyloid A (SAA) when fed to broiler chickens were evaluated. Counts of Eimeria spp. oocysts were also determined in excreta samples. Four experimental diets were offered, including two basal control diets based on either wheat or maize that contained 215 g CP/kg and 12.13 MJ/kg metabolisable energy and another two diets using the basal control diets supplemented with the EO combination at 100 mg/kg diet. Each diet was fed to eight floor pens, containing two birds each, following randomisation. Birds fed the EO-supplemented diets had an improved (P<0.05) feed conversion ratio (FCR). Birds fed maize-based diet had an improved daily weight gain and FCR (P<0.05) compared with wheat-fed birds. Wheat-based diet tended (P=0.056) to have greater N-corrected apparent metabolisable energy and had greater fat retention coefficient (P<0.05) compared with maize-based diets. No differences (P>0.05) were observed in villus morphometry, sialic acid secretion, number of oocysts and SAA. Feeding the EO improved (P<0.05) the retention of dietary Ca and Na. Compared with maize, feeding wheat-based diets improved the retention coefficients for Ca, P and Na (P<0.05). Feeding dietary EO improved (P<0.05) the concentrations of the hepatic antioxidants, including carotene, coenzyme Q10 and total vitamin E. The hepatic concentration of carotene of the maize-fed birds was 55.6% greater (P<0.05) compared with the wheat-fed birds. These results demonstrated that the addition of a standardised combination of EO in wheat- and maize-based diets provided benefits in terms of feed efficiency, mineral retention and antioxidant status of the birds when reared on recycled litter.

Non-hydrocarbon gas species (CO2, N2, H2) are locally important in exploration for gas, and there is a growing body of evidence that acid water originating in shales materially affects the diagenesis of nearby sandstones. These gases have been studied by analysing the products of closed-vessel hydrous pyrolysis of known petroleum source rocks, and comparing the results with field observations. Alteration of petroleum source rocks at temperatures >250°C yields a significant amount of non-hydrocarbon components. Ethanoate and higher acid anions are liberated in substantial quantities; the yield appears to be related to the oxygen content of the sedimentary organic matter present.

The non-hydrocarbon gases CO2, H2 and N2 are frequently the dominant gaseous products from hydrous pyrolysis: in the natural environment the same rock sequences at a higher maturity preferentially generate hydrocarbon gases—mainly methane. This discrepancy may be attributed to reaction and phase thermodynamic effects between laboratory and natural systems, behaviour that has important implications in the prediction of gas generation and composition in nature by source rock pyrolysis in the laboratory.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) represent a disease continuum with common genetic causes and molecular pathology. We recently identified mutations in the T-cell restricted intracellular antigen-1 (TIA1) protein as a cause of ALS +/− FTD. TIA1 is an RNA-binding protein containing a low complexity domain (LCD) that promotes the assembly of membrane-less organelles, such as stress granules (SG). Whole exome sequencing of two family members with fALS/FTD revealed a novel missense mutation in the TIA1 LCD (P362L). Subsequent screening identified five more TIA1 mutations in six additional ALS patients, but none in controls. All mutation carriers presented with weakness, behavioral abnormalities or language impairments and had a final diagnosis of ALS +/− FTD. Autopsy on five TIA1 mutation carriers showed widespread neurodegeneration with TDP-43 pathology. Round eosinophilic inclusions in lower motor neurons were a consistent feature. Cellular assays revealed abnormal SG dynamics in the presence of TIA1 mutations. In summary, missense mutations in the LCD of TIA1 are a newly recognized cause of ALS/FTD with TDP-43 pathology and strengthen the role of RNA metabolism in the pathogenesis in this disease.

The objective of this study was to develop a novel methodology that enables pig diets to be formulated explicitly for environmental impact objectives using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. To achieve this, the following methodological issues had to be addressed: (1) account for environmental impacts caused by both ingredient choice and nutrient excretion, (2) formulate diets for multiple environmental impact objectives and (3) allow flexibility to identify the optimal nutritional composition for each environmental impact objective. An LCA model based on Canadian pig farms was integrated into a diet formulation tool to compare the use of different ingredients in Eastern and Western Canada. By allowing the feed energy content to vary, it was possible to identify the optimum energy density for different environmental impact objectives, while accounting for the expected effect of energy density on feed intake. A least-cost diet was compared with diets formulated to minimise the following objectives: non-renewable resource use, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, global warming potential and a combined environmental impact score (using these four categories). The resulting environmental impacts were compared using parallel Monte Carlo simulations to account for shared uncertainty. When optimising diets to minimise a single environmental impact category, reductions in the said category were observed in all cases. However, this was at the expense of increasing the impact in other categories and higher dietary costs. The methodology can identify nutritional strategies to minimise environmental impacts, such as increasing the nutritional density of the diets, compared with the least-cost formulation.

Cucullia umbratica Linnaeus (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Agnippe prunifoliella Chambers (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), and Bryotropha plantariella Tengstrom (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), were significant bycatch in pheromone-based trapping systems for red-striped fireworm, Aroga trialbamaculella Chambers (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), in Nova Scotia, Canada. Cucullia umbratica is a European introduced species and a new macrolepidopteran recorded in continental Canada. The only previous record of this moth in North America was from the Magdalen Islands (Québec, Canada). Potential attractants for B. plantariella, A. prunifoliella, and C. umbratica are a result of this bycatch investigation.

The patients we are concerned about in tropical medicine are unfortunately affected by a wide range of conditions, not only those seen and studied extensively in the West, such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases and viral or bacterial infections, but also the major protozoan and metazoan conditions – the parasitic diseases. It is with this spectrum of pathophysiological changes that occurs in this last group that we are presently concerned and this communication is intended to present an overview of the subject.

The effects of cigarette smoking on the incidence of epidemic influenza and on the serological response to influenza vaccination with killed subunit and live attenuated vaccines have been investigated during comparative vaccine trials in Western Australia. It was found that cigarette smokers with no pre-epidemic haemagglutination-inhibiting (HI) antibody (titres of ≤ 12) were significantly more susceptible to epidemic influenza than non-smokers. Smokers were no more susceptible however, if they had possessed detectable pre-epidemic HI antibody. A significantly higher proportion of smokers sero-converted after receiving the live virus vaccine than their non-smoking counterparts, but this could not be correlated with pre-vaccination HI antibody titres. The longevity of the immune response to the subunit vaccine was severely depressed 50 weeks post-vaccination in smokers who had possessed little or no immunity before vaccination (titres of ≤ 12). This antibody deficit was not observed in live virus vaccinees or subunit vaccinees with pre-vaccination HI antibody (titres of ≥ 24). Post-vaccinal symptoms were similar regardless of vaccine group or smoking history.

Comparison of glycolysis in Brugia pahangi and Onchocerca volvulus by C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy showed that the former organism is predominantly a lactate fermenter and the latter resembles more closely the metabolism of a mixed acid fermenter producing lactate, succinate, acetate, ethanol, formate and carbon dioxide. Both organisms synthesize glycogen as a storage carbohydrate. Glutaminolysis in both organisms proceeds by the δ-aminobutyrate shunt to produce succinate which is then further metabolized to acetate and carbon dioxide as end-products.

Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) with the type IV staphylococcal chromosomal cassette mec (SCCmec) is rarely reported as being acquired in hospital. We report a hospital outbreak, in Grampian, Scotland, of eight cases of skin and soft-tissue infections due to such a strain. All patients had been in the labour, delivery and maternity units of a small community hospital during a 7-month period. Typing by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis showed the isolates to be a single strain closely related to the USA800 lineage (paediatric clone) and additional typing confirmed it as ST5-MRSA-IV. Genes for exfoliative toxin A (ETA) and enterotoxin D were detected by PCR in all the isolates although none carried the Panton–Valentine leukocidin gene. Region-wide surveillance of over 6000 MRSA isolates collected from 1998 to 2004 showed that 95 (1·6%) were closely related to the outbreak strain although only 60 carried the ETA gene. The strain has not been seen elsewhere in Scotland.

Salmonella infections in Antarctic wildlife were first reported in 1970 and in a search for evidence linking isolations with exposure to human activities, a comparison was made of serovars reported from marine fauna in the Antarctic region from 1982–2004 with those from marine mammals in the Northern hemisphere. This revealed that 10 (83%) Salmonella enterica serovars isolated from Antarctic penguins and seals were classifiable in high-frequency (HF) quotients for serovars prevalent in humans and domesticated animals. In Australia, 16 (90%) HF serovars were isolated from marine birds and mammals compared with 12 (86%) HF serovars reported from marine mammals in the Northern hemisphere. In Western Australia, HF serovars from marine species were also recorded in humans, livestock, mussels, effluents and island populations of wildlife in urban coastal areas. Low-frequency S. enterica serovars were rarely detected in humans and not detected in seagulls or marine species. The isolation of S. Enteritidis phage type 4 (PT4), PT8 and PT23 strains from Adélie penguins and a diversity of HF serovars reported from marine fauna in the Antarctic region and coastal areas of Australia, signal the possibility of transient serovars and endemic Salmonella strains recycling back to humans from southern latitudes in marine foodstuffs and feed ingredients.

Zinc is an essential trace element necessary for the activity of numerous enzymes. Supplemental zinc is considered normal for ruminant livestock to ensure that requirements are met. Although zinc deficiency is not generally recognised in the UK, there is considerable evidence that this supplemental zinc is beneficial. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of partially replacing zinc oxide with a zinc proteinate in the diet of ewes in late pregnancy and lactation on performance and health of ewes and lambs.

Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are essential components of cellular membranes and are associated with prostaglandin synthesis. Supplementing ewes with long-chain PUFAs during gestation has been demonstrated to increase gestation length and improve lamb vigour (Capper et al., 2002). Furthermore, increasing the dietary vitamin E supplied to pregnant ewes is reported to increase lamb growth rate (Gentry et al., 1992). However, fish oil supplementation during lactation may reduce milk component yield and lamb growth rate (Capper et al., 2002). The objective of this experiment was to investigate the effects of dietary long-chain PUFA and vitamin E supplementation of pregnant ewes on lamb performance.

It is reported that supplementing pregnant ewes with supra-optimal levels of vitamin E improves neonatal lamb vigour and growth rate (Merrell, 1998). The biochemical mechanism behind these observations has yet to be elucidated as several studies report negligible placental vitamin E transfer in ruminants (Van Saun et al., 1989); consequently, lambs may be clinically deficient in this nutrient at birth and achieve a satisfactory vitamin E status via colostrum ingestion. Lamb vitamin E status may be further diminished by the addition of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) to the maternal diet. However, PUFA supplementation demonstrably enhances foetal and neonatal development in human studies (Morley, 1998) although these effects have not been investigated in ruminants to any depth. The objective of this experiment was to investigate the effects of dietary vitamin E in combination with long-chain PUFA supplementation of ewes on ewe and lamb performance.

Secondary copper deficiency in ruminant animals is induced by high dietary levels of molybdenum (Mo), iron (Fe) or sulphur (S). Within the rumen, sulphur reacts with Mo to form a series of thiomolybdate molecules (TM) which may chelate copper. This reduces copper absorption or if TM is absorbed, inhibits copper metallo-enzyme activities. Parental administration of TM has resulted in an increase in Cu to the brain and an increase in Mo to the pituitaries (Haywood et al., 1998). This redistribution may alter neurological, endocrine and reproductive function. However, there are no reports on effects of endogenously produced TM on brain or pituitary trace element accumulation. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of dietary Mo or Fe on copper status and mineral retention in the pituitary gland and ovary of growing lambs.