Six pairs of steers were allowed to choose between two types of floors in a paired choice test. The four floors tested were a fully slatted floor, a fully slatted floor covered with rubber mats, a solid floor with sawdust bedding, and a solid floor with straw bedding. All combinations of floor types were tested and the choices were repeated eight times, using naïve animals. The animals were allowed 17 days to habituate, and on days 18-21 their behaviour was recorded by video for 72 hours. Straw was the most preferred floor type, followed by sawdust, then mats, and finally slats. During a second test period, rubber mats were compared with rubber strips, and no significant preferences were found.

We hypothesized that children receiving medium-chain triglyceride ketogenic diet (MCTKD) experience similar seizure reduction despite lower ketosis compared with classic ketogenic diet (CKD). Children initiating CKD or MCTKD were enrolled in a prospective observational study. Forty-five children completed 6 months of KD (n = 17 MCTKD, n = 28 CKD). The proportion achieving ≥50% seizure reduction was 71% CKD group and 59% MCTKD group; ≥90% reduction was 32% and 36% in CKD and MCTKD groups, respectively. CKD had higher urine ketones (≥8 mmol/L: 79% vs. 36%, p = 0.005). Children receiving MCTKD experience similar seizure control to CKD despite lower urine ketone measures.

Background: Since January 1, 2016 2358 people have died from opioid poisoning in Alberta. Buprenorphine/naloxone (bup/nal) is the recommended first line treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) and this treatment can be initiated in emergency departments and urgent care centres (EDs). Aim Statement: This project aims to spread a quality improvement intervention to all 107 adult EDs in Alberta by March 31, 2020. The intervention supports clinicians to initiate bup/nal for eligible individuals and provide rapid referrals to OUD treatment clinics. Measures & Design: Local ED teams were identified (administrators, clinical nurse educators, physicians and, where available, pharmacists and social workers). Local teams were supported by a provincial project team (project manager, consultant, and five physician leads) through a multi-faceted implementation process using provincial order sets, clinician education products, and patient-facing information. We used administrative ED and pharmacy data to track the number of visits where bup/nal was given in ED, and whether discharged patients continued to fill any opioid agonist treatment (OAT) prescription 30 days after their index ED visit. OUD clinics reported the number of referrals received from EDs and the number attending their first appointment. Patient safety event reports were tracked to identify any unintended negative impacts. Evaluation/Results: We report data from May 15, 2018 (program start) to September 31, 2019. Forty-nine EDs (46% of 107) implemented the program and 22 (45% of 49) reported evaluation data. There were 5385 opioid-related visits to reporting ED sites after program adoption. Bup/nal was given during 832 ED visits (663 unique patients): 7 visits in the 1st quarter the program operated, 55 in the 2nd, 74 in the 3rd, 143 in the 4th, 294 in the 5th, and 255 in the 6th. Among 505 unique discharged patients with 30 day follow up data available 319 (63%) continued to fill any OAT prescription after receiving bup/nal in ED. 16 (70%) of 23 community clinics provided data. EDs referred patients to these clinics 440 times, and 236 referrals (54%) attended their first follow-up appointment. Available data may under-report program impact. 5 patient safety events have been reported, with no harm or minimal harm to the patient. Discussion/Impact: Results demonstrate effective spread and uptake of a standardized provincial ED based early medical intervention program for patients who live with OUD.

Excess energy intake is recognised as a strong contributing factor to the global rise of being overweight and obese. The aim of this paper was to investigate if oral sensitivity to complex carbohydrate relates to ad libitum consumption of complex carbohydrate foods in a sample group of female adults. Participants’ ((n 51 females): age 23·0 (sd 0·6) years (range 20·0–41·0 years); excluding restrained eaters) sensitivity towards maltodextrin (oral complex carbohydrate) and glucose (sweet taste) was assessed by measuring detection threshold (DT) and suprathreshold intensity perception (ST). A crossover design was used to assess consumption of two different iso-energetic preload milkshakes and ad libitum milkshakes – (1) glucose-based milkshake, (2) maltodextrin-based milkshake. Ad libitum intake (primary outcome) and eating rate, liking, hunger, fullness and prospective consumption ratings were measured. Participants who were more sensitive towards complex carbohydrate (maltodextrin DT) consumed significantly more maltodextrin-based milkshake in comparison with less-sensitive participants (P = 0·01) and this was independent of liking. Participants who had higher liking for glucose-based milkshake consumed significantly more glucose-based milkshake in comparison with participants with lower hedonic ratings (P = 0·049). The results provide support regarding the role of the oral system sensitivity (potentially taste) to complex carbohydrate and the prospective to overconsume complex carbohydrate-based milkshake in a single sitting.

Background: SMA is a neurodegenerative disease caused by biallelic deletion/mutation of the survival motor neuron (SMN1) gene. In the phase 1 trial (NCT02122952), SMN GRT onasemnogene abeparvovec (AVXS-101) improved outcomes of 15 symptomatic SMA1 patients (3 at a lower dose [cohort 1] and 12 at the proposed therapeutic dose [cohort 2]). This report describes long-term follow-up study design and data from the phase 1 study. Methods: Patients in the phase 1 study could rollover into a long-term follow-up study (NCT03421977). The primary objective is to collect long-term safety data (serious adverse events, hospitalizations, and adverse events of special interest). Annual follow-up will occur for 15 years. Additionally, patient record transfers from local clinician(s) will be requested. Safety assessments include medical history and record review, physical examination, clinical laboratory evaluation, and pulmonary assessments. Efficacy assessments include physical examination to assess developmental milestones. Results: As of September 27, 2018, the oldest patients are 59.2 (cohort 1) and 52.1 (cohort 2) months old and free of permanent ventilation. Preliminary data, including survival and developmental milestones, will be presented. Conclusions: Patients treated with a one-time dose of AVXS-101 continue to gain strength, develop, and achieve new milestones, demonstrating a long-term, durable response.

The kinetics of clay formation in buried paleosols developed from late Quaternary rhyolitic tephra layers near Rotorua, New Zealand, can be described in terms of a combination of parabolic and linear kinetics, reflecting the hydration of glass, and the formation of clay minerals, respectively. Such a model is consistent with the formation of clay minerals showing an Arrhenian temperature dependence and suggests, on the basis of calculated activation energies, that the process of formation of Al-rich allophane (imogolite) is diffusion controlled, whereas the rate of formation of Si-rich allophane is controlled by the chemical processes at the site of reaction.

To assess the impact of farm management on herd fertility, a survey of 105 beef farms in Northern Ireland was conducted to establish the relationship between management variables and fertility. Each herd's average calving interval (CI) and the proportion of cows with a CI > 450 days (extended calving interval, ECI) was calculated to establish herd fertility. The relationship between each response variable (CI and proportion ECI) and each explanatory variable (respondents’ answers to questionnaire) was examined using univariate linear regression analyses. All response variables found to be associated with the explanatory variables were modelled against each group in turn using a fully automated multivariate stepwise regression algorithm employing the method of forward selection with backward elimination. The optimum 365-day CI and a proportion of 0 cows per hundred calved ECI targets were not widely attained in the current study. The distribution of CI and proportion ECI in the current study suggests more realistic targets would be a 379-day CI and 5 cows per hundred calved with ECI in commercial beef breeding herds. Six management factors were found to be associated with herd fertility: herd vaccination, bull selection, fertility management, breeding female management, perception of extension service (rural education provided by the government) and record keeping. It was found that respondents who vaccinated cows had a reduction of 5 cows per hundred calved in the proportion of cows with ECI, and as the number of vaccines administered to a cow increased, the CI decreased. Regular vaccination of breeding bulls was associated with a 9-day reduction in CI. Bull selection strategy had several associations with herd fertility; most notable was that respondents who used visual selection rather than estimated breeding values (EBVs) to select bulls were found to have a 15-day longer CI and 7 cows per hundred calved higher proportion of cows with ECI. For each 0·01 increase in the proportion of cows served by artificial insemination, CI increased by 0·16 days. Respondents who rated their beef breeding herd fertility as ‘very good’ had lower ECI and CI than those who rated beef breeding herd fertility as poor or satisfactory. Condition scoring of cows at weaning lowered ECI by 5 cows per hundred calved. Those who perceived the extension service to be very useful had the lowest CI and lowest ECI. Respondents who did not keep a record of CI to assess herd fertility had an 11-day longer CI and 6 cows per hundred calved higher proportion ECI than those who did not. In conclusion, the survey found a number of important variables linked to improved fertility including selecting sires based on EBVs and using a robust vaccination programme.

In summer, 2011, we investigated suspected glyphosate-resistant (GR) kochia in three chem-fallow fields (designated F1, F2, F3, each farmed by a different grower) in southern Alberta. This study characterizes glyphosate resistance in those populations, based on data from dose–response experiments. In a greenhouse experiment, the three populations exhibited a resistance factor ranging from 4 to 6 based on shoot biomass response (GR50 ratios), or 5 to 7 based on survival response (LD50 ratios). Similar results were found in a field dose–response experiment at Lethbridge, AB, in spring 2012 using the F2 kochia population. In fall 2011, we surveyed 46 fields within a 20-km radius of the three chem-fallow fields for GR kochia. In the greenhouse, populations were screened with glyphosate at 900 g ae ha−1. Seven populations were confirmed as GR, the farthest site located about 13 km from the three originally confirmed populations. An additional GR population more than 100 km away was later confirmed. Populations were screened for acetolactate synthase (ALS)–inhibitor (thifensulfuron : tribenuron) and dicamba resistance in the greenhouse, with molecular characterization of ALS-inhibitor resistance in the F1, F2, and F3 populations. All GR populations were resistant to the ALS-inhibiting herbicide, but susceptible to dicamba. ALS-inhibitor resistance in kochia was conferred by Pro197, Asp376, or Trp574 amino acid substitutions. Based upon a simple empirical model with a parameter for selection pressure, calculated from weed relative abundance and glyphosate efficacy, and a parameter for seedbank longevity, kochia, wild oat, and green foxtail were the top three weeds, respectively, predicted at risk of selection for glyphosate resistance in the semiarid Grassland region of the Canadian prairies; wild oat, green foxtail, and cleavers species were predicted at greatest risk in the subhumid Parkland region. This study confirms the first occurrence of a GR weed in western Canada. Future research on GR kochia will include monitoring, biology and ecology, fitness, mechanism of resistance, and best management practices.

The Darwin region in northern Australia has experienced rapid population growth in recent years, and with it, an increased incidence of melioidosis. Previous studies in Darwin have associated the environmental presence of Burkholderia pseudomallei, the causative agent of melioidosis, with anthropogenic land usage and proximity to animals. In our study, we estimated the occurrence of B. pseudomallei and Burkholderia spp. relatives in faecal matter of wildlife, livestock and domestic animals in the Darwin region. A total of 357 faecal samples were collected and bacteria isolated through culture and direct DNA extraction after enrichment in selective media. Identification of B. pseudomallei, B. ubonensis, and other Burkholderia spp. was carried out using TTS1, Bu550, and recA BUR3–BUR4 quantitative PCR assays, respectively. B. pseudomallei was detected in seven faecal samples from wallabies and a chicken. B. cepacia complex spp. and Pandoraea spp. were cultured from wallaby faecal samples, and B. cenocepacia and B. cepacia were also isolated from livestock animals. Various bacteria isolated in this study represent opportunistic human pathogens, raising the possibility that faecal shedding contributes to the expanding geographical distribution of not just B. pseudomallei but other Burkholderiaceae that can cause human disease.

Objectives: Connectionist theories of brain function took hold with the seminal contributions of Norman Geschwind a half century ago. Modern neuroimaging techniques have expanded the scientific interest in the study of brain connectivity to include the intact as well as disordered brain. Methods: In this review, we describe the most common techniques used to measure functional and structural connectivity, including resting state functional MRI, diffusion MRI, and electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography coherence. We also review the most common analytical approaches used for examining brain interconnectivity associated with these various imaging methods. Results: This review presents a critical analysis of the assumptions, as well as methodological limitations, of each imaging and analysis approach. Conclusions: The overall goal of this review is to provide the reader with an introduction to evaluating the scientific methods underlying investigations that probe the human connectome. (JINS, 2016, 22, 105–119)