The emergence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in childhood poses a serious risk to a healthy adult life. The present study aimed to estimate the prevalence of NCDs among children and adolescents in slums and non-slums areas of four metropolitan cities of India, and in rural areas of the respective states The study further, investigated the effect of the place residence as slum vs. non-slum and other risk factors of the NCDs. Nationally representative data from the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS) was used.. Estimates were based on children (5-9 years) and adolescents (10-19 years) for whom biomarkers predicting diabetes, high total cholesterol, high triglycerides and hypertension were determined. Weight, height and age data were used to calculate z-scores of the body mass index. Overweight and obesity was higher in urban areas than in rural areas among children and adolescents. Regional differences in the prevalence of diseases were observed; children in Delhi and Chennai had a higher likelihood of being diabetic while children in Kolkata were at a greater risk of high total cholesterol and high triglycerides. The risk of hypertension was strikingly high among non-slum children in Delhi. Children from slums were at a higher risk of diabetes compared to the children from non-slums, while children and adolecents from non-slums were at a greater risk of high triglycerides and hypertension respectively than their counterparts from slums. Male children and adolecents had a higher risk of diabetes and high cholesterol. Screening of children for early detection of NCDs should be integrated with the already existing child and adolescent development schemes in schools and the community can help in prevention and control of NCDs in childhood.

The M-44 ejector (‘ejector‘) has proven to be a highly target-specific means of delivering toxicants to the exotic European red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in south-eastern Australia. Para-aminopropiophenone (PAPP) is a potent methaemoglobin (MetHb) forming compound in canids. A formulation of PAPP, dimethylsulphoxide (DMS0) and condensed milk was investigated as a new toxicant formulation for delivery by the ejector. Dosage of eight foxes in the laboratory with a sequential dose demonstrated that the formulation caused a dose-dependent and rapid elevation of MetHb. A strong inverse correlation between MetHb and oxyhaemoglobin concentrations was detected in each case. The symptoms of the toxicosis in the laboratory included progressive cyanosis, lethargy and then collapse when MetHb levels reached 56-76%. A polynomial model was a good fit for describing the relationship between sub-lethal doses of PAPP and the resulting peak MetHb levels. In a pen trial, an ejector was fitted with a bait and loaded with a standard dose of 226 mg PAPP in the same formulation and set at one end of a pen. After voluntarily triggering the ejector, all five foxes in this trial became progressively more lethargic and either lay prostrate or collapsed after 14-25 min, and death was confirmed after a mean of 43 min. We compared some clinical features of PAPP toxicosis with 15 cases of lethal sodium fluoroacetate (1080) poisoning using 0.5 mg kg-1 1080. PAPP produced a mean time to death that was 7.7 times faster than 1080, with the onset of first symptoms being 15 times faster. It was associated with much less activity prior to death and convulsions, spasms and paddling commonly associated with 1080 poisoning after collapse were not detected during PAPP toxicosis. We conclude that the PAPP formulation appears to be a rapidly acting and apparently humane lethal agent for fox control when used in conjunction with the ejector.

Charolais × and Suffolk × Mule lambs of less than one week of age were castrated and tail docked using a standard rubber ring technique. After these procedures, their behaviour was monitored for I h. Their respiration rates and scrotal sac measurements were also recorded. Both breeds of lamb exhibited abnormal behaviour patterns following these procedures. The recumbent behaviour pattern of both breeds was remarkably similar but their standing behaviour differed markedly. The Charolais × lambs were significantly more active and had significantly higher respiration rates compared with the Suffolk × lambs. They also took a greater amount of time to recover to a normal posture. Their abnormal behavioural responses suggested that both breeds of lamb experienced acute pain following castration and tail docking, but the type of behaviour exhibited was breed-dependent. The findings suggest that different breeds of lamb may experience different levels of distress in response to the same husbandry procedure. Alternatively, they may simply reflect a difference in the character and temperament of the breeds studied.

The damage caused by ear tags used for sheep identification was investigated in a two-part study. In Part I, ear tags classified as metal loop, golf-tee, single flex or lambtag were inserted into the ears of 62 ewes. The severity of ewe ear lesions was monitored until 20 weeks after ear tag insertion. In Part II, 351 lambs had tags classified as metal loop, plastic loop, golf-tee, double flex, single flap, lambtag and electronic, inserted in their ears. The behaviour of the lambs was observed for 30s after insertion of the ear tag. The severity of lamb ear lesions was monitored until 5 weeks after ear tag insertion. In both ewes and lambs there was a significantly greater risk of severe and persistent ear lesions following the use of metal loop tags as compared with the other types of ear tag (P < 0.001). The single flap tag was difficult to insert in a greater proportion of lambs (P < 0.001), and more lambs haemorrhaged (P < 0.001), vocalized (P = 0.002) and shook their heads (P = 0.004) with it, than with the other types of ear tags. All ear tags resulted in an inflammatory reaction and required correct positioning to minimize the severity of ear lesions.

This paper attempts to test the recent British Industrial Relations model of trade union membership by an examination of a survey of early school-leavers in Dunedin, New Zealand which was carried out in October 1989. The findings offer strong support for the model because the same distinct strands of core motivation and remainder attitudes were evident. This demonstrates that the model could be successfully applied in a different institutional, cultural and economic context. The major cross-national differences to emerge were that most Dunedin youngsters intended to join a union; for them, collective instrumental reasons were very important and values of little significance. Furthermore, there was little evidence of disinterest or ignorance amongst the minority which was negative towards trade union membership.

A recent article on trade union membership (Cregan and Johnston, 1990) suggested that conventional neoclassical theories are flawed by the free rider paradox, whereby a rational individual will not bear the costs of joining a union to gain rewards that are available to all the workforce as public goods. It proposed that the dilemma could only be solved by a membership theory which takes into account several different sources of individual motivation drawn from several disciplines. These were identified in a longitudinal survey of London early school-leavers, 1979–1981, in reasons given by young people for their membership decision, positive or negative, from which employees could be categorised in social movement parlance as core and remainder. However, the authors proposed that further direct investigations should be made in different contexts. For example, it may be that some responses were culturally or institutionally specific, or were based on economic context. Accordingly, a similar survey of a single cohort of early school-leavers was carried out ten years later in Dunedin, New Zealand. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to test the validity of the framework of the model within a different national context.

The article will be organised in the following way. First, a brief summary of the Industrial Relations model of trade union membership will be presented and two hypotheses will be drawn from it. Second, the latter will be tested by a discussion of the results of the Dunedin survey and a comparison with those of the London survey. Third, implications of the findings for the consequences of the 1991 Employment Contracts Act will be briefly examined.

Zinc (Zn) is an essential mineral and its deficiency manifests in non-specific clinical signs that require long time to develop. The response of swine intestine to Zn restriction was evaluated to identify early changes that can be indicative of Zn deficiency. Twenty-seven pigs (body weight = 77⋅5 ± 2⋅5 kg) were assigned to one of three diets: diet without added Zn (Zn-restricted diet, ZnR), and ZnR-supplemented with either 50 (Zn50) or 100 mg of Zn/kg of diet (Zn100) of Zn supplied by ZnCl2. After 32 d consuming the diets, serum Zn concentration in ZnR pigs was below the range of 0⋅59–1⋅37 μg/ml considered sufficient, thereby confirming subclinical Zn deficiency. Pigs showed no obvious health or growth changes. RNA-seq analysis followed by qPCR showed decreased expression of metallothionein-1 (MT1) (P < 0⋅05) and increased expression of Zn transporter ZIP4 (P < 0⋅05) in jejunum and ileum of ZnR pigs compared with Zn-supplemented pigs. Ingenuity pathway analysis revealed that Zn50 and Zn100 induced changes in genes related to nucleotide excision repair and integrin signalling pathways. The top gene network in the ZnR group compared with Zn100 was related to lipid and drug metabolism; and compared with Zn50, was related to cellular proliferation, assembly and organisation. Dietary Zn concentrations resulted in differences in genes related to immune pathways. Our analysis showed that small intestine presents changes associated with Zn deficiency after 32 d of Zn restriction, suggesting that the intestine could be a sentinel organ for Zn deficiency.

The account book of the London Academy of Vocal (later Ancient) Music (1726-31) forms the first part of a manuscript acquired by the library of the Paris Conservatoire in 1858. It went missing when, a hundred years later, it was transferred to the Bibliothèque Nationale and the second part catalogued as MS F. Rés. 1507. It did not surface again until the spring of 2020, too late to be included in the author’s long article on the history, repertoire and surviving programmes of this important eighteenth-century institution in Research Chronicle no. 51. As a postscript to that article, it is transcribed here prefaced by a short introductory essay together with such explanatory notes as the document requires.

Let K be a number field, let A be a finite-dimensional K-algebra, let $\operatorname {\mathrm {J}}(A)$ denote the Jacobson radical of A and let $\Lambda $ be an $\mathcal {O}_{K}$ -order in A. Suppose that each simple component of the semisimple K-algebra $A/{\operatorname {\mathrm {J}}(A)}$ is isomorphic to a matrix ring over a field. Under this hypothesis on A, we give an algorithm that, given two $\Lambda $ -lattices X and Y, determines whether X and Y are isomorphic and, if so, computes an explicit isomorphism $X \rightarrow Y$ . This algorithm reduces the problem to standard problems in computational algebra and algorithmic algebraic number theory in polynomial time. As an application, we give an algorithm for the following long-standing problem: Given a number field K, a positive integer n and two matrices $A,B \in \mathrm {Mat}_{n}(\mathcal {O}_{K})$ , determine whether A and B are similar over $\mathcal {O}_{K}$ , and if so, return a matrix $C \in \mathrm {GL}_{n}(\mathcal {O}_{K})$ such that $B= CAC^{-1}$ . We give explicit examples that show that the implementation of the latter algorithm for $\mathcal {O}_{K}=\mathbb {Z}$ vastly outperforms implementations of all previous algorithms, as predicted by our complexity analysis.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a chronic, infectious and zoonotic disease of domestic and wild animals caused mainly by Mycobacterium bovis. This study investigated farm management factors associated with recurrent bTB herd breakdowns (n = 2935) disclosed in the period 23 May 2016 to 21 May 2018 and is a follow-up to our 2020 paper which looked at long duration bTB herd breakdowns. A case control study design was used to construct an explanatory set of farm-level management factors associated with recurrent bTB herd breakdowns. In Northern Ireland, a Department of Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) Veterinarian investigates bTB herd breakdowns using standardised guidelines to allocate a disease source. In this study, source was strongly linked to carryover of infection, suggesting that the diagnostic tests had failed to clear herd infection during the breakdown period. Other results from this study associated with recurrent bTB herd breakdowns were herd size and type (dairy herds 43% of cases), with both these variables intrinsically linked. Other associated risk factors were time of application of slurry, badger access to silage clamps, badger setts in the locality, cattle grazing silage fields immediately post-harvest, number of parcels of land the farmer associated with bTB, number of land parcels used for grazing and region of the country.