Studies of stress in farm animals

Major changes have taken place in animal production over the last three decades. Housing conditions have changed dramatically over this period, and there has been a striking increase in production. Agricultural animals try to cope with these highly demanding conditions (stressors) using behavioural and physiological stress responses aiming to restore homeostasis. When these responses are not successful or when they are thwarted, typical behavioural and physiological symptoms of chronic stress occur. In this situation, the welfare of the animal is clearly at stake. Moreover, chronic stress may seriously affect the efficiency of animal production and the quality of the product. Ultimately, detailed knowledge of stress responses in agricultural animals will allow the formulation of housing and management requirements, including handling by humans, which will benefit welfare and health of farm animals as well as production efficiency. This paper briefly addresses some important issues regarding the study of stress and welfare in farm animals, and discusses some recently developed experimental methods as well as relevant results obtained in our laboratory. Originally presented at ECCP 97.     

COVID-19 vaccine and pregnancy: A safety weapon against pandemic

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is raising great concern all over the world. The recent introduction of vaccines has offered reason for optimism, however, new issues have arisen, such as vaccine reluctance. The safety of vaccines for pregnant women is one of the most serious of these concerns. The purpose of this review article is to provide updated international vaccine recommendations, results of ongoing studies and clinical trials, and the role of gynecologists in counseling the women to understand the risks versus benefits as well as form an informed decision towards vaccine acceptance for COVID-19.Although COVID-19 infection increases the risk of severe morbidity and mortality in pregnant women, pregnant women were not included in the initial vaccine trials. As a result, safety information is scarce. Nations have differing recommendations, though many have recently approved the COVID-19 immunization in pregnancy following a risk-benefit analysis. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) of the United Kingdom recently approved an mRNA vaccination for pregnant women. Vaccination is recommended by the CDC, ACOG, ARFM, and WHO. India recently took a stand, with the ICMR and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recommending vaccination during pregnancy and lactation.     

Asthma mortality based on death certificates: A demographic survey in Kagawa,Japan

BackgroundWe aimed to determine the reasons for the high rate of asthma mortality in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan, by analyzing death certificates.MethodsWe analyzed the death certificates between 2009 and 2011 in a demographic survey. Of 1187 patients with documented disease names suggesting bronchial asthma, analysis was performed on 103 patients in whom the cause of death was classified as asthma based on ICD-10 Codes. The patients were then classified into the following 4 groups: asthma death, asthma-related death, non-asthma death, and indistinguishable death. Based on this classification, consistency between ICD-10-based asthma death and asthma/asthma-related deaths was examined for each age group as well as for the site of death.ResultsOf 103 asthma deaths based on the ICD-10 classification, 30 (29%) were classified as asthma death, 44 (43%) as asthma-related death, 16 (16%) as non-asthma death, and 13 (13%) as indistinguishable death. Asthma death based on our classification correlated with that of ICD-10-based classification as a cause of death in patients younger than the median age (87 years), but correlation was not observed in patients aged older than 87 years. Deaths occurred outside the hospital in 45% of patients, and many ICD-10-based deaths reported at nursing homes and geriatric health care facilities were classified as non-asthma deaths in this survey.ConclusionRe-examination of the death certificate revealed that asthma deaths were reported incorrectly on the death certificates of elderly patients who died outside the hospital.     

论个人储蓄投资机制的阻滞及转换途径

从阻滞机制的存在为前提，分析了个人储蓄投资失衡的原因以及相应的转换途径。     

几种福利干预措施对实验小鼠部分应激相关指标的影响

目的 探讨目前常用的福利干预措施对实验动物应激相关指标的影响.方法 60只离乳雄性KM小鼠随机分为常规饲养（A）组、营养干预（B）组、葵花籽（C）组、玩具（D）组、熏香（E）组,每组12只.每日测定摄食、饮水量,测定体质量;37 d后从小鼠尾侧静脉采血测血常规;取小鼠脑组织以荧光实时PCR法测糖皮质激素受体（GR）、阿黑皮素原（POMC）、神经元型一氧化氮合酶（nNOS）、脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）、N-甲基-D-天冬氨酸受体（NMDA）、酪氨酸羟化酶（TH）、色氨酸羟化酶（TPH）的mRNA指标并比较各干预组和常规饲养组的差异.结果 所有实验组体质量与A组比较均有所减少,摄食量B组与A组相比有所减少.D组、E组与A组相比则有所增加.饮水量B组与A组相比有所减少.D组E组与A组相比有所增加.BDNF mRNA水平F组、E组与A组相比明显增加;C组与A组相比有所减少.GR mRNA水平B组、D组与A组相比明显减少;C组、E组与A组相比有所减少.POMC mRNA水平D组与A组相比有所减少;其余各组与A组比较均明显减少.NMDA mRNA水平D组与A组明显增加.TH mRNA水平B组C组与A组比较有所减少.TPH mRNA水平C组与A组相比有所减少.血液学指标数据各组均无明显差异.结论 放置玩具能使摄食、饮水量上升,增强抗拒恐惧焦虑的能力,强化学习记忆能力,减少应激所产生的压力.熏香能使摄食、饮水量上升,增强抗拒恐惧焦虑能力,减少应激所产生的压力.