Quantitative Differences in Rumen Epithelium Proteins in Lambs Fed Wheat, Perennial Wheat, or Perennial Wheat plus Lucerne.

The value of crops such as perennial wheat (PW) for grain and grazing compared to conventional wheat (W), or the addition of lucerne to PW (PWL) is still being determined. This research sought to determine if these diets were associated with changes in the membranebound proteins that transport nutrients in the rumen epithelium (RE). Crossbred ewes (Poll Dorset × Merino) were fed W, PW, or PWL (50:50) fresh-cut forage for 4 weeks.

Quantification of cytosol and membrane proteins in rumen epithelium of sheep with low or high CH4 emission phenotype.

Background: Ruminant livestock are a major contributor to Australian agricultural sector carbon emissions. Variation in methane (CH4) produced from enteric microbial fermentation of feed in the reticulo-rumen of sheep differs with different digestive functions.

Method: We isolated rumen epithelium enzymatically to extract membrane and cytosol proteins from sheep with high (H) and low (L) CH4 emission.

Objectively characterizing Huntington's disease using a novel upper limb dexterity test.

Background: The Clinch Token Transfer Test (C3t) is a bi-manual coin transfer task that incorporates cognitive tasks to add complexity. This study explored the concurrent and convergent validity of the C3t as a simple, objective assessment of impairment that is reflective of disease severity in Huntington's, that is not reliant on clinical expertise for administration.

Methods: One-hundred-and-five participants presenting with pre-manifest (n = 16) or manifest (TFC-Stage-1 n = 39; TFC-Stage-2 n = 43; TFC-Stage-3 n = 7) Huntington's disease completed the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale and the C3t at baseline.

Engineering processive DNA polymerases with maximum benefit at minimum cost.

DNA polymerases need to be engineered to achieve optimal performance for biotechnological applications, which often require high fidelity replication when using modified nucleotides and when replicating difficult DNA sequences. These tasks are achieved for the bacteriophage T4 DNA polymerase by replacing leucine with methionine in the highly conserved Motif A sequence (L412M). The costs are minimal.

Greenhouse gas life cycle assessment of products arising from the rendering of mammalian animal byproducts in the UK.

Animal byproducts (ABP) are unavoidable byproduct of meat production that are categorized under EU legislation into category 1, 2, and 3 materials, which are normally treated by rendering. Rendering is a thermal process that produces rendered fat and protein. Heat is provided from the combustion of natural gas and self-produced rendered fat.

Circulating pneumococcal specific plasma and memory B cells in the elderly two years after pneumococcal conjugate versus polysaccharide vaccination.

Background: Polysaccharide conjugate vaccines prime for lasting memory responses in children and young adults. The potential value of these vaccines in the elderly is unclear.

Methods: We compared the frequency of circulating pneumococcal capsular polysaccharide (PPS) specific IgG, IgA and IgM plasma and memory cells by cultured ELISpot and supernatant screening two years after vaccination with the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (7vCRM) and/or the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) in 252 adults aged 50-80 years.

Immunogenicity of a reduced schedule of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in healthy infants and correlates of protection for serotype 6B in the United Kingdom.

Background: Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) was introduced in the United Kingdom immunization schedule in September 2006. This study was conducted to establish the immunogenicity of licensed PCV (Prevenar) at a reduced, 2 priming dose schedule (2+1) and to evaluate functional responses in the context of vaccine effectiveness.

Methods: Infants were randomized to receive PCV at 2 and 3 months or 2 and 4 months of age.

The immunogenicity of 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine versus 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine in adults aged 50-80 years.

Background: Infections with pneumococci are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the elderly population. Although 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) is recommended for elderly persons, the potential benefits of conjugate vaccine use in this age group remain unclear.

Methods: We performed an open-label, randomized study that compared 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (7vPnC) with PPV in 599 adults aged 50-80 years.

An evaluation of the reactivity of synthetic and natural apatites in the presence of aqueous metals.

Metal removal from contaminated effluents was examined following reaction with natural apatites of biological and geological origin or a synthetic hydroxylapatite (HAP). Mammalian meat and bone meal (MBM), a by-product from meat industry, was the biological apatite source. The effect of incineration on metal removal capacity of MBM and HAP was also examined.

Carbonyl-chlorido(1-methyl-sulfanylpenta-1,3-dien-1-yl-5-yl-idene)bis-(triphenyl-phosphane)osmium(II).

The crystal structure of the title compound, [Os(C(6)H(7)S)Cl(C(18)H(15)P)(2)(CO)], confirms the formulation as an osmabenzene. There is a slightly distorted octa-hedral coordination environment at the Os(II) ion, with the triphenyl-phosphane ligands mutually trans and the chloride cis to the carbon bearing the -SMe substituent. Within the metallacyclic ring, the C-C distances are appropriate for aromatic bonds and the two Os-C distances are shorter than typical Os-C single bonds.

Should medical research have a place in future clinical training?

Aim: To determine the attitudes of training grade (Senior House Officer - SHO, Specialist Registrar - SpR) and non-training grade doctors (both Staff Grade and senior or Consultant level) towards the place of research in the curriculum for junior doctors and also the pursuit of research by senior (but non-academic) clinicians.

Materials And Methods: A survey of a range of doctors from differing grades (above) was sent to all doctors of the employing Trust (comprising most of the regional training scheme) with a number of fixed questions but also an opportunity to provide free-text responses. Percentages of the fixed responses were estimated and free-text responses were grouped into main themes and miscellaneous items.

Rendering practices and inactivation of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy agents.

The authors describe the historic form of rendering and provide details on present-day practice. Possible future directions for the rendering industry are considered. The role of rendered meat-and-bone meal (MBM) as a dietary supplement in propagating the United Kingdom (UK) epidemic of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is discussed, together with the role of MBM in spreading BSE outside the UK.

Effect of rendering procedures on the scrapie agent.

A pool of scrapie-infected sheep brains was used to spike mixtures of porcine bone and intestine. These were processed in pilot-scale facsimiles of 12 rendering procedures that were in use within the European Union in 1991, and three that were not. Meat and bone meal, and tallow, were produced from the rendered tissues.

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy: the causal role of ruminant-derived protein in cattle diets.

Although bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has occurred in other European countries, the major epidemic has been in the United Kingdom (UK), where there have been more than 163,000 cases so far. BSE has been linked to the practice of feeding meat-and-bone meal (MBM), putatively contaminated with scrapie agent, to cattle. A ban on the feeding of MBM to ruminants in the UK has resulted in a significant decline in the number of reported cases.

Inactivation of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy agent by rendering procedures.

Bovine brain infected with the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) agent was used to spike material processed in pilot scale facsimiles of 12 rendering processes which are used within the European Union, and three which are not. The raw materials for experimental rendering represented those used in practice, and consisted of appropriate proportions of BSE-infected brain tissue, bovine or porcine intestine, and bovine bone. Meat and bone meal, and tallow were produced from the rendered tissues.

The structure-toxicity relationship challenge at hazardous waste sites.

It is shown that the use of a combination of two programs, MULTICASE and META can help assess the carcinogenic risk factor posed by the disposal of industrial organic materials in the ecosystem. MULTICASE is a knowledge-based computer system that had been trained to identify molecular substructures believed to be conducive to carcinogenic potential and META is an expert system trained to predict the aerobic biodegradation products of organic molecules. The programs can be used to assess the health hazard of the discarded chemicals by evaluating their chemical structure, their biodegradability and the structures of the predicted biodegradation products.