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Previous work in calves indicated that ballooning of the severed arteries is a potential concern in animals receiving a reversible stun before slaughter, and in animals not stunned before slaughter, as it could extend the duration of brain function before the animals die. This study determined the prevalence of ballooning of the carotid arteries in a total of 987 cattle, calves and lambs at slaughter. The severed ends of the carotid arteries were examined by palpation. The prevalence of ballooning that was 3cm or more in diameter, was 16%, 25% and 0% for cattle, calves and lambs, respectively. Artery sections were taken from a sample of large cattle and examined histologically. In ballooned arteries there was coagulated blood between the outer surface of the artery and the inner aspect of the connective tissue sheath surrounding the artery, suggesting the formation of a false aneurysm in the ballooning phenomenon.

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The partial least squares (PLS) regression technique was used to examine meat quality data derived from instruments (including Warner-Bratzler shear force and Instron Compression) and sensory panels. The data related to beef longissimus dorsi muscles collected during trials to study the effect of hot boning on meat quality. The univariate analysis of tenderness showed that over 60% of the variation in sensory tenderness, and almost 60% of the variation in sensory acceptability, could be explained from instrument variables and a consideration of boning and ageing time. Graphical displays from the analysis indicated that hot boning (either at 1 or 4 h) had little effect on meat quality. Graphical displays demonstrated a possible important effect of vacuum-pack ageing on acceptability. For this data set, it appears that samples of approximately equivalent tenderness differ in acceptability, depending on whether the samples have been aged for 1 or 4 weeks. This finding may have practical importance in attempts to predict eating quality (acceptability) from instrument measurements. Separate equations are necessary for products aged for different periods. ©

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Post-slaughter blood samples and muscle samples were collected from pigs slaughtered at the completion of a live-animal performance trial. There were two lines of pigs in which the halothane allele (n) was segregating. The lines were a lean line selected for rapid lean growth and an unselected fat line. There were homozygous normal (NN), homozygous halothane positive (nn) and heterozygous (Nn) genotypes in both lnes. Cortisol was measured in the plasma of the blood samples and in muscle juice obtained by high-speed centrifugation. Meat quality was assessed using pH, colour, fibre-optic probe, drip loss and cure yield measurements. Plasma cortisol concentrations in the fat line were significantly (P < 0·05) greater than thosein the lean line but concentrations did not differ significantly for the three halothane genotypes. Carcasses classified as dark, firm and dry (DFD) had significantly (P < 0·05) greater muscle cortisol concentrations than those classified as normal. Plasma and muscle cortisol concentrations of carcases classified as pale, soft and exudative (PSE) did not differ significantly from those classified as normal. Correlations between muscle cortisol and meat quality attributes were generally highly significant (r = 0·31 to r = 0·51, P < 0·001) There was a highly significant correlation (r = 0·73, P < 0·0001) between plasma and muscle cortisol concentrations.

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Cortisol concentrations were measured in cattle plasma and pig muscle juice samples obtained from groups of animals slaughtered at different abattoirs. Statistically significant (P < 0·001) differences were obtained for between-abattoir comparisons for both the cattle and pig samples. Cortisol concentrations were determined using a radio-immunoassay kit. In accordance with the instructions, assays were performed in duplicate. An analysis of variance indicated that the use of a single determination on more samples, instead of duplicate determinations of fewer samples, would have led to an important increase in accuracy for detecting differences between means. It would have been more cost-efficient to collect additional samples and perform one assay only on each sample.

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Blood samples were collected during exsanguination from a group of 36 cattle slaughtered at a research abattoir and from a group of 36 cattle slaughtered at a commercial abattoir. Beta-endorphin and cortisol values were measured in plasma from all blood samples. The mean beta-endorphin values for the two groups of animals (19·2 and 20·9 pmol/litre) did not differ significantly. The mean cortisol values for the two groups of cattle did differ significantly (P < 0·001), with the commercial abattoir group having the greater mean value (123 nmol/litre versus 41 nmol/litre). Although the commercial abattoir group had an elevated mean cortisol value there were no dark cutting carcasses in the group.

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The measurement of plasma constituents in a blood sample can provide information on the stress status of the animal. The interpretation of results obtained for constituents of blood samples collected at exsanguination must consider the effect of the slaughter process on the constituent. Both electrical and mechanical stunning methods can cause dramatic increases in catecholamine levels and minor increases in glucose levels. Thus, there are difficulties in the interpretation of catecholamine and, to a lesser extent, glucose, values in blood samples collected post-stunning. Cortisol levels appear to be unaffected by stunning methods and measurement of this constituent in post-slaughter blood samples has been used to assist in the evaluation of transport and abattoir treatments. Beta-hydroxybutyrate concentrations may assist in evaluating nutritional stress prior to slaughter while the limited evidence available suggests that beta-endorphin measurements will be of value in assessing pain and other stressors prior to slaughter. Adreno-corticotrophic hormone, calcium and magnesium, free fatty acids, glucose, lactate and thyroid hormones have all been used on occasions to assist in the evaluation of stress status. In some cases it was not possible to demonstrate a clear relationship between plasma constituents that indicate stress, and stress-related meat quality defects.

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This paper examines the role of the vertebral arteries of calves in determining the time to loss of spontaneous electrocortical activity after slaughter by a throat-cut severing the soft tissues of the neck ventral to the spinal column. Four calves with the vertebral arteries ligated took 43 +/- 1.3 s to lose cortical activity after the throat was cut. Four similar animals with intact vertebral arteries and the rostral end of the common carotid arteries clamped immediately after slaughter, to ensure that vertebral blood passed to the brain, took 51 +/-25 s to lose cortical activity. It was concluded that factors other than blood flow from the vertebral arteries contribute to the prolonged time to loss of electrocortical activity after slaughter that has been observed in some calves.

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Parallel electrocorticograms (ECoG) and electroencephalograms (EEG) were recorded during stun-recovery and stun-slaughter of eight calves 4-6 weeks old. Epochs of 8·2 s duration, derived from the ECoG and EEG signals pre-stun, during recovery and during exsanguination, were compared for differences in power content and frequency distribution using Fast Fourier Transform analysis. ECoG signals recorded during the quiescent phase post-stun had a markedly lower power content compared with pre-stun, whereas the EEG signal showed no such reduction in power content. During exsanguination, the mean rate of decline in the ECoG power content was 0·025 log units/s, three times faster than the mean rate of decline of the EEG at 0·008 log units/s. The duration of the electroplectic fit post-stun was detected equally well by the two techniques. The differences between EEG and ECoG traces in this study are thought to arise from differences in the signal-noise ratio of the two techniques and by artefacts in the EEG signal, caused by microscopic movement between EEG electrodes and the surrounding tissue. The slower rate of decline in the power content of the EEG during slaughter means that the time to onset of isoelectric cortical electrical activity will be longer if determined by EEG measurements than by ECoG recording.

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Neuronal perikarya containing vasopressin mRNA were detected in cryostat sections of cynomolgus monkey brains by using an in situ hybridization technique. The neurones were observed in hypothalamic regions (supraoptic nucleus, paraventricular nucleus, suprachiasmatic nucleus and accessory supraoptic nucleus). These findings are in agreement with previous reports using immunohistochemical methods.

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Electroencephalograms (EEGs) were recorded before and after 'head-only' electrical stunning of adult cattle. Epochs of 8·5 s duration derived from the pre-and the post-stun EEG signals were compared for differences in scale and frequency. The frequency structures of two selected epochs from the one animal were evaluated using the periodogram ordinates derived by calculating the Fast Fourier Transform. The comparison of the two pre-stun epochs indicated that, within the one animal, the pre-stun EEG signal had a consistent frequency pattern. Similarly, a comparison of two post-stun epochs indicated that the post-stun EEG signal also had a consistent frequency pattern. The comparison of pre- and post-stun epochs indicated a consistent increases in amplitude after stunning. Additionally, after stunning, there was an increase in the power of frequencies in the range 4-8 Hz and a decrease in the power of certain frequencies in the range 15-25 Hz. Although there was considerable animal-to-animal variation it was demonstrated that electric stunning produced definable changes in the EEG signal.

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Synapses in the lateral septum of the murine brain have been investigated by ultrastructural immunocytochemistry, using monoclonal anti-neurophysins in both immunoperoxidase and immunogold techniques. In the region shown by light microscopy to be rich in vasopressinergic innervation, synaptic boutons containing approximately 30 nm clear vesicles and occasional approximately 100 nm dense-cored granules (granules) were stained by pre-embedding immunoperoxidase procedures with antisera to vasopressin-neurophysin, but not oxytocin-neurophysin; reaction product was diffusely distributed in the terminals. Terminals were symmetrical, and both axosomatic and axodendritic in type. Postembedding immunogold procedures by use of anti-vasopressin-neurophysin labeled only the approximately 100 nm diameter granules in the terminals. Sodium meta-periodate treatment 'bleached' immunoreactive granules, indicating the presence of a carbohydrate residue. The quantum of peptide packaged in the granules appears to be smaller than that in magnocellular neurones; nevertheless, the results indicate that, as in the magnocellular neurosecretory system, vasopressin and its neurophysin are packaged exclusively in granules, and that vasopressin in the septum is likely to be derived from a precursor comprising vasopressin, vasopressin-neurophysin and a glycosylated residue.

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Presented are the description and advantages of a unique compression device in the form of a legging for the treatment of venous and lymphatic insufficiency. It consists of a number of pliable, unyielding, adjustable compression bands, from the knee to the instep. The bands are easily closed, tightened, and opened, which is particularly useful for the physically handicapped patient for whom the commonly prescribed elastic stocking is inappropriate because of the difficulty in putting it on and removing it. The effectiveness of the legging is enhanced by its nonelasticity, as has been long proven by the Unna boot, and its ability to maintain an unreduced compression level throughout its lifetime, regardless of edema changes.

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The utilization of exogenous triacylglycerol by fusing and non-fusing rat L6 myoblasts grown in culture was investigated. Although small quantities of triacylglycerol were accumulated by both cell lines during an incubation of 2 h, no evidence could be found for the presence of lipoprotein lipase, either in the cells or released into the medium. Cell homogenate studies confirmed the absence of lipoprotein lipase but revealed the presence of an acid lipase having a pH optimum at 4.6. Acid lipase activity was mainly associated with a 15 000 g pellet and was capable of hydrolysing triolein at maximum velocity in the millimolar range. Unlike lipoprotein lipase, acid lipase was strongly inhibited by serum and preliminary investigations suggest that the inhibitory component of serum is located amongst the higher density lipoproteins. It is likely that the acid lipase is of lysosomal origin and is responsible for the hydrolysis of internalized triacylglycerol for subsequent utilization by the cell.

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The physiological significance of the 'bursting' pattern of firing exhibited by activated vasopressin-secreting neurones was investigated by delivering bursts of electrical stimuli to isolated rat neurohypophyses incubated in vitro and by determining vasopressin release. The stimuli were delivered in bursts at three different average frequencies (2.5, 5.0, and 7.5 Hz). For each average frequency, stimuli were delivered at a constant 10 Hz, and the durations of the burst and silence periods were altered, so that the stimulator was switched on for 25, 50 or 75% of the total time. The burst duration varied from 2.5 to 30 s. The vasopressin release generally increased with the average frequency of stimulation, but varied widely for different burst durations. The vasopressin release per stimulus pulse was found to correlate extremely well (r2 = 0.91) with burst durations of up to 20 s, regardless of the average frequency. If it is assumed that complete recovery from the effects of each burst of stimuli took place during the intervening silence periods, it can be shown that vasopressin release per burst increased as the square of burst duration. By analogy with other neurosecretory systems, facilitation of calcium entry during the bursts may be responsible.

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The release of peptide hormones and uptake of radiolabelled calcium were measured in isolated rat neurohypophyses incubated in vitro. Neuropeptide release was provoked either by depolarising the tissue with raised extracellular potassium, or by application of biphasic electrical stimulus pulses. Potassium stimulation increased uptake of radiolabelled calcium, but electrical stimulation caused no measurable change, suggesting that non-neuronal elements unresponsive to electrical stimulation were responsible for the uptake. This possibility is supported by the results of 2 further series of experiments, in which the neurohypophyses were manipulated in vivo before incubation in vitro. First, the experimental animals were given a 2% solution of sodium chloride in place of drinking water for 3 days, to deplete the neuropeptide content of the incubated tissue. After such treatment, potassium-stimulated neuropeptide release was greatly reduced, but calcium uptake was increased relative to that of normal tissue. Secondly, the pituitary stalk was lesioned electrolytically 14 days before the incubation, thus completely eliminating the neural elements of the neurohypophysis. Potassium stimulation then released no neuropeptide, but calcium uptake increased as in normal tissue. It thus appears that calcium uptake does not always closely parallel neuropeptide release, in contrast with previous results, and that depolarisation of the non-neuronal elements is responsible for the measurable uptake of calcium. The results do not contradict existing concepts of the central role of calcium influx in stimulus-secretion coupling in neurohypophyseal terminals, but serve to emphasise the need for care in the interpretation of calcium uptake data in tissues which are not homogeneous. The neurohypophyseal glial cells (pituicytes) are a likely site for the calcium uptake caused by potassium depolarisation.

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