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This paper reviews Cd exposure and consequences for the health and productivity of farmed ruminants. In farmed ruminants, Cd exposure may be associated with a number of different activities, including industrial processing, mining, and agricultural practices, and is also higher in soils in some geographic regions. Cd kidney concentrations increase with age and Cd exposure. Although Cd toxicity in farmed ruminants has been demonstrated experimentally, there are no published reports of naturally occurring Cd toxicity in farmed ruminants. Clinical signs of Cd intoxication are unlikely with a daily dietary Cd intake of less than 5 mg/kg feed, which is 5-10 times higher than the maximum permitted Cd concentration in ruminant feed in the European Union. In farmed ruminants, Cd levels in tissue are largely dependent on the Cd content of diet. However, many factors affect Cd availability, relating to soils, plants and the presence of other trace elements including Ca, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Se and Zn. Experimental studies have highlighted the ability of Cd to alter trace element status, and the protective effect of good mineral status, however, there remain gaps in knowledge of the impact of these interactions on the health and productivity of farmed animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diversion path analysis in the context of nuclear material safeguards is the identification and evaluation of all paths along which nuclear material can be diverted from the peaceful nuclear fuel cycle for military purposes or purposes unknown. Obviously such an analysis must be strategic in nature, giving particular attention to those diversion paths that are most promising from the diverter's point of view. This implies, in turn, the use of game theoretical concepts, a fact that has been long recognized but that has enjoyed renewed interest in recent years by more and more analysts. This paper presents a general framework for game theoretical approaches to diversion path analysis. Starting with the elementary case of only two paths and very simple payoffs to the inspectorate and the state, it is shown how the problem can be formulated and solved in terms of game theory. Then the technically more difficult generalization to an arbitrary number of diversion paths is described. The inclusion of additional complicating aspects in the analysis, such as false alarm and detection probabilities, conversion times and inspection effort is examined and partial solutions are presented, in particular the conditions under which the State is deterred from illegal behavior. A discussion of the usefulness of this kind of analysis concludes the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many ruminants are solely or mostly dependant for their nutrients, including essential elements, on the forage available to them, either in its natural state or conserved as hay or silage. A soil and herbage survey was carried out in April and September 2007, in a 3.1 kmX3.0 km grid, incorporating 106 and 46 sampling points, respectively, on the Castlecomer Plateau, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland. The aim was to determine the nutrient and heavy metal status of soil and herbage in the sampling area, and to examine the concentrations observed for their potential to impact on animal performance. Low soil pH and high soil lime requirements were identified within the sampling area. The con- centrations of Ca, Cu, Se and Zn were low in both soil and herbage. These conditions are similar to those found on other farms in Ireland. Fluoride was detected in 61 of the 97 herbage samples in April 2007, but only four exceeded 40 mg/kg dry matter, the maximum tolerable level for cattle. Mineral imbalances (Ca, Cu, Se and Zn) observed in pastures caused by low soil mineral status, exacerbated by low soil pH, could impair animal performance in the area studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective was to characterise the hormonal composition of follicular fluid from mares with distinct anovulatory-cystic follicles. Follicular fluid was aspirated from six mares that presented with cystic fol-licles and from pre-ovulatory follicles of five normal mares (controls). Differences in progesterone, oestradiol, testosterone, IGF-I and IGF binding were analysed using Fisher's exact test. There were greater (P < 0.03) follicular fluid oestradiol concentrations in normal follicles and the testosterone concentration of the cystic fluid was greater (P < 0.05) than that of the normal fluid. There also was a greater (P < 0.03) percentage of IGF-I binding and lower (P< 0.02) IGF-I concentrations in the fluid collected from the cystic struc-tures compared with the fluid from normal follicles. Despite the limited number of animals, the fact that fluid aspirated from cystic follicles had higher testosterone and lower oestradiol concentrations could be of diagnostic value when a practitioner wants to distinguish between a cystic and non-cystic persis-tent follicle. The research reported here also indicates a likely role for the IGF system in the pathogenesis of the development and maintenance of anovulatory follicular structures in mare ovaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]