Browsing by Author "Oliver M"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Pain Mitigation Strategies for Disbudding in Goat Kids
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2024-02-07) Singh P; Venkatachalam D; Kongara K; Chambers P; Oliver M
    Pain mitigation strategies for disbudding in goat kids have gained significant attention in recent years because of growing concerns for animal welfare. Disbudding, the removal of horn buds in young goats, is a common practice to enhance safety and manage herd dynamics. However, the procedure will cause pain and distress if not managed effectively. This review covers the array of pain mitigation techniques currently available for disbudding, including the efficacy of these strategies in reducing pain and stress during the disbudding process, with specific attention to the potential toxicity associated with local anesthetics. The current best practice for disbudding on the farm suggests sedation/analgesia with an alpha-2 agonist, the placement of a two-point cornual nerve block, and then an NSAID for postoperative pain. In conclusion, this review offers recommendations for future research directions aimed at enhancing the welfare of young goats subjected to the disbudding procedure. These suggestions hold the promise of fostering significant improvements in the overall well-being of these animals.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Understanding the relationship between activity and neighbourhoods (URBAN) study: research design and methodology
    (Badland, 2009) Badland H; Schofield GM; Witten KL; Schluter P; Mavoa S; Kearns RA; Hinckson E; Oliver M; Kaiwai HM; Jensen VG; Ergler C; McGrath L; McPhee J
    Built environment attributes are recognized as being important contributors to physical activity (PA) engagement and body size in adults and children. However, much of the existing research in this emergent public health field is hindered by methodological limitations, including: population and site homogeneity, reliance on self-report measures, aggregated measures of PA, and inadequate statistical modeling. As an integral component of multi-country collaborative research, the Understanding the Relationship between Activity and Neighbourhoods (URBAN) Study seeks to overcome these limitations by determining the strengths of association between detailed measures of the neighborhood built environment with PA levels across multiple domains and body size measures in adults and children. This article outlines the research protocol developed for the URBAN Study.