In a spin: the mysterious dancing epidemic of 1518.

In 1518, one of the strangest epidemics in recorded history struck the city of Strasbourg. Hundreds of people were seized by an irresistible urge to dance, hop and leap into the air. In houses, halls and public spaces, as fear paralyzed the city and the members of the elite despaired, the dancing continued with mindless intensity. Seldom pausing to eat, drink or rest, many of them danced for days or even weeks. And before long, the chronicles agree, dozens were dying from exhaustion. What was it that could have impelled as many as 400 people to dance, in some cases to death?

Incorporation of alpha-tocopherol and linoleic acid in fresh lambs by feeding chemically treated dietary supplements containing dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate and sunflower oil.

The effects of feeding chemically treated dietary supplements (CTDS) containing sunflower oil and dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate (TA) on alpha-tocopherol content and fatty acid profile in edible tissues of lambs were estimated. Compared with lambs fed control diet (CD), lambs fed CD plus 250 IU of either TA or CTDS increased serum alpha-tocopherol. The CTDS-fed lambs further increased serum alpha-tocopherol by 29% over those fed CD plus 250 IU of TA. Lambs supplemented with TA or CTDS increased alpha-tocopherol in muscle and adipose tissues as compared with lambs fed CD. The CTDS-fed lambs had higher levels of alpha-tocopherol in gluteus medius (7.55 vs 6.05 mug/g), psoas major (7.43 vs 6.02 mug/g), and subcutaneous fat (12.6 vs 9.98 mug/g) compared with the TA-fed lambs. Feeding lambs CTDS also substantially increased levels of linoleic acid in the adipose tissues while decreasing the content of palmitic and oleic acids.

Effects of administration of ergotamine tartrate on fertility of yearling beef bulls.

Sixteen yearling bulls were utilized to investigate administration of ergotamine tartrate on semen parameters, fertilization, and endocrinology. Bulls were allotted to a control diet of cracked corn, corn silage, and soybean meal (CON, n = 8) or a diet supplemented daily with 40 microg/kg body weight of ergotamine tartrate (ET, n = 8). Blood samples, average daily gain, scrotal circumference and rectal temperatures were collected every 14 day. Semen samples were obtained every 60 day and evaluated for motility and morphology. Scrotal temperatures were obtained by thermography immediately before electroejaculation. Semen from a subset of bulls from each treatment was also evaluated for in vitro fertilization. Administration of ET increased rectal temperature and resulted in lower scrotal temperatures compared to CON bulls (P < 0.05). However, prolactin, scrotal circumference, testosterone, and semen motility and morphology did not differ between groups throughout the experimental period (224 day). Cleavage rates of embryos derived from in vitro fertilization (IVF) with semen of bulls, fed with ET, were reduced compared to CON (P < 0.05); however, development of cleaved embryos to blastocyst did not differ between treatments. In conclusion, extended exposure of bulls to ET appeared to reduce fertilization potential of sperm.

Processing cotton gin trash to enhance in vitro dry matter digestibility in reduced time.

Cotton gin trash (CGT) in the raw form is poorly digested by ruminants due to lignocellulosic complexes. These structures must be broken down before adequate digestion can occur. This may be performed by physical and/or chemical means. Two methods for improving digestibility are particle size reduction and/or treatment with sodium hydroxide (NaOH). To evaluate the effectiveness of each method, three experiments were performed in which different CGT types were tested. Each type represented trash from a particular cleaning stage in the cotton ginning process. First, each type was ground with a knife-type grinding mill using screen sizes 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mm. For the second experiment, particle size was held constant at 2 mm, and all CGT types were treated with 4% and 6% NaOH (w/w) at room temperature. An agitation cycle of 5 min on and 10 min off was used, with the total mixing time being 4 h. Lastly, particle size and NaOH concentration were held constant, and treatments were performed at room temperature, 40 degrees C, and 50 degrees C. The total mixing times were 2 and 3 h for 50 and 40 degrees C, respectively. For all experiments two subsamples of each treatment were tested for in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD). From grinding alone, digestibility increased as particle size decreased. Grinding to 0.5 mm resulted in an average IVDMD of 47.8% while grinding to 2.0 mm resulted in an average IVDMD of only 33.8%. Digestibility also improved with a greater NaOH concentration. An average in vitro digestibility of 70.5% was achieved with 6% NaOH (w/w) treatment, essentially doubling that of the raw CGT. Increasing the reaction temperature did not result in increased digestibility because the mixture dried out, with a consequent reduction in chemical distribution and uniformity in heat transfer. There are still chemical residues in the CGT, and elimination/reduction of these is an issue that needs to be addressed in further research.

Becoming a Darwinian: the micro-politics of Sir Francis Galton's scientific career 1859-65.

In 1865 Francis Galton (1822-1911) published 'Hereditary Talent and Character', an elaborate attempt to prove the heritability of intelligence on the basis of pedigree data. It was the start of Galton's lifelong commitment to investigating the statistical patterns and physiological mechanisms of hereditary transmission. Most existing attempts to explain Galton's fascination for heredity have argued that he was driven by a commitment to conservative political ideologies to seek means of naturalizing human inequality. However, this paper shows that another factor of at least equal importance has been overlooked by Galton scholars: his determination during the 1860s to be accepted among the ranks of the Darwinian inner circle. By hitching his career to the fortunes of what looked likely to emerge as a new scientific elite, Galton felt that he could bypass the typically slow and uncertain route to achieving scientific distinction. For this essentially strategic reason, between 1860 and 1865 he drifted away from a set of existing scientific concerns that were failing to deliver the approbation that he desired. Earnestly seeking to ingratiate himself with the Darwinian lobby, he then toyed with a variety of potential research projects relevant to Darwinian evolution. Yet Galton consistently failed to stimulate the enthusiasm of the Darwinians. Finally, however, after several months of ruminating, in 1864 he settled on a study of eminent pedigrees as a subject that was both germane and highly useful to the Darwinian enterprise. Galton's willingness to shift the direction of his scientific career during the 1860s underscores the importance of examining the micro-politics of scientific careers in addition to their broader social and political context. This account also emphasizes the limitations of class-based explanations even when considering scientists whose work seems so manifestly indicative of ideological motivation.

Parents and children: ideas of heredity in the 19th century.

The concept of heredity played a powerful role in structuring 19th-century debates over sickness, morality, class, race, education, social change and evolution. But there was very little agreement as to which qualities were heritable and how new hereditary variants were acquired. In consequence, notions of heredity existed in a wide variety of forms, expressing anything from extreme determinism and a belief in the incorrigibility of individuals, social and racial groups, to unleavened optimism, and a faith in ultimate human perfectibility. This article explores these rich hereditarian discourses to convey an impression of a century that was at least as preoccupied with the concept of biological inheritance as we are today.