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Biomedical subjects

H Korhonen

Publications and source records attributed to H Korhonen.

59 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of space allowance and earthen floor on welfare-related physiological and behavioural responses in male blue foxes.

Welfare-related physiological and behavioural responses were studied in farm-bred male blue foxes (Alopex lagopus). Three different-sized cages (80-cm long [CL80], 120-cm long [CL120], and 240-cm long [CL240]; each 105-cm wide x 70-cm high) with wire-mesh floors and one enlarged cage (CL240E) with both wire-mesh floor (240-cm long x 105-cm wide x 70-cm high) and earthen floor (80-cm long x 105-cm wide x 70-cm high) were compared. N = 30 males for each group. The experiments lasted from weaning in July to pelting in December. Statistical analyses were based on the models accounting for litter as a block effect. Breaking strength of tibia was highest for foxes having access to both wire-mesh and ground floors (CL240E). Stress-induced hyperthermia was evident during capture and immobilisation. The highest rectal temperature (mean +/- SEM) was found in CL240E (capture: 39.6 +/- 0.09 degrees C, restraint:40.0 +/- 0.09 degrees C) and the lowest in CL80 (capture: 39.1 +/- 0.09 degrees C, restraint: 39.7 +/- 0.09 degrees C). Likewise, capture time (median; interquartile range) in the home cage was highest in CL240E (29; 18 to 44) and lowest in CL80 (12; 9 to 14). During capture, foxes tended to withdraw to the farthest site within the cage. CL240E foxes typically showed the most fear towards human. The most confident animals were found in CL80. The cortisol:creatinine ratio (median; interquartile range) obtained from circadian urine did not reveal statistically significant differences among CL80 (3. 5; 2.6 to 4.1), CL120 (2.3; 1.5 to 3.8) and CL240 (2.3, 1.5 to 3.7). The earthen flooring complicated the urine sampling and conclusions for CL240E (1.7; 1.2 to 2.2). CL240E foxes were the most active and explorative on both wire-mesh- and ground-floored open-field arenas. Altogether, 53% of furs from CL240E were classified as very dirty. Dirtiness of furs in other test groups was slight. In conclusion, the present results did not reveal an unambiguous superiority of any of the studied cage options for well-being of farmed blue foxes.

Animal Husbandry↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Mortality, cardiovascular risk factors, and diet in China, Finland, and the United States.

Mortality, cardiovascular risk factors, and diet were compared in Tianjin province, People's Republic of China; in North Karelia Province, Finland; and in the United States as a whole. People in Tianjin received 7 percent of their energy intake from saturated fats, whereas people in the United States received 13 percent and those in North Karelia received 20. The mean blood cholesterol levels for men were 158 milligrams per deciliter (mg per dl) for Tianjin, 216 mg per dl for the United States, and 241 mg per dl for North Karelia. The smoking prevalence among men was highest in Tianjin (66 percent), followed by the United States (42 percent) and Finland (36 percent). The differences among mortality rates for the three locales were less pronounced among women than among men. Age-standardized total mortality for women was highest for Tianjin and lowest in North Karelia. The reverse was true for men. Age-standardized total mortality for men was lowest in Tianjin and highest in North Karelia. Age-standardized ischemic heart disease mortality for men was lowest in Tianjin (99 per 100,000) and highest in North Karelia (730 per 100,000). For women, the corresponding figures were 83 per 100,000 in Tianjin and 164 per 100,000 in North Karelia. Although salt intake was higher in Tianjin than in North Karelia, the blood pressure was on average lower in persons from Tianjin than in those from North Karelia. The stroke mortality rate in Tianjin, however, was much higher than in either Finland or the United States. The strong discrepancy in stroke mortality relative to prevalence of hypertension and salt intake raises the issue of the etiology of stroke in Tianjin. Recently it has been reported that hemorrhagic stroke may be more common among people whose blood cholesterol level is very low and blood pressure level high. This joint condition may be relatively common in Tianjin and calls for longitudinal and case-control studies to clarify the relationships among these factors in Tianjin.

Adult↗