Hen Group Research Articles

Standards of Nutrition Management for Children with Developmental Disabilities in Long-Term-Care Facilities

Dietitians (RD's) working with developmental disabilities (DD) in children commonly encounter nutritional disorders without national standards for management. Two different patterns of weight gain have been observed in children with DD. One group of children gains weight easily with energy intakes far below the RDA (Low Energy Needs or LEN). The other group (High Energy Needs or HEN) fails to gain weight with energy intakes well above the RDA. The Steering Committee of the state Pediatric Practice Group surveyed RD's at 14 pediatric long-term-care facilities to determine nutrition resources and assessment parameters. The survey included two case studies to differentiate nutritional management. Ten completed surveys (71.4%) were returned. Length was the most common parameter used to determine nutrient needs (6/10). No difference was noted between the two groups with regard to medical status or route of feeding. Estimated energy needs were low in the LEN group, ranging from 25% of the RDA for age to 75% of the RDA for height-age. In the HEN group the formula for catch-up growth was the most common (5/10) calculation used to determine energy needs. There was no difference in estimated requirements of protein, vitamins, or minerals between the two groups. The majority of RD's (7/10) responded that standards of care for nutritional management of DD need to be developed. In conclusion, RD's identify two distinct subpopulations within DD based on energy needs for weight gain. Nutritional management based primarily on energy needs for weight gain appear inconsistent with the RDA's and state regulations. Further research is needed to determine nutrient requirements in the DD population and to develop standards of care.

Seasonal fluctuations of numbers, breeding, and food of kiore (Rattus exulans) on Lady Alice Island (Hen and Chickens group), with a consideration of kiore: tuatara(Sphenodon punctatus) relationships in New Zealand

Abstract Kiore were snap-trapped in five forest habitats on Lady Alice Island. Trapping was most successful from late autumn to early spring and in coastal scrub habitat Breeding extended over at least 6 months (November to April) during which females produced 2–3 litters each averaging five young. Although plant material was most abundant in rat stomachs (averaging 78% volumetrically), a wide range of animal foods was taken. Weevils, scarab beetles, moth larvae of the family Hepialidae, weta (Orthoptera), and down feathers of burrowing seabird chicks were the most frequently recovered. No tuatara remains were found in rat stomachs, but fragments of three skinks (Cyclodina and/or Leiolopisma spp.) were recorded. We postulate that in the absence of rats, tuatara densities will be highest on islands that have been partly cleared of forest. In the presence of kiore, tuatara are more likely to persist on islands with minimal modification of the original forest.

Secondary imprinting in the domestic chick blocked by previous exposure to a live hen

Two experiments were carried out to investigate secondary imprinting in the domestic chick, Gallus gallus. Experiment 1 established that, after chicks with very limited prior visual experience had been exposed to a moving cup during the first 3 days of life, the cup when stationary would suppress distress calling. The main experiment, experiment 2, then examined the effects of various forms of prior experience on the development of this kind of imprinting. Three groups of chicks were exposed on days 1 and 2 to either a live hen (Hen group), a moving object (Windmill group) or the same object when stationary (Control group). On days 4, 5 and 6 all subjects were given training of the kind used in experiment 1; imprinting to the cup was obtained in the Windmill and Control groups, but not in the Hen group. On days 11 and 12 retention tests were given; these showed good retention of primary imprinting, in that the cup was still effective in suppressing distress calling in the Control group and likewise the windmill in the Windmill group, but no effect of secondary imprinting was detected, in that the cup no longer affected the behaviour of the chicks in the Windmill group. These results indicated that primary imprinting with certain stimuli, as in the Hen group, can subsequently exert powerful interference with secondary imprinting and they supported a previous claim that, where secondary imprinting does occur, it is relatively unstable.

The Effects of Forced Molt Treatment on Selected Steroids in Hens

A study was conducted to determine the effects of an environmentally induced forced molt on concentrations of plasma progesterone (P), corticosteroids (CS), corticosterone binding globulin binding capacity (CBGBC), and liver corticosteroids (LCS) during early forced molt.Laying hens were placed into two environmental control chambers. In one chamber, control (C) hens were fed ad libitum and maintained on long photoperiods of 19 hr of light daily to maintain egg production. In the other chamber, early forced-molt (EM) hens were exposed to short photoperiods of 6 hr of light daily to decrease egg production. After 2 weeks of ad libitum feeding, feed was withdrawn from the EM hens for 2 days to initiate a molt. Feed was restored for 3 days to the EM hens before hens from both groups were sacrificed every 2 hr for 2 days.The EM hens had regressed ovaries, greater body weight losses, lower plasma P and CS hormone levels, lower nuclei free LCS levels, and lower CBGBC than C hens. Nuclear LCS levels were similar in EM and C hens.A single peak indicating a daily rhythm of plasma P was found only in C hens. Progesterone secretions appeared to be eposodic in EM hens.A daily rhythm with two peaks of plasma CS and nuclei-free LCS was found in the C hens. Nuclear LCS peaked thrice daily in C hens. A cascade of CS from the plasma to the liver cytosol and on to the liver nucleus was indicated. Plasma CS was negatively correlated with nuclei-free LCS.Two daily peaks of plasma CS occurred in EM hens. One peak exhibited a daily rhythm and the other did not. Daily rhythmic peaks in EM hens were less defined than in C hens. Force molt treatment in EM hens may have affected the loss of the LCS peaks as was found in the C hens. No daily rhythms of CBGBC were found in either hen group.

Factor Analysis in Botanical Methods of Exploration

Botanical methods of exploration for minerals incorporate two basically different techniques; geobotany and biogeochemistry. Geobotany is essentially a form of applied ecology and involves the visual observation of the vegetation cover to detect indicator plants, morphological changes, or plant communities characteristic of a particular type of substrate. This technique can sometimes give clues as to the presence or absence of rocktypes favourable for mineralization. Biogeochemistry involves the analysis of the mineral content of the plant cover in order to detect mineralization. The two methods have been reviewed by Brooks (1972). Although it is customary to classify geobotany and biogeochemistry as separate methods, they are in fact closely linked since the nature of the vegetation and its elemental content are influenced by both the chemical composition of the substrate and by the physical features of the environment. Coppermine Island, Hen and Chickens Group, New Zealand contains copper deposits which have been investigated mineralogically and geologically (Brothers & Hopkins 1967; Wodzicki & Thompson 1970), and pedologically (Weissberg 1967). The wealth of data (including test-drilling) concerning these deposits, is such that the area forms an excellent natural laboratory where other exploration techniques may be tested. The island also contains a number of distinct plant communities which have been delineated by ground work (Atkinson 1968) and whose boundaries were subsequently confirmed by aerial infrared photography (Yates 1972). In 1972 we carried out sampling of vegetation and soils from each of the main plant communities upon the island with a view to investigating further, the link between biogeochemistry, geochemistry and geobotany by attempting to evaluate the extent to which the various communities could be characterized by factor analysis of data on the concentrations of a number of elements in the plants and soils.

Copper in bryophytes from Coppermine Island, hen and chickens group, New Zealand

Abstract Copper was determined in bryophytes and their substrates from Coppermine Island. All three species analysed had elevated copper contents and showed promise for use in mineral exploration, particularly as one of them (Fissidens rigidulus Hook. f. et Wils.) had been previously used for uranium exploration in the South Island. None of the classical “copper mosses” (Merceya and Mielich-hoferia) was found on the island.

Coppermine island and conservation

Coppermine Island, one of the Hen and Chickens group of islands which lie to the east of Whangarei in the North Island of New Zealand, has been the subject of intense controversy since 1965, when an Australian company applied for prospecting and mining rights. The Island is a Scenic Reserve which has also been gazetted a Sanctuary and a Wildlife Refuge because of its very considerable biological values, outlined in this paper. A preliminary geological survey indicated that low-grade copper ores are present, with an estimated total yield of 150,000 tons (152,400 tonnes) of pure copper. A summary is given of efforts to persuade Government that the scientific value of the island and its neighbours is more important than their limited material value. The main gain has been that, while it now appears likely that restricted prospecting will be allowed in the first place, this will be done under stringently controlled conditions. These should ensure that the island will be left with its value as a Sanctuary preserved if results do not justify subsequent mining.

An Ecological Reconnaissance of Coppermine Island, hen and chickens group

Summary The vegetation of Coppermine Island consists mainly of coastal scrub and pohutukawa-dominated forest on the steep slopes and kanuka scrub and forest on the upper ridges. Also present is a mahoe-puriri forest associated with a very friable soil that is burrowed by large numbers of flesh-footed shearwaters. This ecosystem has not been found elsewhere and appears to be related to the island§ unusual geology Doth from a wildlife and a scientific standpoint it is particularly important to prevent European rats reaching this island or any other islands of the Chicken group.

A Visit to Taranga, Hen and Chickens Group (N.Z.)

(1928). A Visit to Taranga, Hen and Chickens Group (N.Z.) Emu - Austral Ornithology: Vol. 28, No. 2, pp. 100-110.