Samples of subgingival plaque from 67 children, 5-7 years of age, were examined for the presence of certain suspected periodontal pathogenic species using the conventional technique of anaerobic sonification, dilution and spiral plating. When this technique was compared with a direct plating procedure which involved no preliminary dispersion and dilution of plaque specimens, it was found that the direct method resulted in double the frequency of children in whom black-pigmented Bacteroides (BPB) were detected and a 10-times increase in the number of subjects harbouring Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans. Samples from the tongue, tonsils and saliva were also plated using the direct technique. BPB were detected less commonly in the plaque specimens (61.3% of children) than in saliva (89.5%), or on the tongue (86.6%) and tonsils (97.1%). Expressed as percentages of a pooled sample of the total BPB population, the most frequently detected species in plaque were Bacteroides intermedius (44.4%) and Bacteroides melaninogenicus (48.0%). The most prevalent isolate in all other oral sites was B. melaninogenicus. Expressed as percentages of children in whom BPB were detected, the most frequently isolated species from plaque using the conventional dilution technique was B. intermedius (21.3%), whereas other BPB species were present in fewer than 5% of children. Fusobacterium nucleatum and Capnocytophaga species were isolated most frequently from plaque but were also commonly detected in the various other oral sites.

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Eighty-eight multiparous sows were used to evaluate whether type and timing of oil supplementation during gestation influences the incidence of low birth weight (LBW). Sows were allocated (eight per treatment) commercial sow pellets (3 kg/d; control diet) or an experimental diet consisting of control diet plus 10 % extra energy in the form of excess pellets, palm oil, olive oil (OO), sunflower oil (SO) or fish oil; experimental diets were fed during either the first half (G1) or second half (G2) of gestation. Growth performance and endocrine profile of LBW (, 1·09 kg) and normal birth weight (NBW; 1·46 -1·64 kg) offspring were compared. Maternal dietary supplementation altered the distribution curve for piglet birth weight. SOG1 sows had a greater proportion of LBW piglets (P, 0·05), whilst it was reduced in the OOG1 group (P,0·05). Growth rate of LBW piglets was lower compared with their NBW siblings (P,0·05) when dietary supplementation was offered in G2 but were similar for G1. At birth, LBW offspring of supplemented animals possessed more fat compared with the control group (P,0·05); LBW offspring of control animals exhibited a more rapid decline in fat free mass/kg prior to weaning. Plasma metabolites and insulin concentrations were influenced by maternal diet and birth weight. In conclusion, maternal dietary supplementation altered the distribution of piglet birth weights and improved the energy status of LBW piglets. Supplementation with MUFA during G1 reduced the incidence of LBW, whereas PUFA had the reverse effect.Birth weight: Piglet growth: Body composition: OilIn the UK, mortality of live born piglets is approximately 11 % (1) with over 50 % of deaths occurring within 3 d of birth (2,3) . Many factors influence piglet mortality (4)

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