Medication adherence in patients with myotonic dystrophy and facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy

Myotonic dystrophy (DM) and facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) are the two most common adult muscular dystrophies and have progressive and often disabling manifestations. Higher levels of medication adherence lead to better health outcomes, especially important to patients with DM and FSHD because of their multisystem manifestations and complexity of care. However, medication adherence has not previously been studied in a large cohort of DM type 1 (DM1), DM type 2 (DM2), and FSHD patients. The purpose of our study was to survey medication adherence and disease manifestations in patients enrolled in the NIH-supported National DM and FSHD Registry. The study was completed by 110 DM1, 49 DM2, and 193 FSHD patients. Notable comorbidities were hypertension in FSHD (44 %) and DM2 (37 %), gastroesophageal reflux disease in DM1 (24 %) and DM2 (31 %) and arrhythmias (29 %) and thyroid disease (20 %) in DM1. Each group reported high levels of adherence based on regimen complexity, medication costs, health literacy, side effect profile, and their beliefs about treatment. Only dysphagia in DM1 was reported to significantly impact medication adherence. Approximately 35 % of study patients reported polypharmacy (taking 6 or more medications). Of the patients with polypharmacy, the DM1 cohort was significantly younger (mean 55.0 years) compared to DM2 (59.0 years) and FSHD (63.2 years), and had shorter disease duration (mean 26 years) compared to FSHD (26.8 years) and DM2 (34.8 years). Future research is needed to assess techniques to ease pill swallowing in DM1 and to monitor polypharmacy and potential drug interactions in DM and FSHD

The Effects of Supplementing Wet Distillers Grains Mixed With Wheat Straw to Growing Steers

A growing study compared feeding wet distillers grains, dried distillers grains, and a mix of 66% wet distillers grains and 33% wheat straw as supplements to a forage-based diet. Steers were supplemented 0, 2, 4, or 6 lb distillers grains/head daily. Wet distillers grains and dried distillers grains produced higher final body weight and dry matter intake compared to the mix. Increasing levels of distillers grains increased performance in forage based diets and wet grains mixed with straw reduced forage intake

Electrochemical performance of Nd1.95NiO4+δ cathode supported microtubular solid oxide fuel cells

Nd1.95NiO4+δ (NNO) cathode supported microtubular cells were fabricated and characterized. This material presents superior oxygen transport properties in comparison with other commonly used cathode materials. The supporting tubes were fabricated by cold isostatic pressing (CIP) using NNO powders and corn starch as pore former. The electrolyte (GDC, gadolinia doped ceria based) was deposited by wet powder spraying (WPS) on top of pre-sintered tubes and then co-sintered. Finally, a NiO/GDC suspension was dip-coated and sintered as the anode. Optimization of the cell fabrication process is shown. Power densities at 750°C of ~40 mWcm-2 at 0.5V were achieved. These results are the first electrochemical measurements reported using NNO cathode-supported microtubular cells. Further developments of the fabrication process are needed for this type of cells in order to compete with the standard microtubular solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC).The authors thank grant MAT2009-14324-C02-01 and MAT2012-30763, financed by the Spanish Government (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación) and Feder program of the European Community, for funding the project.Peer Reviewe

The Effects of Supplementing Wet Distillers Grains Mixed With Wheat Straw to Growing Steers

A growing study compared feeding wet distillers grains, dried distillers grains, and a mix of 66% wet distillers grains and 33% wheat straw as supplements to a forage-based diet. Steers were supplemented 0, 2, 4, or 6 lb distillers grains/head daily. Wet distillers grains and dried distillers grains produced higher final body weight and dry matter intake compared to the mix. Increasing levels of distillers grains increased performance in forage based diets and wet grains mixed with straw reduced forage intake

Influence of Corn Hybrid Traits and Processing Method on Nutrient Digestibility

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of corn hybrid and processing method on the site and extent of nutrient digestibility and ruminal fermentation. Treatments consisted of 2 processing methods, dry-rolled corn (DRC) and high-moisture corn (HMC), and 3 hybrids, H-8562 (1), 33P67 (2), and H-9230 (3), in a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement. In Exp. 1, six ruminally cannulated crossbred steers (436 ± 8 kg) were used in a 6 × 6 Latin square design. Total tract DM, OM, and starch digestibility (STD) were greater (P \u3c 0.10) for HMC compared with DRC. A hybrid × processing method interaction (P \u3c 0.10) was observed for propionate concentration and the acetate-to-propionate ratio. In Exp. 2, two ruminally and duodenally fistulated steers were used to determine the site and extent of nutrient digestion using the mobile bag technique at 2 ruminal incubation times. Ruminal STD was not different (P = 0.14) among hybrids but was greater (P \u3c 0.01) for HMC compared with DRC. Postruminal and total tract STD were greater (P \u3c 0.01) for hybrids 1 and 3 than for hybrid 2, and were greater (P \u3c 0.01) for HMC than DRC. In both experiments the geometric mean diameter and geometric SD were influenced (P \u3c 0.05) by both hybrid and processing method. More intense processing methods or selection of hybrids with softer kernels will result in greater digestibility and ruminal propionate concentrations. Digestibility of corn samples can be characterized using the mobile bag technique but particle size can influence results

Effects of Feeding Microbial Feed Additives on Growth Performance and Carcass Traits of Steers Fed Steam-Flaked Corn-Based Diets with Wet Distillers Grains Plus Solubles

An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of feeding two commercially available direct-fed microbials (DFM) on finishing steer performance fed steam-flaked corn based diets. Dietary treatments included a control diet without DFM, and two commercially available products (10-G and Bovamine). No significant differences were observed among treatments for animal performance or carcass characteristics. However, numeric advantages were observed for ADG and feed efficiency when cattle were fed a DFM

Fabrication and performance of Nd1.95NiO4+δ (NNO) cathode supported microtubular solid oxide fuel cells

Trabajo presentado al 10th European Solid Oxide Fuell Cell Forum celebrado en Lucerna (Suiza) del 26 al 29 de Junio de 2012.Microtubular SOFC present significant advantages in comparison with the traditional planar SOFC configuration. In particular, the tubular design facilitates sealing and also reduces thermal gradients. As a consequence, rapid starts up times are possible. In addition, another advantage of the microtubular configuration is their higher power density per unit volume. Due to these properties, those devices are especially attractive for portable applications. There has been a great interest in microtubular SOFCs in the recent years, mainly using anode supported cells. Electrolyte supported cells have also been reported, but there are relatively few investigations using the cathode as the support. In the present paper, Nd1.95NiO4+δ (NNO) has been chosen as the cathode support, as it presents superior oxygen transport properties in comparison with other commonly used cathode materials, such as LSCF or LSM, and these material has been proven as an excellent cathode for SOFC and SOEC applications. Results on the fabrication and characterization of NNO cathode supported SOFC will be presented. The tubes were fabricated by cold isostatic pressing (CIP) using NNO powders and corn starch as the pore former. The electrolyte (GDC based) was deposited by wet powder spray (WPS) on top of the pre-sintered tubes and then co-sintered. Finally, a NiOGDC paste was dip-coated as the anode. Optimization of the fabrication process as well as the electrochemical performance of single cells will be further discussed.The authors thank grant MAT2009-14324-C02-01, financed by the Spanish Government (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación) and Feder program of the European Community, for funding the project. M.A.L.-B. thanks the JAE program (CSIC) for financial support.Peer Reviewe

Effect of Dietary Cation-Anion Difference on Feedlot Performance, Nitrogen Mass Balance and Manure pH in Open Feedlot Pens

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) at two levels (-16 and +20 mEq) on feedlot performance and nutrient mass balance in open feedlots. Decreasing DCAD did not negatively impact cattle performance or carcass characteristics. Feeding negative DCAD diets resulted in lower manure pH in both the winter and summer experiments. Final soil core pH was reduced only in the winter experiment. Percentage of N lost was not influenced by DCAD in either experiment. The decrease in manure pH is likely not enough to reduce the amount of N lost in open feedlot pens

Effect of Pen Cleaning Frequency and Feeding Distillers Grains and Wheat Straw on Nutrient Mass Balance and Performance of Feedlot Steers

Two experiments, calves fed November to May (WINTER) and yearlings fed May to September (SUMMER), were conducted to evaluate the effects of feeding a high level of wet distillers grains plus soluble (WDGS) and wheat straw or a corn control diet (CON) on average daily gain (ADG), feed-to-gain (F:G), manure nitrogen (N), and N losses. In both experiments, the CON treatment had greater dry matter intake(DMI), ADG hot carcass weight (HCW), marbling and fat depth. There was greater N intake and N excretion for both the WINTER and SUMMER experiments on the WDGS. However, for the WINTER experiment there was no difference in the amount of N in the manure due to diet or pen cleaning frequency. In the SUMMER experiment, cleaning pens monthly almost doubled dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), and N removed in manure. There was a tendency for the WDGS treatment to have greater N loss than the control treatment in the WINTER experiment and a significant increase in N losses for the WDGS treatment in the SUMMER experiment, despite the greater amount of manure N removed

Using beet pulp to adapt cattle to finishing diets compared to traditional grain adaptation with alfalfa hay

A study was conducted to compare grain adaptation programs using beet pulp (BP) to traditional grain adaptation with alfalfa hay (AH). Yearling crossbred steers (n = 232; BW = 326 ± 14.5 kg) were separated into 3 weight blocks, stratified by BW, and assigned randomly, within strata, to 18 feedlot pens, with 12 or 13 steers per pen. Treatments were imposed during grain adaptation (21 d) using 3 grain adaptation programs. Within each grain adaptation program, 4 step rations were fed for 3, 4, 7, and 7 d. Each program increased dry-rolled corn inclusion while roughage inclusion decreased. In the control treatment (CON), AH inclusion decreased from 46 to 6% and pressed BP (24% DM) was held constant at 6% in all step rations. Beet pulp adaptation programs included a low BP treatment (LOBP) where BP was decreased from 18 to 6% and AH from 34 to 6% or a high BP treatment (HIBP) in which both BP and AH were decreased from 26 to 6%. On d 22 through the remainder of the finishing period cattle were fed a common diet (62% dry rolled corn, 20% wet distillers grains with solubles, 6% AH, 6% BP, 0.25% urea, and 5.75% liquid supplement DM basis). During grain adaptation, cattle fed CON tended (P = 0.07 for overall F test, P = 0.02 for mean comparison) to have greater DMI than HIPB and LOPB was intermediate (9.9, 9.5, and 9.7 kg, respectively). Gain and G:F were not different (P \u3e 0.19) among treatments during the grain adaptation period. However, based off of carcass adjusted final BW, steers adapted using HIBP and LOBP tended (P = 0.07 for overall F-test, P = 0.04 for mean comparison) to have greater ADG compared with CON (1.65, 1.72, and 1.73 kg, respectively). Overall G:F was not different (P = 0.11) among treatments. Dry matter intakes were not different across all treatments (P = 0.58). Carcass characteristics were not affected by adaptation method (P \u3e 0.31). Replacing up to 50% of AH with BP during grain adaptation increased ADG and may be used as an alternative to conventional adaptation programs