ENERGY LEVEL AND STRATEGY OF FEEDING FOR DAIRY COWS IN THE DRY PERIOD

Djelovanje strategije hranidbe u suhostaju na proizvodnju i zdravlje istaživalo se u dva pokusa što su obuhvatila 80 i 96 mliječnih krava. U pokusu br. 1 ispitivalo se djelovanje razine energije (normalna i visoka (1.5 x N) i djelovanje dnevnog sagorjevanja kratkolančanih masnih kiselina (KLMK) u preživača (+ i -) u zadnja četiri tjedna suhostaja. U pokusu br. 2 uključeno je samo sagorjevanje KLMK. Šesnaest je krava zaklano radi ruminalnog pregleda. Sagorjevanje KLMK je inducirano davanjem 4.5 kg ječma u jutro i kabaste hrane (roughage) na večer. Nakon telenja koncentracija je postepeno povećavana do razine od 9 kg ST a sliaža trave bila ad lib. u obje skupine. Sagorjevanje KLMK povećalo je uzimanje silaže trave u prvih pet tjedana post parfum u pokusu br. 1, ali ne u pokusu br. 2. U pokusu br. 1 postojalo je međusobno djelovanje između razine hranjena i sagorjevanja KLMK na proizvodnju mlijeka, dok u pokusu br. 2 nije primijenjena nikakva razlika. U krava s pojačanim sagorjevanjem KLMK došlo je do rjeđe pojave ketoze i probavnih smetnji u prvom pokusu ali ne u drugom, te je postojala tendencija povećanja aktivnosti u mukozi rumena, no bez makroskopskih razlika. Zaključeno je da se sagorjevanjem KLMK ne postiže nikakvo ili samo neznatno pozitivno djelovanje u suhostaju na uzimanje hrane, proizvodnju, zdravlje i reprodukciju.The effect of feeding strategy in the dry period on performance and health was investigated in two experiments comprising 80 and 96 dairy cows. In exp. 1 the effect of energy level (Normal and High (1.5 x N) and the effect of a daily ruminal SCFA-burst (+ and -) in the last 4 weeks of the dry period were examined. In exp. 2. only SCFA-burst was included. Sixteen cows were slaughtered for ruminal examination. SCFA-burst was induced by allocating 4.5 kg barley in the morning and roughage in the evening. After calving concentrate was gradually increased to a level of 9 kg DM and grass silage was ad. lib in all groups. The SCFA-burst increased grass silage intake in the first 5 weeks post partum in exp. 1 but not in exp. 2. In exp. I there was an interaction between feeding level and SCFA-burst on milk production, while no difference between treatments were seen in exp. 2. The SCFA bursted cows had a lover incidence of ketose and digestive disorders in the first experiment but not in the second, and there was a tendency to increased activity in the ruminal mucosa but without any macroscopical differences. It is concluded that none or only small benefits are obtained from SCFA- bursts in the dry period on feed intake, performance, health, and reproduction

Novel Druggable Hot Spots in Avian Influenza Neuraminidase H5N1 Revealed by Computational Solvent Mapping of a Reduced and Representative Receptor Ensemble

The influenza virus subtype H5N1 has raised concerns of a possible human pandemic threat because of its high virulence and mutation rate. Although several approved anti-influenza drugs effectively target the neuraminidase, some strains have already acquired resistance to the currently available anti-influenza drugs. In this study, we present the synergistic application of extended explicit solvent molecular dynamics (MD) and computational solvent mapping (CS-Map) to identify putative ‘hot spots’ within flexible binding regions of N1 neuraminidase. Using representative conformations of the N1 binding region extracted from a clustering analysis of four concatenated 40-ns MD simulations, CS-Map was utilized to assess the ability of small, solvent-sized molecules to bind within close proximity to the sialic acid binding region. Mapping analyses of the dominant MD conformations reveal the presence of additional hot spot regions in the 150- and 430-loop regions. Our hot spot analysis provides further support for the feasibility of developing high-affinity inhibitors capable of binding these regions, which appear to be unique to the N1 strain

A multi-center study on the attitudes of Malaysian emergency health care staff towards allowing family presence during resuscitation of adult patients

BACKGROUND The practice of allowing family members to witness on-going active resuscitation has been gaining ground in many developed countries since it was first introduced in the early 1990s. In many Asian countries, the acceptability of this practice has not been well studied. AIM We conducted a multi-center questionnaire study to determine the attitudes of health care professionals in Malaysia towards family presence to witness ongoing medical procedures during resuscitation. METHODS Using a bilingual questionnaire (in Malay and English language), we asked our respondents about their attitudes towards allowing family presence (FP) as well as their actual experience of requests from families to be allowed to witness resuscitations. Multiple logistic regression was used to analyze the association between the many variables and a positive attitude towards FP. RESULTS Out of 300 health care professionals who received forms, 270 responded (a 90% response rate). Generally only 15.8% of our respondents agreed to allow relatives to witness resuscitations, although more than twice the number (38.5%) agreed that relatives do have a right to be around during resuscitation. Health care providers are significantly more likely to allow FP if the procedures are perceived as likely to be successful (e.g., intravenous cannulation and blood taking as compared to chest tube insertion). Doctors were more than twice as likely as paramedics to agree to FP (p-value = 0.002). This is probably due to the Malaysian work culture in our health care systems in which paramedics usually adopt a 'follow-the-leader' attitude in their daily practice. CONCLUSION The concept of allowing FP is not well accepted among our Malaysian health care providers

Genome-Wide Association Study in BRCA1 Mutation Carriers Identifies Novel Loci Associated with Breast and Ovarian Cancer Risk

BRCA1-associated breast and ovarian cancer risks can be modified by common genetic variants. To identify further cancer risk-modifying loci, we performed a multi-stage GWAS of 11,705 BRCA1 carriers (of whom 5,920 were diagnosed with breast and 1,839 were diagnosed with ovarian cancer), with a further replication in an additional sample of 2,646 BRCA1 carriers. We identified a novel breast cancer risk modifier locus at 1q32 for BRCA1 carriers (rs2290854, P = 2.7×10-8, HR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.09-1.20). In addition, we identified two novel ovarian cancer risk modifier loci: 17q21.31 (rs17631303, P = 1.4×10-8, HR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.17-1.38) and 4q32.3 (rs4691139, P = 3.4×10-8, HR = 1.20, 95% CI: 1.17-1.38). The 4q32.3 locus was not associated with ovarian cancer risk in the general population or BRCA2 carriers, suggesting a BRCA1-specific associat