Evaluation of Corn Silage Hybrids with the Brown Midrib Trait and Silage Inclusion for Finishing Cattle

A finishing study evaluated three corn silage hybrids fed at either 15 or 45% of diet DM for finishing steers. The three hybrids were a standard corn silage hybrid which served as the control, a brown midrib hybrid and an experimental brown midrib hybrid with a softer endosperm. An interaction was observed between hybrid and silage inclusion. Gain and HCW were greater for steers fed the experimental brown midrib compared to other two hybrids when fed at 15%. Feeding brown midrib hybrids at 45% of the diet DM resulted in greater ADG and HCW when compared to a control corn silage without the brown midrib trait. Feeding brown midrib varieties of corn silage at 45% of the diet DM improved feedlot performance and carcass characteristics compared to control corn silage

Evaluation of Brown Midrib Corn Silage for Growing and Backgrounding Beef Steers

A growing study evaluated three corn silage hybrids for growing crossbred steers. The three hybrids were: a standard corn silage hybrid which served as the control, a brown midrib hybrid, and an experimental brown mid rib hybrid with a softer endosperm. Intake, ADG, and ending BW were greater for steers fed either brown mid rib silage compared to control, but not different between the brown mid rib or experimental brown mid rib silage. While brown mid rib hybrids had greater DMI and ADG, there was no difference in F:G between all three treatments. Feeding brown mid rib hybrids as corn silage at 80% of the diet DM likely improved ruminal digestion, which allowed for greater DMI and ADG but without improving F:G

The Sangamonian Pointe-Fortune Site, Ontario-Québec Border

Inter-till sediments (Units 2, 3, 4) in a sand pit located 115 km east of Ottawa, Ontario, contain a predominance of deciduous tree pollen including oak. elm, beech and hickory {Quercus, Ulmus, Fagus, and Carya) and minor amounts of basswood, ash and sweetgum (TiHa, Fraxinus and Liquidambar). Unit 4 also contains macrofossils of several plant taxa which presently do not grow much north of the site. The fossils portray an inter-glacial environment (the Sangamonian) with conditions as warm as or warmer than the present in the area. By contrast, overlying Unit 4a reveals a dominance of boreal indicators such as pollen of spruce, pine, willow and alder (Picea, Pinus, Salix and Alnus) and the beetles, Bembidion transparens, Eucnecosum, and Olophrum boréale. Unit 4a fossils indicate a climate that was colder than at present but no colder than the climate of central Québec - suggesting a correlation with the waning phase of the warm interval, or alternatively, with the St. Pierre Interstade of the St. Lawrence Lowlands. Thus the lower till is interpreted as lllinoian in age; the upper till may be Middle to Late Wisconsinan or Early to Late Wisconsinan.Les sédiments contenus entre deux couches de till (unités nos 2, 3 et 4), situés dans une sablière, à 115 km à l'est d'Ottawa, en Ontario, renferment surtout des grains de pollen de feuillus, dont le chêne, l'orme, le hêtre et le caryer (Quercus, Ulmus, Fagus et Carya ) et des quantités moins importantes de pollen de tilleul, de frêne et de liquidambar (TIIIa, Fraxinus et Liquidambar). L'unité n°4 renferme aussi des macrofossiles de divers taxons de végétaux qui ne croissent plus beaucoup au nord de la région. Les fossiles reflètent un milieu interglaciaire (le Sangamonien) où le climat était au moins aussi chaud que maintenant. Au contraire, l'unité n° 4a, susjacente, renferme surtout des indicateurs de milieu boréal comme les pollens d'épinerte. de pin. de saule et d'aulne (Picea, Pinus, Salix et Alnus) et les coléoptères Bembidion transparens, Eucnecosum et Olophrum boréale. Les fossiles de l'unité n°4a témoignent d'un climat plus froid que celui d'aujourd'hui, mais pas plus froid que celui du centre du Québec, laissant ainsi entrevoir une corrélation avec la fin de l'intervalle chaud, ou alors avec l'Interstade de Saint-Pierre des basses terres du Saint-Laurent. Ainsi, le till inférieur remonterait à I'IIlinoien; le till supérieur pourrait dater du Wisconsinien moyen à supérieur ou du Wisconsinien inférieur à supérieur.Zwischen-Till-Sedimente (Einheiten 2, 3, 4) in einer Sandgrube 1,5 km ôstlich von Ottawa, Ontario, enthalten vor allem Pollen von Laubbàumen, darunter Eiche, Ulme, Bûche und Hickory (Quercus, Ulmus, Fagus und Carya) und geringere Mengen von Pollen von Linde, Esche und Liquidambar (770a, Fraxinus und Liquidambar). Die Einheit 4 enthâlt auch Makrofossile von verschiedenen Pflanzen-Taxa, welche gegenwàrtig nicht mehr viel nôrdlich des Platzes wachsen. Die Fossile geben ein BiId einer interglazialen Umwelt (das Sangamonium), die so warm wie oder warmer als die gegenwàrtige in dem Gebiet war. Im Gegensatz dazu enthàlt die daruberliegende Einheit 4 ùberwiegend Indikatoren nôrdlichen Milieus, wie Pollen von Rottanne, Kiefer, Weide und Erie (Picea, Pinus, Salix und Alnus) und die Kàfer Bembidon transparens, Eucnecosum und Olophrum boréale. Fossile der Einheit 4a weisen auf ein Klima, das kàlter als gegenwàrtig war, aber nicht kàlter als das Klima des Zentrums von Québec, was auf eine Korrelation mit der ausgehenden Phase des warmen Intervalls oder aber mit dem St. Pierre Interstadium des Tieflands des St. Lawrence schliessen lâsst. So wird das Alter des unteren Tills auf das lllinoium datiert; das obère Till kônnte minières bis spates Wisconsinium oder frùhes bis spates Wisconsinium sein

Referral for specialist follow-up and its association with post-discharge mortality among patients with systolic heart failure (from the National Heart Failure Audit for England and Wales)

For patients admitted with worsening heart failure, early follow-up after discharge is recommended. Whether outcomes can be improved when follow-up is done by cardiologists is uncertain. We aimed to determine the association between cardiology follow-up and risk of death for patients with heart failure discharged from hospital. Using data from the National Heart Failure Audit (England & Wales), we investigated the effect of referral to cardiology follow-up on 30-day and one-year mortality in 68 772 patients with heart failure and a reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (HFREF) discharged from 185 hospitals between 2007 to 2013. The primary analyses used instrumental variable analysis complemented by hierarchical logistic and propensity matched models. At the hospital level, rates of referral to cardiologists varied from 6% to 96%. The median odds ratio (OR) for referral to cardiologist was 2.3 (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.1, 2.5), suggesting that, on average, the odds of a patient being referred for cardiologist follow-up after discharge differed approximately 2.3 times from one randomly selected hospital to another one. Based on the proportion of patients (per region) referred for cardiology follow-up, referral for cardiology follow-up was associated with lower 30-day (OR 0.70; CI 0.55, 0.89) and one-year mortality (OR 0.81; CI 0.68, 0.95) compared with no plans for cardiology follow-up (i.e., standard follow-up done by family doctors). Results from hierarchical logistic models and propensity matched models were consistent (30-day mortality OR 0.66; CI 0.61, 0.72 and 0.66; CI 0.58, 0.76 for hierarchical and propensity matched models, respectively). For patients with HFREF admitted to hospital with worsening symptoms, referral to cardiology services for follow-up after discharge is strongly associated with reduced mortality, both early and late

CORRELATION BETWEEN IMPAIRMENT AND MOTOR PERFORMANCE DURING REACHING TASKS IN SUBJECTS WITH SPASTIC HEMIPARESIS

Objective: The main purposes of this study were to examine, in subjects with chronic hemiparesis following a stroke: (i) the correlations between tests of muscle tone, stiffness, spasticity, paresis and co-contraction, and (ii) the correlations of these tests and measurements of impairment to upper extremity motor performance. Design: Prospective, cross-sectional, correlation matrix using sample of convenience. Subjects: Thirteen subjects with chronic hemiparesis secondary to a cerebrovascular accident (stroke) were tested. Methods: Subjects were assessed using the Fugl-Meyer Upper Extremity Motor Assessment, modified Ashworth scale, deep tendon reflexes, and muscle characteristics that included quantification of muscle stiffness, paresis and co-contraction during a voluntary reaching task and during passive movements. Surface electromyographic and myotonometric muscle stiffness data were obtained during movement trials. Results: Biceps and triceps brachii muscle paresis and excess biceps brachii co-contraction during voluntary reaching had the highest correlations to decreased motor performance. Muscle tone measurements did not have significant correlations to upper extremity performance. Conclusion: Paresis of elbow flexors and extensors and excess co-contraction of the biceps brachii during voluntary reaching appear to be most predictive of upper extremity motor performance. Results are discussed in relation to the specific challenges these findings pose for spastic paresis clinical management

Tetrathiafulvalene-2,3,6,7-tetrathiolate linker redox-state elucidation <i>via</i> S K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy

Sulfur K-edge XAS data provide a unique tool to examine oxidation states and covalency in electronically complex S-based ligands. We present sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy on a discrete redox-series of Ni-based tetrathiafulvalene tetrathiolate (TTFtt) complexes as well as on a 1D coordination polymer (CP), NiTTFtt. Experiment and theory suggest that Ni–S covalency decreases with oxidation which has implications for charge transport pathways

Correspondence to Elizabeth ( Bessie ) McCaw Boggs Taylor, August 31, 1888 - December 10, 1901

Correspondence to Elizabeth ( Bessie ) McCaw Boggs Taylor, August 31, 1888 - December 10, 1901. Box 2, folder 5.https://digitalcommons.wofford.edu/littlejohnboggs/1015/thumbnail.jp

Effects of Varying Levels of Silage Inclusion and Brown Midrib Corn Silage on Finishing Performance of Steers

A 2 × 3 factorial finishing study evaluated traditional or brown midrib corn silage fed at three inclusions in finishing diets. Silage inclusion was 15%, 45%, or 75% inclusion (DM basis) for 70 days followed by 15% inclusion for the remainder of the finishing phase. Cattle were ultrasounded twice to calculate backfat deposition rate for a target backfat of 0.55 inches, as cattle were fed longer if silage inclusion was 45 or 75/15%. Cattle fed 45% or 75/15% silage inclusion had greater final body weight (BW) and days on feed, but higher feed:gain (F:G) than cattle fed 15% silage. Daily gain was greatest for cattle fed 15% silage, but not different between cattle fed 45% and 75/15% treatments. Cattle fed 45% and 75/15% silage had greater final hot carcass weight (HCW) and longissimus muscle (LM) area than 15% but fed for 28 additional days. Dry matter intake was greater for cattle fed brown midrib (bm3) silage but gain or F:G were not affected. Backgrounding cattle on a low energy diet followed by a high energy diet resulted in similar growth performance and carcass endpoint as cattle fed a consistent inclusion of silage throughout the entirety of the feeding period. Feeding cattle 45% or 75/15% silage resulted in larger carcass weights and more days on feed (DOF) than cattle fed 15% silage for the finishing period. This resulted in greater returns for cattle fed 45% and 75/15% silage diet as compared to cattle fed a high energy 15% silage diet throughout the feeding period

The NASA-UC Eta-Earth Program: III. A Super-Earth orbiting HD 97658 and a Neptune-mass planet orbiting Gl 785

We report the discovery of planets orbiting two bright, nearby early K dwarf stars, HD 97658 and Gl 785. These planets were detected by Keplerian modelling of radial velocities measured with Keck-HIRES for the NASA-UC Eta-Earth Survey. HD 97658 b is a close-in super-Earth with minimum mass Msini = 8.2 +/- 1.2 M_Earth, orbital period P = 9.494 +/- 0.005 d, and an orbit that is consistent with circular. Gl 785 b is a Neptune-mass planet with Msini = 21.6 +/- 2.0 M_Earth, P = 74.39 +/- 0.12 d, and orbital eccentricity 0.30 +/- 0.09. Photometric observations with the T12 0.8 m automatic photometric telescope at Fairborn Observatory show that HD 97658 is photometrically constant at the radial velocity period to 0.09 mmag, supporting the existence of the planet.Comment: Submitted to ApJ, 7 pages, 6 figures, 5 table

Effects of Kernel Processing at Harvest of Brown Midrib Corn Silage on Finishing Performance of Steers

A 2 × 3 factorial finishing study evaluated kernel processing in three corn silage hybrids on finishing performance of yearling steers fed 40% silage. The three hybrids included a control corn silage (CON), a brown midrib (bm3), and a brown midrib with a softer endosperm (bm3-EXP). No interactions were observed between hybrids and kernel processing (P \u3e 0.45). Feeding both bm3 hybrids increased dry matter intake and average daily gain over CON (P \u3c 0.01). Cattle fed bm3-EXP and bm3 had lower feed to gain than CON (P = 0.04), with no differences between the two brown midrib hybrids. Feeding silage that has undergone kernel processing decreased dry matter intake with similar average daily gain, which decreased feed to gain by 2.6% at 40% inclusion compared to non-processed silage (P = 0.10). The improvement in silage is calculated to be 6.5% (2.6/40) when kernel processing was utilized as compared to not kernel processing the corn silage hybrids