Degradation of Filamin in Aged Pork Loins Classified by High and Low Star Probe Values

Filamin is necessary to maintain the integrity of muscle structure. Postmortem degradation of filamin results in loss of organizational structure at the Z-disk and improves meat tenderness. Intact and degraded filamin was successfully identified in aged pork loin. The removal of amino acids to form this degradation product is likely the first cleavage of intact filamin observed in postmortem muscle. A significant decrease in abundance of intact filamin in low star probe (SP) value samples demonstrates that degradation of filamin varies when aging period and pH are similar. Filamin degradation was significantly different in SP groups, suggesting that filamin proteolysis and formation of degradation products may have an impact on the SP values of aged pork loin

Final Design of Secondary Refrigeration System and Wind Tunnel

The goal of the secondary refrigeration system project was to design and build a secondary refrigeration loop to interface with an existing primary refrigeration loop for the testing and research of microencapsulated phase change material, as well as an educational tool for students interested in refrigeration. The aim of this report is to discuss and explain the final version of the design, the testing methods, results, conclusion, and any future recommendations. The wind tunnel is operational, reaching an average maximum air velocity close to what the group had aimed for. The heaters were able to heat the air to the desired range. Piping and most components and instrumentation have been connected and mounted. LabVIEW has been set up to read the outputs of the instruments. Unfortunately, the steam generator has not been mounted and the system has not been charged due to time constraints. Since much time was spent fixing the primary loop to an operational state, it is recommended that future groups working on the existing refrigeration loops ensure that they are working prior to the start of a new project. Overall, the client who requested this system is satisfied with the outcome, despite not meeting certain design criteria

Predicting aged pork quality using a portable Raman device

The utility of Raman spectroscopic signatures of fresh pork loin (1 d & 15 d postmortem) in predicting fresh pork tenderness and slice shear force (SSF) was determined. Partial least square models showed that sensory tenderness and SSF are weakly correlated (R2 = 0.2). Raman spectral data were collected in 6 s using a portable Raman spectrometer (RS). A PLS regression model was developed to predict quantitatively the tenderness scores and SSF values from Raman spectral data, with very limited success. It was discovered that the prediction accuracies for day 15 post mortem samples are significantly greater than that for day 1 postmortem samples. Classification models were developed to predict tenderness at two ends of sensory quality as “poor” vs. “good”. The accuracies of classification into different quality categories (1st to 4th percentile) are also greater for the day 15 postmortem samples for sensory tenderness (93.5% vs 76.3%) and SSF (92.8% vs 76.1%). RS has the potential to become a rapid on-line screening tool for the pork producers to quickly select meats with superior quality and/or cull poor quality to meet market demand/expectations

Run-in periods and clinical outcomes of antipsychotics in dementia:A meta-epidemiological study of placebo-controlled trials

PURPOSE: Run-in periods are used to identify placebo-responders and washout. Our aim was to assess the association of run-in periods with clinical outcomes of antipsychotics in dementia. METHODS: We searched randomized placebo-controlled trials of conventional and atypical antipsychotics for neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in dementia in electronic sources and references of selected articles. We extracted (a) the presence of a run-in period, use of placebo/investigated drug during run-in (versus washout only), and run-in duration (1 week or more) and (b) the reduction in NPS, number of participants with somnolence, extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS), and deaths per treatment group. We pooled clinical outcomes comparing antipsychotic and placebo groups in trials with and without run-in. RESULTS: We identified 35 trials. Twenty-nine trials used run-in. The pooled standardized mean difference in the reduction of NPS was -0.170 (95% CI, -0.227 to -0.112) in trials with run-in and -0.142 (95% CI, -0.331 to 0.047) in trials without run-in. The pooled odds ratio for somnolence was 2.8 (95% CI, 2.3-3.5) in trials with run-in and 3.5 (95% CI, 1.2-10.7) in trials without run-in; for EPS, these ORs were 1.8 (95% CI, 1.4-2.2) and 2.0 (95% CI, 1.3-3.1) respectively, and for mortality 1.4 (95% CI, 1.0-2.0) and 1.6 (95% CI, 0.7-3.4). The use of placebo/investigated drug during run-in and run-in duration did not affect the estimates in a consistent way. CONCLUSIONS: The use of run-in in trials might have led to overestimated efficacy and especially underestimated risks of side effects of antipsychotics compared with placebo for NPS in dementia

Genetic merit for fertility traits in Holstein cows: VI. Oocyte developmental competence and embryo development

peer-reviewedThe hypothesis of this study was that cows with good genetic merit for fertility traits (Fert+) would produce oocytes and embryos of greater quality than cows with poor genetic merit for fertility traits (Fert−) and that mRNA expression of candidate genes would reflect the observed differences in quality. The aim of the study, therefore, was to determine the effect of genetic merit for fertility traits on morphological classification and mRNA abundance of key genes in immature oocytes and cumulus cells following ovum pick-up and in embryos following superovulation, artificial insemination (AI), and uterine flushing. In experiment 1, 17 Fert+ and 11 Fert− cows, ranging from 54 to 84 d in milk, were submitted to ovum pick-up on 4 occasions during a 2-wk period. Recovered cumulus–oocyte complexes (COC) were morphologically graded. Oocytes and cumulus cells were separated, and mRNA abundance of genes associated with oocyte developmental competence was measured. There was no effect of genotype on the distribution of COC grades or on the mRNA abundance of the candidate genes in grade 1 COC. In experiment 2, 20 Fert+ and 19 Fert− cows, ranging from 71 to 189 d in milk, were submitted to superovulation and AI. The uteri of cows that responded to the superovulation protocol (17 Fert+ and 16 Fert− cows) were nonsurgically flushed 7 d postovulation. Recovered embryos were morphologically graded, and mRNA abundance of genes associated with embryo development was measured in grade 1 blastocysts. The response to the superovulation protocol was assessed by counting the number of codominant follicles on the day of AI, which was similar for both genotypes (22.0 ± 9.7 and 19.8 ± 8.2 for Fert+ and Fert− cows, respectively). There was no effect of genotype on the proportion of transferable embryos recovered or on the mRNA abundance of the candidate genes tested in the grade 1 blastocysts. Of the total embryos classified as blastocysts, however, the Fert+ cows tended to have a greater proportion of grade 1 blastocysts compared with Fert− cows (90% vs. 64%, respectively). In conclusion, genetic merit for fertility traits had a no effect on mRNA abundance of the candidate genes that were examined in immature oocytes and cumulus cells and in embryos recovered after superovulation. The observed differences in morphological blastocyst quality following superovulation would suggest that the superior reproductive performance of Fert+ cows could arise during the later stages of embryo development from d 7 until maternal recognition of pregnancy

Adherence to oral glucose-lowering therapies and associations with 1-year HbA_1c:A retrospective cohort analysis in a large primary care database

JOURNAL ARTICLEOBJECTIVE: The impact of taking oral glucose-lowering medicines intermittently, rather than as recommended, is unclear. We conducted a retrospective cohort study using community-acquired U.K. clinical data (Clinical Practice Research Database [CPRD] and GoDARTS database) to examine the prevalence of nonadherence to treatment for type 2 diabetes and investigate its potential impact on HbA1c reduction stratified by type of glucose-lowering medication. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Data were extracted for patients treated between 2004 and 2014 who were newly-prescribed metformin, sulfonylurea, thiazolidinedione, or dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors and who continued to obtain prescriptions over 1 year. Cohorts were defined by prescribed medication type, and good adherence was defined as a medication possession ratio ≥0.8. Linear regression was used to determine potential associations between adherence and 1-year baseline-adjusted HbA1c reduction. RESULTS: In CPRD and GoDARTS, 13% and 15% of patients, respectively, were nonadherent. Proportions of nonadherent patients varied by the oral glucose-lowering treatment prescribed (range 8.6% [thiazolidinedione] to 18.8% [metformin]). Nonadherent, compared with adherent, patients had a smaller HbA1c reduction (0.4% [4.4mmmol/mol] and 0.46% [5.0 mmol/mol] for CPRD and GoDARTs, respectively). Difference in HbA1c response for adherent compared with nonadherent patients varied by drug (range 0.38% [4.1 mmol/mol] to 0.75% [8.2 mmol/mol] lower in adherent group). Decreasing levels of adherence were consistently associated with a smaller reduction in HbA1c. CONCLUSIONS: Reduced medication adherence for commonly used glucose-lowering therapies among patients persisting with treatment is associated with smaller HbA1c reductions compared with those taking treatment as recommended. Differences observed in HbA1c responses to glucose-lowering treatments may be explained in part by their intermittent use.A.J.F. and R.R.H. are National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Senior Investigators and receive additional support from the Oxford NIHR Biomedical Research Centre. M.N.W. was supported by a Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Award (WT097835MF). E.R.P. holds a Wellcome Trust New Investigator award. The MASTERMIND consortium is funded by the U.K. Medical Research Council MR-K005707-1. The funder of the trial had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the report

Protein Synthesis by Day 16 Bovine Conceptuses during the Time of Maternal Recognition of Pregnancy

Interferon Tau (IFNT), the conceptus-derived pregnancy recognition signal in cattle, significantly modifies the transcriptome of the endometrium. However, the endometrium also responds to IFNT-independent conceptus-derived products. The aim of this study was to determine what proteins are produced by the bovine conceptus that may facilitate the pregnancy recognition process in cattle. We analysed by mass spectrometry the proteins present in conceptus-conditioned media (CCM) after 6 h culture of Day 16 bovine conceptuses (n = 8) in SILAC media (arginine- and lysine-depleted media supplemented with heavy isotopes) and the protein content of extracellular vesicles (EVs) isolated from uterine luminal fluid (ULF) of Day 16 pregnant (n = 7) and cyclic (n = 6) cross-bred heifers on day 16. In total, 11,122 proteins were identified in the CCM. Of these, 5.95% (662) had peptides with heavy labelled amino acids, i.e., de novo synthesised by the conceptuses. None of these proteins were detected in the EVs isolated from ULF. Pregnancy-associated glycoprotein 11, Trophoblast Kunitz domain protein 1 and DExD-Box Helicase 39A were de novo produced and present in the CCM from all conceptuses and in previously published CCM data following 6 and 24 h. A total of 463 proteins were present in the CCM from all the conceptuses in the present study, and after 6 and 24 h culture in a previous study, while expression of their transcripts was not detected in endometrium indicating that they are likely conceptus-derived. Of the proteins present in the EVs, 67 were uniquely identified in ULF from pregnant heifers; 35 of these had been previously reported in CCM from Day 16 conceptuses. This study has narrowed a set of conceptus-derived proteins that may be involved in EV-mediated IFNT-independent embryo–maternal communication during pregnancy recognition in cattle