Intake, growth and meat quality of steers given diets based on varying proportions of maize silage and grass silage

Simmental × Holstein-Friesian steers were offered four forage diets. These comprised grass silage (G); proportionately 0·67 grass silage, proportionately 0·33 maize silage (GGM); 0·33 grass silage, 0·67 maize silage ( MMG); maize silage ( M) from 424 (s.d. = 11·5) kg to slaughter at a minimum weight of 560 kg. Forages were mixed and offered ad libitum. Steers were offered 2 kg of a concentrate daily, the concentrate being formulated such that all steers had similar crude protein intakes across dietary treatments. A sample of steers was slaughtered at the beginning of the experimental period to allow the calculation of the rate of gain of the carcass and its components. Carcass dissection of a sample of steers allowed the development of a prediction equation of carcass composition based on thoracic limb dissection of all carcasses. Forage dry matter intake and live-weight gain increased linearly as maize silage replaced grass silage in the forage mixture, resulting in improvements in food conversion ratio (all P = 0·001). Killing-out proportion increased with maize silage inclusion ( P < 0·001) but fat and conformation scores did not differ significantly between diets. However, increasing maize inclusion in the diet resulted in a greater weight ( P = 0·05) and proportion ( P = 0·008) of fat in the carcass, and significant increases in internal fat deposition. The inclusion of maize led to a progressive increase in the daily gains of carcass ( P < 0·001), and significant increases in the daily gains of both fat ( P < 0·001) and lean tissue ( P < 0·001). Fat colour was more yellow in cattle given diets G and GGM than diets MMG and M ( P < 0·001) and colour intensity was lower on diet M than the other three diets ( P < 0·001). There were no significant differences in any aspects of eating quality between diets. Therefore, maize silage has the potential to reduce the time taken for finishing beef animals to achieve slaughter weight with no apparent detrimental effects on subsequent meat quality

Remembering through lifelogging: A survey of human memory augmentation

Human memory is unquestionably a vital cognitive ability but one that can often be unreliable. External memory aids such as diaries, photos, alarms and calendars are often employed to assist in remembering important events in our past and future. The recent trend for lifelogging, continuously documenting ones life through wearable sensors and cameras, presents a clear opportunity to augment human memory beyond simple reminders and actually improve its capacity to remember. This article surveys work from the fields of computer science and psychology to understand the potential for such augmentation, the technologies necessary for realising this opportunity and to investigate what the possible benefits and ethical pitfalls of using such technology might be

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals &lt;1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

SummaryBackground Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatoryactions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospitalwith COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients wererandomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once perday by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatmentgroups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment andwere twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants andlocal study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to theoutcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treatpopulation. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936.Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) wereeligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomlyallocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall,561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days(rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days(rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, nosignificant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilationor death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24).Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or otherprespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restrictedto patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication

A biographical register of the Victorian Parliament

[v.1]. 1859-1900 / Kathleen Thomson and Geoffrey Serle -- [v.2]. 1900-1984 / Geoff Browne. (1985) -- [v.3]. 1985-2006 / Victorian Parliamentary Library. (2006

An empirical tool for estimating the share of unmet need due to healthcare inefficiencies, suboptimal access, and lack of effective technologies

Background: Although there has been growing attention to the measurement of unmet need, which is the overall epidemiological burden of disease, current measures ignore the burden that could be eliminated from technological advances or more effective use of current technologies. Methods: We developed a conceptual framework and empirical tool that separates unmet need from met need and subcategorizes the causes of unmet need into suboptimal access to and ineffective use of current technologies and lack of current technologies. Statistical models were used to model the relationship between health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) and treatment utilization using data from the National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS). Predicted HRQOL was combined with prevalence data from the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) to estimate met need and the causes of unmet need due to morbidity in the US and EU5 for five diseases: rheumatoid arthritis, breast cancer, Parkinson’s disease, hepatitis C, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Results: HR-QOL was positively correlated with adherence to medication and patient-perceived quality and negatively correlated with financial barriers. Met need was substantial across all disease and regions, although significant unmet need remains. While the majority of unmet need was driven by lack of technologies rather than ineffective use of current technologies, there was considerable variation across diseases and regions. Overall unmet need was largest for COPD, which had the highest prevalence of all diseases in this study. Conclusion: We developed a methodology that can inform decisions about which diseases to invest in and whether those investments should focus on improving access to currently available technologies or inventing new technologie

Improved silvicultural management of Endospermum medullosum (whitewood) for enhanced plantation forestry outcomes in Vanuatu

Vanuatu is currently in a period of transition from harvesting native forests to developing plantation resources. One of the most promising species, native to Vanuatu and neighbouring countries, is Endospermum medullosum, or whitewood. This project had as its basic objectives the development of a set of silvicultural guidelines for whitewood, for small woodlots and larger-scale plantations, and preliminary assessment of the wood qualities of plantation-grown whitewood. The project team interviewed 139 landholders in 2008. They found that, in spite of many years of promotion of whitewood as a viable plantation species only 63 ha had been planted in the three major regions of Espiritu Santo Island, though Melcoffee Sawmills has one 17-year old plantation of 270 ha. The primary reason for this failure of plantation establishment is the lack of clearly defined markets for whitewood trees. Many small woodlots were planted but the landholders interviewed had little confidence that planting larger areas would be a profitable activity. The 230 woodlot plantations on Espiritu Santo range up to 20 years in age and provide a guide to the expected growth rates of whitewood in plantation in those areas. Soil and land characteristics were described at more than 40 of these plantations. Growth plots 0.05 ha2 in size were set up in 28 of those sites and measured over four years. These plots indicated mean growth rates of whitewood of approximately 20m3 Soils on Espiritu Santo are highly fertile and productive but there is strong competition with planted trees from the exotic vine Merremia peltata. In a trial comparing plots that were ripped with ones that were not, no difference was recorded in whitewood survival or growth. Further, fertilizer trials on the Lorum site indicated no significant difference in growth of seedlings with fertilizer treatments. Therefore using bulldozers to drive over weeds without major soil disturbance, whilst leaving plant material on the surface, and not using fertiliser can be recommended for large-scale projects. /ha/yr at age 17. Using soil and site assessments and resource mapping it was estimated that around 33 000 ha of land on Espiritu Santo is highly suitable for sustainable whitewood development and is currently not intensively utilised or in native forest. To test the impact of tree spacing on growth and branch development 15 hectares of spacing and thinning trials were established across Espiritu Santo. Two and one half years after thinning significant differences were observed between thinned and un-thinned trees: the annual diameter increment of retained crop trees was 5.6 cm in the thinned plots compared with only 3.5 cm in the un-thinned plots. Recommended density of trees depends on objectives, including whether the landholder is exclusively growing timber or also gardening between rows of trees. The project developed a 50-page silviculture manual which provides guidance on the establishment and management of whitewood plantations. Mixtures of tree species spread the risk of destruction by pests or diseases and can support higher biodiversity than pure monocultures. Two native species were chosen: Flueggea flexuosa, namamau, and Terminalia catappa, natapoa. Nineteen months after planting these two species combined with whitewood had comparable heights and diameters. The durable species F. flexuosa can be harvested after 3-8 years and used for roundwood; whitewood reaches sawlog size in 15-20 years and natapoa can be left to grow on, not only to produce higher quality sawn timber after 25-40 years, but also for continued nut production. Sampled logs from a 17-year old plantation indicated a high percentage (65%) of knotty wood and identified opportunities to add-value to knotty wood by preparing long structural boards and cutting clear sections between defects. An analysis of the value-chain for domestic and export markets and of opportunities for value-adding is being completed as part of an ACIAR-sponsored Masters degree at SCU, by Rexon Viranamangga

The impact of breast cosmetic and functional outcomes on quality of life: long-term results from the St. George and Wollongong randomized breast boost trial

The aims of this study were to evaluate the impact of cosmetic and functional outcomes after breast-conserving surgery (BCS) and radiation on quality of life (QOL). In this exploratory analysis; baseline, 5 and 10 years data of patient’s assessment of breast cosmesis, arm swelling/pain, limitation of movement, loss of feeling in fingers and breast sensitivity/tenderness were dichotomized and their impact on QOL (QLQ-C30) were assessed. Multivariable modelling was also performed to assess associations with QOL. The St. George and Wollongong randomized trial randomized 688 patients into the boost and no boost arms. 609, 580, and 428 patients had baseline, 5 and 10 years cosmetic data available, respectively. Similar numbers had the various functional assessments in the corresponding period. By univariate analysis, cosmesis and a number of functional outcomes were highly associated with QOL. Adjusted multivariate modelling showed that cosmesis remained associated with QOL at 5 and 10 years. Breast sensitivity, arm pain, breast separation, age and any distant cancer event were also associated with QOL on multivariate modelling at 10 years. This study highlights the importance of maintaining favorable cosmetic and functional outcomes following BCS. In addition, the clinically and statistically significant relationship between functional outcomes and QOL shows the importance for clinicians and allied health professionals in identifying, discussing, managing, and limiting these effects in women with breast cancer in order to maintain QOL

A paired, double-blind, randomized comparison of a moisturizing durable barrier cream to 10% glycerine cream in the prophylactic management of postmastectomy irradiation skin care: Trans Tasman Radiation Oncology Group (TROG) 04.01

Abstract not availablePeter H. Graham, Natalie Plant, Jennifer L. Graham, Lois Browne, Martin Borg, Anne Capp, Geoff P. Delaney, Jennifer Harvey, Lisbeth Kenny, Michael Francis and Yvonne Zissiadi