Effect of Revalor-XR and Revalor-XH on Heifer Performance and Carcass Characteristics

A feedlot study evaluated the effects of 4 implant strategies (Revalor-XR on day 1, Revalor-XH on day 1, Revalor-200 on day 1, and Revalor-200 on day 70) on growth performance and carcass characteristics of feedlot heifers compared to non-implanted heifers fed 198 days. Intake was not impacted by treatments. Implanted cattle had greater carcass-adjusted ADG and lower F:G compared to cattle that received no implant. Implanted treatments had significantly greater HCW, dressing percentages, and lower marbling scores compared to non-implanted cattle. Heifers implanted with Revalor-XR, Revalor-XH, and Revalor-200 on day 70 had larger LM area resulting in lower calculated yield grades compared to Revalor-200 administered on day 1 and control cattle. The response in gain, feed efficiency, and yield grade suggest that Revalor-XR, Revalor-XH, and Revalor-200 implanted on day 70 respond similarly when heifers are fed to similar days

Relationship of Metabolizable Protein Balance, Purine Derivative Excretion, and 3-Methyl Histidine Excretion to Feed Efficiency in Individually Fed Finishing Heifers

Individually fed heifers were used to determine the relationship of 3-methyl histidine, purine derivatives, and metabolizableprotein balance to feed efficiency. Heifers were fed finishing dietsthat were either deficient or sufficient in metabolizable protein. Urine samples were collected and analyzed for early, late, and entire feeding period concentrations of 3-methyl histidine, purine derivatives, and creatinine. Results from this study indicated a negative relationship between feed efficiency and metabolizable protein balance, and no relationship between 3-methyl histidine excretion and feed efficiency, suggesting that protein turnover and microbial protein synthesis are not related to feed efficienc

Relationship of Metabolizable Protein Balance, Purine Derivative Excretion, and 3-Methyl Histidine Excretion to Feed Efficiency in Individually Fed Finishing Heifers

Individually fed heifers were used to determine the relationship of 3-methyl histidine, purine derivatives, and metabolizableprotein balance to feed efficiency. Heifers were fed finishing dietsthat were either deficient or sufficient in metabolizable protein. Urine samples were collected and analyzed for early, late, and entire feeding period concentrations of 3-methyl histidine, purine derivatives, and creatinine. Results from this study indicated a negative relationship between feed efficiency and metabolizable protein balance, and no relationship between 3-methyl histidine excretion and feed efficiency, suggesting that protein turnover and microbial protein synthesis are not related to feed efficienc

Survivin as a therapeutic target in Sonic hedgehog-driven medulloblastoma.

Medulloblastoma (MB) is a highly malignant brain tumor that occurs primarily in children. Although surgery, radiation and high-dose chemotherapy have led to increased survival, many MB patients still die from their disease, and patients who survive suffer severe long-term side effects as a consequence of treatment. Thus, more effective and less toxic therapies for MB are critically important. Development of such therapies depends in part on identification of genes that are necessary for growth and survival of tumor cells. Survivin is an inhibitor of apoptosis protein that regulates cell cycle progression and resistance to apoptosis, is frequently expressed in human MB and when expressed at high levels predicts poor clinical outcome. Therefore, we hypothesized that Survivin may have a critical role in growth and survival of MB cells and that targeting it may enhance MB therapy. Here we show that Survivin is overexpressed in tumors from patched (Ptch) mutant mice, a model of Sonic hedgehog (SHH)-driven MB. Genetic deletion of survivin in Ptch mutant tumor cells significantly inhibits proliferation and causes cell cycle arrest. Treatment with small-molecule antagonists of Survivin impairs proliferation and survival of both murine and human MB cells. Finally, Survivin antagonists impede growth of MB cells in vivo. These studies highlight the importance of Survivin in SHH-driven MB, and suggest that it may represent a novel therapeutic target in patients with this disease

Evaluation of Reimplant Window with Revalor-200 ® on Steer Performance and Carcass Characteristics

A feedlot study utilizing 800 crossbred steers (initial BW = 727 ± 55 lb) compared 5 different terminal implant (Revalor-200) times (160, 120, 100, 80, or 40 d prior to harvest) for steers fed 180 days on performance and carcass characteristics. All steers were implanted with Revalor-IS as an initial implant at trial initiation. Carcass-adjusted final BW, ADG, and F:G responded quadratically, with cattle implanted 80 to 120 d prior to harvest being the greatest. However, there was less than a 2% difference in performance between 120 and 80 days on terminal implant. Hot carcass weight responded quadratically, with no difference in fat thickness, rib eye area, marbling score, or calculated yield grade. When solved for the first derivative, all variables were maximized at 87 to 104 days on terminal implant when steers are fed for 180-d

Managerial Work in a Practice-Embodying Institution - The role of calling, the virtue of constancy

What can be learned from a small scale study of managerial work in a highly marginal and under-researched working community? This paper uses the ‘goods-virtues-practices-institutions’ framework to examine the managerial work of owner-directors of traditional circuses. Inspired by MacIntyre’s arguments for the necessity of a narrative understanding of the virtues, interviews explored how British and Irish circus directors accounted for their working lives. A purposive sample was used to select subjects who had owned and managed traditional touring circuses for at least 15 years, a period in which the economic and reputational fortunes of traditional circuses have suffered badly. This sample enabled the research to examine the self-understanding of people who had, at least on the face of it, exhibited the virtue of constancy. The research contributes to our understanding of the role of the virtues in organizations by presenting evidence of an intimate relationship between the virtue of constancy and a ‘calling’ work orientation. This enhances our understanding of the virtues that are required if management is exercised as a domain-related practice

Sex-based differences in clearance of chronic Plasmodium falciparum infection.

Multiple studies have reported a male bias in incidence and/or prevalence of malaria infection in males compared to females. To test the hypothesis that sex-based differences in host-parasite interactions affect the epidemiology of malaria, we intensively followed Plasmodium falciparum infections in a cohort in a malaria endemic area of eastern Uganda and estimated both force of infection (FOI) and rate of clearance using amplicon deep-sequencing. We found no evidence of differences in behavioral risk factors, incidence of malaria, or FOI by sex. In contrast, females cleared asymptomatic infections at a faster rate than males (hazard ratio [HR]=1.82, 95% CI 1.20 to 2.75 by clone and HR = 2.07, 95% CI 1.24 to 3.47 by infection event) in multivariate models adjusted for age, timing of infection onset, and parasite density. These findings implicate biological sex-based differences as an important factor in the host response to this globally important pathogen