Microbial ligand costimulation drives neutrophilic steroid-refractory asthma

Funding: The authors thank the Wellcome Trust (102705) and the Universities of Aberdeen and Cape Town for funding. This research was also supported, in part, by National Institutes of Health GM53522 and GM083016 to DLW. KF and BNL are funded by the Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, BNL is the recipient of an European Research Commission consolidator grant and participates in the European Union FP7 programs EUBIOPRED and MedALL. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Current knowledge on the environmental fate, potential impact, and management of growth-promoting steroids used in the US beef cattle industry

Growth promoting steroids and steroid-like compounds (GPSC) used by the US beef cattle industry are potential contaminants to water resources. Manure generated in concentrated animal feeding operations contains GPSCs that may enter the environment. Several studies have focused on off-site impacts of GPSC in aquatic life and suggest possible adverse impacts such as abnormal blood hormone levels, masculinization of females, feminization of males, altered sex ratios, intersexuality and reduced fertility. Other studies point to potential human health impacts including increased incidence of human cancers, sexual disorders, and decline in male: female ratio in human beings. However, the use of GPSCs in beef production provides benefits to both cattle producers (less time and cost to raise cattle) and consumers (lower meat prices) and to some extent on the environment. This review discusses major scientific findings and issues related to the use of GPSCs by the cattle industry, their environmental impacts, existing knowledge gaps and potential strategies to manage GPSC movement in the environment. We found that although there have been many studies, there is no consensus on the extent of the problem, and the effects in the environment. Current environmental regulations could be adapted to include GPSCs if necessary

Transport of steroid hormones in the vadose zone after land application of beef cattle manure

A variety of naturally occurring steroid hormones are regularly excreted by livestock, while additional steroid hormones have been used as growth promoters by the livestock industry. Depending on manure age and storage conditions, both groups of compounds are likely to be present during application to crops. Recent research suggests that some estrogens, androgens and progestagens in surface waters may originate from runoff after land application of livestock manure. Groundwater may also be impacted by livestock manure when used as a nutrient source to crops and may be indicated by excess nitrate in water. Few studies have been conducted to investigate the potential of steroid hormones contamination of groundwater. The objective of this study was to monitor leaching of steroid hormones and other compounds associated with livestock manure through the soil profile after land application of manure. The study was conducted near North Platte, Nebraska between April 2008 and July 2011 on a silt loam soil. Leachate was collected at the bottom of 2.4 meter deep monolithic percolation lysimeters to sample water leached beneath plots fertilized with manure. Soil samples were also collected from surrounding irrigated field plots. Treatments consisted of two manure handling procedures (stockpiling and composting) and a check receiving no manure application. Manure stored from a previous year’s cattle feeding pen study was sampled and analyzed for steroid hormone content. Manure was applied to the lysimeters and adjacent plot areas in April 2008 at a rate satisfying the nitrogen requirements of winter wheat planted in the fall of 2007 and 2008 followed by soybeans planted in the spring of 2010 and 2011. Leachate from the lysimeters and soil samples (down to 2.4 meter depth) from surrounding areas were collected periodically during the study. Laboratory analyses of manure, soil, and leachate samples used liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry to identify 17 steroid hormones and metabolites. Progesterone, estrone, beta-zearalenol and 4-androstenedione were detected at varying concentrations in both composted (1.6-8.4 nanograms per gram) and stockpiled (3.7-11.4 nanograms per gram) manure. Steroid hormones and related compounds were detected in only 5 percent of the leachate samples. The greatest detected concentration was 20 nanograms per liter of natural progesterone in a leachate sample from a lysimeter treated with stockpiled manure. Steroid hormones or metabolites were detected in 10 percent of the soil samples. Seventy four percent of the detections in the soil samples were in the top half (top 1.2 meter) of the sampled soil depth. 17beta-estradiol was detected the most in the soil samples (4 percent) with a maximum concentration of 4.3 nanograms per gram in a plot treated with composted manure. No synthetic steroids were detected in any of the soil or leachate samples. The low detection of steroid hormones in the soil and leachate samples suggests that, while some hormones may move through the soil, most are readily degraded or adsorbed after manure application. Additional research is required to more clearly identify the mechanisms that control the environmental fate and transport of steroid hormones through the soil

Comparison of the Physical Attributes of Plant-Based Ground Beef Alternatives to Ground Beef

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the physical attributes of three different plant-based, ground beef alternatives in comparison to ground beef of three different fat percentages. Study Description: Ground beef of three different fat percentages, a retail pea protein-based ground beef alternative, and a traditional soy-based ground beef alternative were obtained from retail stores (n = 15 lots/treatment). Samples from 15 lots of a foodservice soy protein-based ground beef alternative were obtained from a foodservice chain. All samples were fabricated into 0.25 lb patties assigned to one of four assays: color analysis, texture profile analysis, shear force, and pressed juice percentage. Results: When evaluating raw color, traditional ground beef alternative had the highest (P \u3c 0.05) a* value and were redder when compared to all other treatments, with retail ground beef alternative having the lowest (P \u3c 0.05) a* value. Traditional and retail ground beef alternative had the highest (P \u3c 0.05) a* value, while foodservice ground beef alternative, and 30% and 10% fat ground beef had the lowest (P \u3c 0.05) a* value for cooked surface color. For texture attributes, retail and foodservice ground beef alternatives had lower (P \u3c 0.05) values for cohesiveness, gumminess, hardness, and chewiness, as well as higher (P \u3c 0.05) values for springiness, than all other treatments evaluated. For shear force, the three ground beef alternatives were more tender (P \u3c 0.05) than all three ground beef treatments, with foodservice and retail ground beef alternatives being more tender (P \u3c 0.05) than all treatments. The three ground beef treatments had greater (P \u3c 0.05) pressed juice percentage values than all ground beef alternatives, indicating the ground beef was juicier than any of the ground beef alternatives evaluated. The Bottom Line: While the ground beef alternative products attempt to mimic ground beef, they provide very different color, texture, tenderness, and cooking characteristics than traditional ground beef

Consumer Sensory Evaluation of Plant-Based Ground Beef Alternatives in Comparison to Ground Beef of Various Fat Percentages

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine if current plant-based protein ground beef alternatives offer similar palatability characteristics to ground beef patties of varying fat percentages. Study Description: Fifteen different production lots (n = 15/fat level) of 3 lb ground beef chubs of three different fat levels (10%, 20%, and 30%) were collected from retail markets in the Manhattan, KS, area. Additionally, alternative products including a soy and potato protein-based foodservice ground beef alternative, a pea protein-based retail ground beef alternative, and a traditional soy protein-based ground beef alternative, (n = 15 production lots/product) currently available through commercial channels were collected from retail markets and a commercial foodservice chain. All ground beef and alternative treatments were formed into 0.25-lb patties and frozen at -40 degrees F until consumer sensory analysis. Results: All three ground beef samples rated higher (P \u3c 0.05) than the three alternative samples for appearance, overall flavor, beef flavor, and overall liking. Retail alternative rated lowest (P \u3c 0.05) for appearance, overall flavor, texture, and overall liking. Of the alternative samples, foodservice alternative rated highest (P \u3c 0.05) for juiciness, beef flavor, and texture liking, and traditional alternative rated lowest (P \u3c 0.05) for juiciness. However, the foodservice alternative rated higher (P \u3c 0.05) for tenderness than the 20% fat ground beef samples. Moreover, of the alternative samples, the foodservice alternative and traditional alternative rated similar (P \u3e 0.05) for appearance, tenderness, overall flavor liking, and overall liking. Among the ground beef samples, no differences (P \u3e 0.05) were found for appearance, juiciness, overall flavor liking, beef flavor liking, or overall liking. For the percentage of samples rated acceptable for each palatability trait, all three ground beef treatments had a higher (P \u3c 0.05) percentage of samples rated acceptable for appearance, overall flavor liking, beef flavor liking, texture, and overall liking than the three alternative. Retail alternative had the lowest (P \u3c 0.05) percentage of samples rated acceptable for appearance, overall flavor, texture, and overall liking. Traditional alternative had the lowest (P \u3c 0.05) percentage of samples rated acceptable for juiciness. Among the alternative samples, foodservice alternative had the highest (P \u3c 0.05) percentage of samples rated acceptable for juiciness and beef flavor liking. Furthermore, among the alternative treatments, foodservice alternative and traditional alternative had a similar (P \u3e 0.05) percentage of samples rated acceptable for appearance, overall flavor liking, texture liking, and overall liking. The Bottom Line: While the ground beef alternative products attempt to mimic ground beef, they provide very different consumer eating experiences than traditional ground beef

Common Avian Infection Plagued the Tyrant Dinosaurs

Background: Tyrannosaurus rex and other tyrannosaurid fossils often display multiple, smooth-edged full-thickness erosive lesions on the mandible, either unilaterally or bilaterally. The cause of these lesions in the Tyrannosaurus rex specimen FMNH PR2081 (known informally by the name 'Sue') has previously been attributed to actinomycosis, a bacterial bone infection, or bite wounds from other tyrannosaurids

Alliances and the innovation performance of corporate and public research spin-off firms

We explore the innovation performance benefits of alliances for spin-off firms, in particular spin-offs either from other firms or from public research organizations. During the early years of the emerging combinatorial chemistry industry, the industry on which our empirical analysis focuses, spin-offs engaged in alliances with large and established partners, partners of similar type and size, and with public research organizations, often for different reasons. We seek to understand to what extent alliances of spin-offs with other firms (either large- or small- and medium-sized firms) affected their innovation performance and also how this performance may have been affected by their corporate or public research background. We find evidence that in general alliances of spin-offs with other firms, in particular alliances with large firms, increased their innovation performance. Corporate spin-offs that formed alliances with other firms outperformed public research spin-offs with such alliances. This suggests that, in terms of their innovation performance, corporate spin-offs that engaged in alliances with other firms seemed to have benefitted from their prior corporate background. Interestingly, it turns out that the negative impact of alliances on the innovation performance of public research spin-offs was largely affected by their alliances with small- and medium-sized firms