Weaning Weight Summary for South Dakota Livestock Production Records Association Member Herds Using Crossbreeding

The primary objective of this study was to provide members of the Production Records Association an analysis of the weaning weights of various crossbreds produced in member herds. The results should form an important part of the total information needed by members and other cattlemen to formulate individual breeding programs

Annual Crossbreeding Report for South Dakota Livestock Production Records Association

Each year since 1970 weaning weight records from member herds of the Production Records Association have been used to prepare a crossbreeding summary for use by members and other cattlemen in the formulation of individual breeding programs. This report presents the five year summary which includes the 1974 calf crop

Laser Additive Manufacturing of Gas Permeable Structures

Laser additive manufacturing offers a variety of new design possibilities. In mold making laser additive manufactured inserts with conformal cooling channels are already state of the art. Pneumatic ejectors for injection molds are a new application for laser additive manufacturing. The pneumatic ejectors require a durable gas permeable material. This material is produced by placing the scan vectors for the laser additive manufacturing process in a defined pattern. Trials with different plastics proofed the function and reliability of the pneumatic ejector concept in the injection molding cycle

Agricultural Research at the Antelope Range Field Station: A Progress Report

South Dakota State College research workers, with the help of the Field Station Advisory Council and the cooperation of the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks, began planning and establishing experimental projects at the Antelope Range Field Station in 1947. The Range Station consists of 7,920 acres of range Janel in east-central Harding County. A large part of this tract, 6,680 acres, is under the control of the state office of School and Public Lands; 1,120 acres are owned by the Department of Game, Fish and Parks; and 120 acres are privately owned by a neighbor. Prior to 1946 the preserve area was leased for grazing to private interests. The 1957 Legislature authorized the exchange of the 1,120 acres owned by the Game, Fish and Parks Department for School and Public Lands located elsewhere in the state. Negotiations to accomplish the land exchange are in progress at the time of this writing. The station lies 2 miles south of Highway No. 8 on the west side of the Slim Buttes. The land is rolling prairie, deeply cut in some places by intermittent streams, and unsuitable for most agricultural purposes except grazing. This area was originally organized as an antelope preserve and for many years was operated as such under the control of the Game, Fish and Parks Department. In the fall of 1946, at the request of livestock men of western South Dakota, representing the Western South Dakota Sheep Growers\u27 Association, the Cooperative wool Growers\u27 of South Dakota, the Black Hills\u27 Protective Association, Harding County Livestock Improvement Association, South Dakota Purebred Sheep Breeders Association, and the South Dakota Stockgrowers\u27 Association, the Game, Fish and Parks Commission entered into an agreement to permit the South Dakota State College Agricultural Experiment Station to use the Antelope Range Preserve as a livestock experiment field station for range research in problems dealing with beef cattle, sheep, and antelope. Representatives of the organizations formed an advisory council to assist in developing the station and suggesting problems that needed research study. The orginal advisory committee and the animal husbandry department research men compiled a list of 21 major problems that would be suitable for development at the Antelope Range Field Station, although not all of these could be handled at once. Actual research work was started in 1947. The first experimental livestock with which the ranch was stocked were sheep, but within the first year a cow herd was added. Of the 21 problems suggested, parasitism in sheep, stocking rate and rotational grazing studies with sheep, supplements for wintering pregnant ewes, and beef cattle breeding research were the ones undertaken and upon which sufficient data have been collected to warrant publication of the results. Many of these studies are still underway. One of the early goals was to discover basic information on compatibility of sheep and antelope grazing on the same range in respect to carrying capacity of the range, parasites common to both species, and the host parasite interrelationships. Unfortunately this work has yielded little information because of difficulties in handling antelope either in captivity or under controlled conditions on range pastures. The other experiments have been carried forward and the results to date are reported in this bulletin

Microglia cells protect neurons by direct engulfment of invading neutrophil granulocytes: a new mechanism of CNS immune privilege

Microglial cells maintain the immunological integrity of the healthy brain and can exert protection from traumatic injury. During ischemic tissue damage such as stroke, peripheral immune cells acutely infiltrate the brain and may exacerbate neurodegeneration. Whether and how microglia can protect from this insult is unknown. Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) are a prominent immunologic infiltrate of ischemic lesions in vivo. Here, we show in organotypic brain slices that externally applied invading PMNs massively enhance ischemic neurotoxicity. This, however, is counteracted by additional application of microglia. Time-lapse imaging shows that microglia exert protection by rapid engulfment of apoptotic, but, strikingly, also viable, motile PMNs in cell culture and within brain slices. PMN engulfment is mediated by integrin- and lectin-based recognition. Interference with this process using RGDS peptides and N-acetyl-glucosamine blocks engulfment of PMNs and completely abrogates the neuroprotective function of microglia. Thus, engulfment of invading PMNs by microglia may represent an entirely new mechanism of CNS immune privilege

Wireless point-of-care ultrasound: First experiences with a new generation handheld device

AIM: To evaluate the diagnostic reliability of a new generation wireless point-of care ultrasound device for abdominal and thoracic findings. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 40 patients (16 females, 24 males 19 –80 years, on average 56.1 years) were scanned by an experienced examiner using the new wireless Vscan Air device for abdominal and thoracic findings. The probe frequencies were 2–5 MHz (convex probe) and 3–12 MHz for the linear probe. As a reference standard, all patients were also examined using high-end ultrasound (LOGIQ E9/LOGIQ E10). Results were interpreted independently by two examiners in consensus, also with regard to the image quality (0–4, from not assessable = 0, to excellent 4). RESULTS: In all 40 patients (100%) examination with conventional high-end ultrasound and the Vscan Air ultrasound device was feasible. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value for the diagnosis of abdominal and thoracic findings were 63.3%, 100%, 100%, and 40%, respectively. Most main diagnostic findings were detected using the mobile device compared to the high-end ultrasound. Limitations were found regarding characterization and classification of hepatic and renal tumorous lesions. Image quality revealed mostly minor diagnostic limitations for the mobile device, mean 2.9 (SD ± 0.300) and was excellent or with only minor diagnostic limitations for conventional high-end ultrasound, mean 3.25 (SD ± 0.438). CONCLUSION: Due to its easy application and its high diagnostic reliability, point-of-care ultrasound systems of the latest generation represent a valuable imaging method for the primary assessment of abdominal and thoracic findings, especially in patients on intensive care units or in emergency situations

Homozygosity for a missense mutation in the 67 kDa isoform of glutamate decarboxylase in a family with autosomal recessive spastic cerebral palsy: parallels with Stiff-Person Syndrome and other movement disorders

Background Cerebral palsy (CP) is an heterogeneous group of neurological disorders of movement and/or posture, with an estimated incidence of 1 in 1000 live births. Non-progressive forms of symmetrical, spastic CP have been identified, which show a Mendelian autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance. We recently described the mapping of a recessive spastic CP locus to a 5 cM chromosomal region located at 2q24-31.1, in rare consanguineous families. Methods Here we present data that refine this locus to a 0.5 cM region, flanked by the microsatellite markers D2S2345 and D2S326. The minimal region contains the candidate gene GAD1, which encodes a glutamate decarboxylase isoform (GAD67), involved in conversion of the amino acid and excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate to the inhibitory neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Results A novel amino acid mis-sense mutation in GAD67 was detected, which segregated with CP in affected individuals. Conclusions This result is interesting because auto-antibodies to GAD67 and the more widely studied GAD65 homologue encoded by the GAD2 gene, are described in patients with Stiff-Person Syndrome (SPS), epilepsy, cerebellar ataxia and Batten disease. Further investigation seems merited of the possibility that variation in the GAD1 sequence, potentially affecting glutamate/GABA ratios, may underlie this form of spastic CP, given the presence of anti-GAD antibodies in SPS and the recognised excitotoxicity of glutamate in various contexts