Effect of Age-at-Weaning and Post-Weaning Management on Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Angus Steers

Recent developments in beef marketing have created more opportunities for producers to reap greater financial rewards based on the carcass merit of the animal. Increased premiums are being offered for animals that excel in the USDA\u27s Quality or Yield Grade scoring systems. There is an increasing focus on beef tenderness with today\u27s consumer. Producers need to understand how on-farm production practices can affect feedlot performance and carcass merit. This study utilized 75 Angus steers to determine the effects of age-at-weaning and post-weaning management on performance and carcass characteristics of steers

Effect of Age-at-Weaning and Post-Weaning Management on Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Charolais-Angus Cross Steers

Recent developments in beef marketing have created more opportunities for producers to reap greater financial rewards based on the carcass merit of the animal. Increased premiums are being offered for animals that excel in the USDA\u27s Quality or Yield Grade scoring systems. There is an increasing focus on beef tenderness with today\u27s consumer. Producers need to understand how on-farm production practices can affect feedlot performance and carcass merit. The study reported here used 74 Charolais x Angus cross steers to determine the effects of age-at-weaning and post-weaning management on performance and carcass characteristics

Effects of feeding corn silage, pelleted, ensiled, or pelleted and ensiled alfalfa on growth and carcass characteristics of lamb

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of corn silage (CS) and alfalfa (pelleted (AP), haylage (AH), or combination (APH)) on lamb growth and carcass characteristics. The objective of Experiment 1 (Exp. 1) was to compare AH to CS in lamb feedlot diets on lamb growth and carcass characteristics. Eighty lambs were used in a 56 day experiment with a randomized complete block design. The objective of Experiment 2 (Exp. 2) was to determine the effects of alfalfa form, AP, AH or AHP, on animal performance and carcass characteristics. Seventy two lambs were used in an 82 day experiment with a randomized complete block design. In Exp. 1, lambs offered AH consumed 23.5% more feed on a daily basis than lambs offered CS. However, lambs fed CS gained weight 21.3% faster than lambs fed AH (259 versus 213 g/day, respectively). Additionally, lambs fed CS were 50.4% more efficient in converting feed to gain compared with lambs offered AH (0.173 versus 0.115 kg gain/kg feed, respectively). In Exp. 2, AP resulted in a greater dry matter intake (DMI) and average daily gain (ADG), and fewer days on feed than with AH. The combination of pellets + haylage resulted in a greater DMI, ADG, and fewer days on feed compared to AH alone. Therefore, there was an inverse relationship between both forage particle size and diet moisture content with DMI. There was no difference in daily efficiency of gain due to the form of alfalfa. Average daily gain, days on feed, and DMI are economically important criteria that differ due to the form of alfalfa even when feed efficiencies are similar.Instituto de Genética Veterinari

Department of Animal Sciences research and reviews: beef and sheep

Relationship of a PCR-SSCP at the Bovine calpastatin locus with calpastatin activity and meat tenderness / H. Y. Chung, M. E. Davis, H. C. Hines, and D. M. Wulf -- Effects of calpain proteolysis and calpain genotypes on meat tenderness of angus bulls / H. Y. Chung, M. E. Davis, H. C. Hines, and D. M. Wulf -- Identification of genetic markers for growth and carcass traits in beef cattle / W. Ge, M. E. Davis, H. C. Hines, and K. M. Irvin -- Relationships of polymorphisms in the bovine leptin gene with differences in beef carcass traits / K. Tessanne, H. C. Hines, and M. E. Davis -- Effects of rate of gain during periods of restricted intake on performance and carcass characteristics in steers fed to achieve step-wise increases in rate of gain / J. E. Rossi and S. C. Loerch -- Effects of feeding regimen and days fed on performance and carcass characteristics of feedlot steers / J. E. Rossi, S. C. Loerch, S. J. Moeller, and J. P. Schoonmaker -- Effect of an accelerated finishing program on performance and carcass characteristics of early weaned bulls and steers / J. P. Schoonmaker, S. C. Loerch, F. L. Fluharty, T. B. Turner, S. J. Moeller and J. E. Rossi -- Yeast-mineral mixes and beef-cattle performance in fescue-based grazing systems: preliminary report / S. Boyles, W. Shriver, and D. Kobs -- Forage and animal evaluation of heifers at Indian Lake Hydrologic Unit CRP stocker grazing demonstration / S. L. Boyles, B. W. Stoll, and T. L. Dobbels -- Beef quality is every cattleman's business: education program / J. Yates and S. Boyles -- Effects of pelleted alfalfa and whole-shelled corn combinations on lamb growth and carcass characteristics / F. L. Fluharty -- Effects of feeding pelleted, ensiled, or a combination of pelleted and ensiled alfalfa on lamb growth and carcass characteristics / F. L. Fluharty, G. D. Lowe, and D. D. Clevenger -- Effects of corn silage vs. alfalfa haylage on lamb growth and carcass characteristics in forage-based finishing systems / F. L. Fluharty, G. D. Lowe, and D. D. Clevenger -- Effects of feed-delivery system and corn processing on lamb growth and carcass characteristics / F. L. Fluharty, G. D. Lowe, and D. D. Clevenger -- Effects of pen floor type and bedding on lamb growth and carcass characteristics / F. L. Fluharty, G. D. Lowe, and D. D. Clevenger -- A PCR-SSCP polymorphism detected in the 5' flanking region of the ovine IGF-I gene / A. Yilmaz, M. E. Davis, and H. C. Hine

HIV-1 matrix protein p17 misfolding forms toxic amyloidogenic assemblies that induce neurocognitive disorders

© 2017 The Author(s). Human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1)-Associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) remains an important neurological manifestation that adversely affects a patient's quality of life. HIV-1 matrix protein p17 (p17) has been detected in autoptic brain tissue of HAND individuals who presented early with severe AIDS encephalopathy. We hypothesised that the ability of p17 to misfold may result in the generation of toxic assemblies in the brain and may be relevant for HAND pathogenesis. A multidisciplinary integrated approach has been applied to determine the ability of p17 to form soluble amyloidogenic assemblies in vitro. To provide new information into the potential pathogenic role of soluble p17 species in HAND, their toxicological capability was evaluated in vivo. In C. elegans, capable of recognising toxic assemblies of amyloidogenic proteins, p17 induces a specific toxic effect which can be counteracted by tetracyclines, drugs able to hinder the formation of large oligomers and consequently amyloid fibrils. The intrahippocampal injection of p17 in mice reduces their cognitive function and induces behavioral deficiencies. These findings offer a new way of thinking about the possible cause of neurodegeneration in HIV-1-seropositive patients, which engages the ability of p17 to form soluble toxic assemblies

Non-Standard Errors

In statistics, samples are drawn from a population in a data-generating process (DGP). Standard errors measure the uncertainty in estimates of population parameters. In science, evidence is generated to test hypotheses in an evidence-generating process (EGP). We claim that EGP variation across researchers adds uncertainty: Non-standard errors (NSEs). We study NSEs by letting 164 teams test the same hypotheses on the same data. NSEs turn out to be sizable, but smaller for better reproducible or higher rated research. Adding peer-review stages reduces NSEs. We further find that this type of uncertainty is underestimated by participants

Non-standard errors

In statistics, samples are drawn from a population in a data-generating process (DGP). Standard errors measure the uncertainty in estimates of population parameters. In science, evidence is generated to test hypotheses in an evidence generating process (EGP). We claim that EGP variation across researchers adds uncertainty: Non-standard errors (NSEs). We study NSEs by letting 164 teams test the same hypotheses on the same data. NSEs turn out to be sizable, but smaller for better reproducible or higher rated research. Adding peer-review stages reduces NSEs. We further find that this type of uncertainty is underestimated by participants

Effects of dietary vitamin A concentration of roasted soybean inclusion on marbling, adipose cellularity, and fatty acid composition of beef

A feedlot trial was conducted to determine the effect of dietary vitamin A concentration and roasted soybean (SB) inclusion on carcass characteristics, adipose tissue cellularity, and muscle fatty acid composition. Angus-crossbred steers (n = 168; 295 +/- 1.8 kg) were allotted to 24 pens (7 steers each). Four treatments, in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement, were investigated: no supplemental vitamin A, no roasted soybeans (NANS); no vitamin A, roasted SB (20% of the diet on a DM basis; NASB); with supplemental (2,700 IU/kg) vitamin A, no roasted SB (WANS); and with supplemental vitamin A, roasted SB (WASB). Diets included high moisture corn, 5% corn silage, 10 to 20% supplement, and 20% roasted SB in the SB treatments on a DM basis. The calculated vitamin A concentration in the basal diet was 0.10) for cattle performance, carcass composition, or muscle fatty acid composition. Low vitamin A diets (NA) did not affect (P > 0.05) ADG, DMI, or G:F. Quality grade tended (P = 0.07) to be greater in NA steers. Marbling scores and the percentage of carcasses grading > or = Choice(-) were 10% greater for NA steers, although these trends were not significant (P = 0.11 and 0.13, respectively). Backfat thickness and yield grade were not affected (P > 0.26) by vitamin A supplementation. Composition of the LM was not affected (P > 0.15) by vitamin A or SB supplementation. Serum retinol at slaughter was 44% lower (P 0.18) by vitamin A or SB treatments. Fatty acid profile of the LM was not affected by vitamin A (P > 0.05), but SB increased (P < 0.05) PUFA (7.88 vs. 4.30 g/100 g). It was concluded that feeding NA tended to increase marbling without affecting back-fat and yield grade. It appeared that NA induced hyperplasia in the i.m. but not in the s.c. fat depot