Inverse association between atopy and melanoma: A case-control study

Heightened cutaneous immune surveillance in atopic patients may inhibit development of melanoma. The aim of this study was to analyse the association between atopy and melanoma (development and outcome). A total of 188 cases of melanoma and 596 healthy controls were interviewed by telephone with a standardized questionnaire on atopic, demographic and melanoma characteristics. Cases were matched with controls on important confounders (age, sex, sunburn sensitivity, hair colour, number of moles, sunburn as juvenile, ever sunbed use, familial melanoma). Melanoma outcome data (disease relapse and death) within cases were retrieved. Analysis showed a general inverse association between atopy and melanoma development, but this was statistically significant only for a history of personal atopy (odds ratio 0.53, 95% confidence interval: 0.30-0.96, p-value = 0.04). Among melanoma patients, atopy did not affect survival or progression. In conclusion, this study suggests an inverse association between a history of atopy and melanoma development, but not with disease progression

Corn Silage Yield and Quality, and Soil Health Metrics After Fall Cover Crop Grazing

Integrated crop-livestock systems can potentially produce more product per unit of land with minimal impacts on soil health and cash crop quality. In the Upper Midwest there is an opportunity to graze fall cover crops (CC) after winter wheat in a corn-wheat rotation. In East Lansing, Michigan, two CC treatments: 1) a pure brassica mixture (PURE), and 2) a complex mixture containing legumes, warm and cool season grasses, and brassicas (MIX) were planted after wheat, and grazed by lambs in the fall seasons of 2019 to 2021. The following year, soil health, corn yield and quality were measured from plots corresponding to a non-grazed control and plots grazed in October, November, and December. There was no significant effect on spring soil bulk density and penetration resistance (PR) regardless of CC mixture or the timing of grazing, although PR was numerically higher in the grazed plots. Corn crude protein, acid detergent fiber, and neutral detergent fiber were not different across graze date or CC treatments (P \u3e 0.05), although corn contained more starch when grown after MIX grazed in November (P=0.02). The difference in starch was possibly an artifact of spatial variability across the site. Corn dry matter yield was lower in the non-grazed control (15.35 Mg ha-1) when compared to the grazing treatments in October (17.37 Mg ha-1) and December (17.19 Mg ha-1) (P=0.03). Grazing cover crops in the fall may improve corn yield the following year without causing soil compaction or changing corn quality

Vitamin D supplementation in cutaneous malignant melanoma outcome (ViDMe): a randomized controlled trial.

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Genome-wide association study of concentrations of iron and other minerals in longissimus muscle of Angus cattle1

The objective of this study was to characterize variation and identify SNP and chromosomal regions associated with mineral concentrations in LM of Angus beef cattle. Samples of LM from 2,285 Angus cattle were obtained and concentrations of seven minerals including iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and zinc were quantified. Genomic DNA extracted from the ground beef sample used for mineral composition was genotyped with the Bovine SNP50 Infinium II BeadChip and effects of SNP on each trait were estimated using the Bayes-Cπ module of GenSel software. Pedigree-based estimates of heritabilities and corresponding genetic variances indicate iron was the only mineral concentration, which could be considered a good candidate for manipulation by genomic selection. The amount of variation that could be accounted for by SNP genotypes was concordant with pedigree-based heritabilities and varied from very low for potassium and sodium (< 0.09) to medium-high (0.37) for iron. Though significant chromosomal regions were identified for all minerals analyzed in this study, further study focused on iron. Seven regions on six chromosomes (1, 2, 7, 10, 15 and 28) were identified to have major effect on iron content of LM in Angus cattle. The accuracy of direct genomic values (DGV) for iron concentration was estimated using a five-fold cross-validation strategy. The accuracy of DGV estimated as the genetic correlation between DGV and the phenotype (iron concentration) adjusted for contemporary groups was 0.59. A bivariate animal model was used to estimate genetic correlations between iron concentrations and a reduced set of economically important carcass traits: HCW, ribeye area, calculated USDA yield grade, percent KPH, and marbling score. The genetic correlations between iron concentration and HCW, percentage KPH, marbling score and ribeye area were small (-0.19 - 0.15) and non-significant. Although still weak (0.22), a positive significant genetic correlation was identified between iron content and USDA calculated yield grade. Beef is a major contributor of iron and zinc in the human diet, and this study found that iron content might be effectively manipulated through marker-assisted selection programs, without compromising other carcass and palatability traits

Genetic parameters for carnitine, creatine, creatinine, carnosine, and anserine concentration in longissimus muscle and their association with palatability traits in Angus cattle

The objective of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for carnitine, creatine, creatinine, carnosine, and anserine concentration in LM and to evaluate their associations with Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) and beef palatability traits. Longissimus muscle samples from 2,285 Angus cattle were obtained and fabricated into steaks for analysis of carnitine, creatine, creatinine, carnosine, anserine, and other nutrients, and for trained sensory panel and WBSF assessments. Restricted maximum likelihood procedures were used to obtain estimates of variance and covariance components under a multiple-trait animal model. Estimates of heritability for carnitine, creatine, creatinine, carnosine, and anserine concentrations in LM from Angus cattle were 0.015, 0.434, 0.070, 0.383, and 0.531, respectively. Creatine, carnosine, and anserine were found to be moderately heritable, whereas almost no genetic variation was observed in carnitine and creatinine. Moderate positive genetic (0.25, P \u3c 0.05) and phenotypic correlations (0.25, P \u3c 0.05) were identified between carnosine and anserine. Medium negative genetic correlations were identified between creatine and both carnosine (-0.53, P\u3c 0.05) and anserine (-0.46, P \u3c 0.05). Beef and livery/metallic flavor were not associated with any of the 5 compounds analyzed (P \u3e 0.10), and carnitine concentrations were not associated (P \u3e 0.10) with any of the meat palatability traits analyzed. Carnosine was negatively associated with overall tenderness as assessed by trained sensory panelists. Similar negative associations with overall tenderness were identified for creatinine and anserine. Painty/fishy was the only flavor significantly and negatively associated with creatinine and carnosine. These results provide information regarding the concentration of these compounds, the amount of genetic variation, and evidence for negligible associations with beef palatability traits in LM of beef cattle

Genetic parameters for concentrations of minerals in longissimus muscle and their associations with palatability traits in Angus cattle

The objective of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for concentrations of minerals in LM and to evaluate their associations with beef palatability traits. Samples of LM from 2,285 Angus cattle were obtained and fabricated into steaks for analysis of mineral concentrations and for trained sensory panel assessments. Nine minerals, including calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and zinc, were quantified. Restricted maximum likelihood procedures were used to obtain estimates of variance and covariance components under a multiple-trait animal model. Estimates of heritability for mineral concentrations in LM varied from 0.01 to 0.54. Iron and sodium were highly and moderately heritable, respectively, whereas the other minerals were lowly heritable except for calcium, copper, and manganese, which exhibited no genetic variation. Strong positive genetic correlations existed between iron and zinc (0.49, P \u3c 0.05), between magnesium and phosphorus (0.88, P \u3c 0.05), between magnesium and sodium (0.68, P \u3c 0.05), and between phosphorus and potassium (0.69, P \u3c 0.05). Overall tenderness assessed by trained sensory panelists was positively associated with manganese, potassium, and sodium and negatively associated with phosphorus and zinc concentrations (P \u3c0.05). Juiciness assessed by trained sensory panelists was negatively associated with magnesium and positively associated with manganese and sodium concentrations (P \u3c 0.05). Livery or metallic flavor was not associated with any of the minerals (P \u3e 0.05). Beefy flavor was positively associated with calcium, iron, and zinc and negatively associated with sodium concentration, whereas a painty or fishy flavor was positively associated with sodium and negatively associated with calcium and potassium concentrations (P \u3c 0.05). Beef is a major contributor of iron and zinc in the human diet, and these results demonstrate sufficient genetic variation for these traits to be improved through marker-assisted selection programs without compromising beef palatability

MouR controls the expression of the Listeria monocytogenes Agr system and mediates virulence

The foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) causes invasive infection in susceptible ani- mals and humans. To survive and proliferate within hosts, this facultative intracellular pathogen tightly coordinates the expression of a complex regulatory network that controls the expression of virulence fac- tors. Here, we identified and characterized MouR, a novel virulence regulator of Lm. Through RNA-seq transcriptomic analysis, we determined the MouR regulon and demonstrated how MouR positively con- trols the expression of the Agr quorum sensing sys- tem (agrBDCA) of Lm. The MouR three-dimensional structure revealed a dimeric DNA-binding transcrip- tion factor belonging to the VanR class of the GntR superfamily of regulatory proteins. We also showed that by directly binding to the agr promoter region, MouR ultimately modulates chitinase activity and biofilm formation. Importantly, we demonstrated by in vitro cell invasion assays and in vivo mice infec- tions the role of MouR in Lm virulence.Peer reviewe

Effects of zilpaterol hydrochloride and zinc methionine on growth performance and carcass characteristics of beef bulls

Sixty beef bulls with a body weight (BW) of 314.79 16.2 kg were used to evaluate the effects of zilpaterol hydrochloride (ZH) and zinc methionine (ZM) on growth performance and carcass characteristics. The experimental design was a randomized complete block, with a factorial 22 arrangement of treatments (ZH: 0 and 0.15 mg kg 1 BW; ZM: 0 and 80 mg kg 1 dry matter). The ZH increased (PB0.05) the final BW, average daily gain, feed conversion, carcass yield and longissimus dorsi area. Bulls fed ZH plus ZM had less (PB0.01) backfat thickness and intramuscular fat (IMF) compared with those fed ZH or ZM alone. The ZH increased (PB0.02) the meat crude protein content and cooking loss. It is therefore concluded that ZH increases growth performance, carcass yield, longissimus dorsi area, and meat crude protein. The interaction of ZM and ZH did not present additional advantages. The reason for the reduction in backfat thickness and IMF by ZH plus ZM is unclear, and implies that our knowledge of b-agonistic adrenergic substances and their interactions with minerals is incomplete

Cumulative incidence and risk factors for cutaneous squamous-cell carcinoma metastases in organ transplant recipients: the SCOPE-ITSCC metastases study, a prospective multi-center study.

Solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs) are believed to have an increased risk of metastatic cutaneous squamous-cell carcinoma (cSCC), but reliable data are lacking regarding the precise incidence and associated risk factors. In a prospective cohort study, including 19 specialist dermatology outpatient clinics in 15 countries, patient and tumor characteristics were collected using standardized questionnaires when SOTRs presented with a new cSCC. After a minimum of 2 years of follow-up, relevant data for all SOTRs were collected. Cumulative incidence of metastases was calculated by the Aalen-Johansen estimator. Fine and Gray models were used to assess multiple risk factors for metastases. Of 514 SOTRs who presented with 623 primary cSCCs, 37 developed metastases with a 2-year patient-based cumulative incidence of 6.2%. Risk factors for metastases included location in the head and neck area, local recurrence, size >2cm, clinical ulceration, poor differentiation grade, perineural invasion and deep invasion. A high-stage tumor that is also ulcerated showed the highest risk of metastasis, with a 2-year cumulative incidence of 46.2% (31.9% - 68.4%). SOTRs have a high risk of cSCC metastases and well-established clinical and histological risk factors have been confirmed. High-stage, ulcerated cSCCs have the highest risk of metastasis. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.