Description and factor analysis of the use of selected practices by Tennessee grade A dairymen in 1970 and 1975

The purpose of this descriptive study was to compare the use of. selected dairy production and management practices by Grade A dairymen in 32 major dairy producing counties at two time periods (i.e., FY 1970 and FY 1975) in order to indicate the amount of change in use of recommended production practices during the five year period. Factor-analytic techniques were then employed to determine interrelations between practices used by Grade A dairymen and to reduce the data into smaller sets of factors or components for further analysis. Data were secured through personal interviews by County Extension Leaders in each of the 32 major dairy counties. Each interview was conducted in the same manner following an interview schedule prepared specifically for each survey. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences computer program was used to analyze the data. Results of the data analysis were organized and summarized in separate tables, each dealing with selected aspects of the study. The approach to summary and interpretation of findings was basically descriptive in nature with emphasis upon comparison of practice use at the two time periods. Major findings of the study are briefly stated as follows: 1: The average herd size of Grade A dairymen in 1970 was 59 cows and an average of 10,029 pounds of milk per cow was produced. The average income per Grade A dairymen from the sale of milk in 1970 was $29,398. 2. Grade A dairymen in 1975 operated an average of 336 acres of cropland. It was also observed that the producers had an average of 11,981 pounds of milk and 449 pounds of butterfat produced per cow. 3. Eleven recommended dairy production practices were selected from the two dairy surveys for purposes of comparing the percentage of producers using these practices in 1975 with those in 1970. It was observed that the average percentage of all dairymen using each of the eleven recommended dairy practices had increased for six practices and had decreased for five of the practices between 1970 and 1975. 4. In reviewing the interrelations among dairymen\u27s use of 21 practices in 1970 it was found that four practices were the most highly related to the use of the largest number of other recommended practices. These practices involved, breeding cows to a plus A.I. proof bull; providing of ade-quate forages; feeding grain according to production; and maintaining adequate milk production records. 5. Three of the 22 practices in 1975 where dairymen\u27s use was measured qualitatively showed a high correlation with a large number of other practices. These practices were, checking the milking machine every six months; feeding grain according to production; and keeping dry cows separate from the herd. 6. Grade A dairymen\u27s use of only one recommended practice was significantly related (p\u3c.05 or greater) to their use of nine or more of the 16 recommended dairy practices measured quantitatively in 1975. This practice was defined as What percent of your pasture land was limed and fertilized based on soil test at the time of seeding? 7. Eleven of the 21 recommended practices were found to load most heavily on seven of the factors extracted from the 1970 Grade A Milk Production Practice Checklist Survey. 8. Twelve of the 22 practices were found to be highly related (loading of greater than .40) to the seven factors extracted from the 1975 data measured qualitatively. 9. Ten of the 16 practices factor analyzed were found to be highly related to the seven factors extracted from the quantitatively measured 1975 survey data. 10. The practices of providing high quality forages, keeping dry cows separate from the herd, and the number of times per day the herd was checked for heat, accounted for a higher percentage of the variation in practice use among the dairymen than did any of the other practices included in the two dairy surveys. 11. The seven common factors extracted for the practices studied in 1970 accounted for about 50 percent of the variation in the use of the practices studied. Forty-seven percent and 58 percent, respectively, of the total variance in the use of all practices was accounted for by the common factors observed in the qualitative and quantitative measures in the 1975 dairy survey. Conclusions and recommendations are also included

Study of aluminoborane compound AlB_4H_(11) for hydrogen storage

Aluminoborane compounds AlB_4H_(11), AlB_5H_(12), and AlB_6H_(13) were reported by Himpsl and Bond in 1981, but they have eluded the attention of the worldwide hydrogen storage research community for more than a quarter of a century. These aluminoborane compounds have very attractive properties for hydrogen storage: high hydrogen capacity (i.e., 13.5, 12.9, and 12.4 wt % H, respectively) and attractive hydrogen desorption temperature (i.e., AlB_4H_(11) decomposes at ~125 °C). We have synthesized AlB_4H_(11) and studied its thermal desorption behavior using temperature-programmed desorption with mass spectrometry, gas volumetric (Sieverts) measurement, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, and solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Rehydrogenation of hydrogen-desorbed products was performed and encouraging evidence of at least partial reversibility for hydrogenation at relatively mild conditions is observed. Our chemical analysis indicates that the formula for the compound is closer to AlB_4H_(12) than AlB_4H_(11)

Fecal Lactoferrin and Other Stool Markers during Normal Pregnancy and in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: A Prospective Study and Review of the Literature

Introduction: Management of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) - both Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) - during pregnancy can be challenging since most monitoring tools available in nonpregnant patients are contraindicated.Objectives: The aim of the study was to test whether fecal inflammatory markers - specifically fecal lactoferrin - physiologically change during normal pregnancy as a prerequisite to use them to monitor IBD activity during pregnancy.Methods: Fecal lactoferrin was tested in healthy pregnant and nonpregnant women from the same geographic area and age range (18-40 years) - all negative for clinical gastrointestinal tract inflammation. A retrospective review of fecal lactoferrin levels contrasted with the Simple Endoscopic Score for CD, and the Disease Activity Index for UC was also performed in women with active IBDs within the same age range and geographical area.Results: In 30 nonpregnant subjects, fecal lactoferrin levels were 0.87 \ub1 1.08 mug/g. In 49 pregnant subjects, levels were 0.59 \ub1 0.83, 0.87 \ub1 1.13, and 0.85 \ub1 1.06 mug/g during the first, second, and third trimester, respectively (p = 0.64), with average levels for the 3 trimesters of 0.81 \ub1 1.04 mug/g (p = 0.61 compared to nonpregnant subjects). Sequential fecal lactoferrin levels (n = 26) did not differ from one trimester to the other in the individual subjects (p = 0.80). In 45 female IBD patients (27 with CD and 18 with UC), fecal lactoferrin levels were correlated with disease activity as defined by the endoscopic scores: 218, 688, and 1,175 mug/g for CD and 931, 2,088, and 2,509 mug/g for UC, respectively, for mild, moderate, and severe activity.Conclusions: Fecal lactoferrin levels during normal pregnancy are superimposable to those of nonpregnant women and significantly below levels in women of the same childbearing age with active IBDs. Additional published data - reviewed in this atricle - and our own indicate that fecal lactoferrin and other markers can be potentially used to monitor disease activity in pregnant IBD patients

Dramatic Plays as a Tool to Educate Young African-American Females about HIV/AIDS

Rates of HIV/AIDS transmission have increased substantially, particularly among young African American women. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HIV/AIDS is the number one killer for African American women aged 25 to 34. Given that many of these young women are contracting the disease in their late teens and early twenties, there is a need to develop interventions that directly address the needs of this group. The current study sought to assess the effectiveness of theater in increasing knowledge of HIV/AIDS and the likelihood of healthier sexual behavior and choices among 219 young African American women 18 to 39 years of age. Paired sample t-tests revealed that there were significant mean differences in knowledge and intended safe sex behavior after viewing the play. Young women who viewed the play reported increased knowledge of HIV and reported a higher likelihood of engaging in safer sex. Given the high rates of HIV/AIDS among young African American women, more innovative educational and prevention techniques are needed

Understanding students’ motivation towards proactive career behaviours through goal-setting theory and the job demands–resources model

The graduate labour market is highly competitive but little is known about why students vary in their development of employability. This study contributes to the literature by applying goal-setting theory and the job demands–resources model to investigate how motivational processes influence students’ proactive career behaviours. We tested four hypotheses using structural equation modelling and moderation/mediation analysis using a nested model approach; 432 undergraduates from 21 UK universities participated in this cross-sectional study. The results showed that students higher in mastery approach had greater perceived employability mediated by two proactive career behaviours (skill development and network building). Students’ career goal commitment was associated with all four proactive career behaviours (career planning, skill development, career consultation and network building). Students’ academic and employment workloads did not negatively impact their proactive career behaviours. University tutors and career services should therefore encourage students to set challenging career goals that reflect mastery approach

Metabolome-Informed Microbiome Analysis Refines Metadata Classifications and Reveals Unexpected Medication Transfer in Captive Cheetahs.

Even high-quality collection and reporting of study metadata in microbiome studies can lead to various forms of inadvertently missing or mischaracterized information that can alter the interpretation or outcome of the studies, especially with nonmodel organisms. Metabolomic profiling of fecal microbiome samples can provide empirical insight into unanticipated confounding factors that are not possible to obtain even from detailed care records. We illustrate this point using data from cheetahs from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The metabolomic characterization indicated that one cheetah had to be moved from the non-antibiotic-exposed group to the antibiotic-exposed group. The detection of the antibiotic in this second cheetah was likely due to grooming interactions with the cheetah that was administered antibiotics. Similarly, because transit time for stool is variable, fecal samples within the first few days of antibiotic prescription do not all contain detected antibiotics, and the microbiome is not yet affected. These insights significantly altered the way the samples were grouped for analysis (antibiotic versus no antibiotic) and the subsequent understanding of the effect of the antibiotics on the cheetah microbiome. Metabolomics also revealed information about numerous other medications and provided unexpected dietary insights that in turn improved our understanding of the molecular patterns on the impact on the community microbial structure. These results suggest that untargeted metabolomic data provide empirical evidence to correct records and aid in the monitoring of the health of nonmodel organisms in captivity, although we also expect that these methods may be appropriate for other social animals, such as cats.IMPORTANCE Metabolome-informed analyses can enhance omics studies by enabling the correct partitioning of samples by identifying hidden confounders inadvertently misrepresented or omitted from carefully curated metadata. We demonstrate here the utility of metabolomics in a study characterizing the microbiome associated with liver disease in cheetahs. Metabolome-informed reinterpretation of metagenome and metabolome profiles factored in an unexpected transfer of antibiotics, preventing misinterpretation of the data. Our work suggests that untargeted metabolomics can be used to verify, augment, and correct sample metadata to support improved grouping of sample data for microbiome analyses, here for nonmodel organisms in captivity. However, the techniques also suggest a path forward for correcting clinical information in microbiome studies more broadly to enable higher-precision analyses

Genetic Correlations of Fatty Acid Concentrations with Carcass Traits in Angus-Sired Beef Cattle

Fatty acid composition of beef is heritable in grain-fed calves. To select for beef that is more healthful, it is important to know the genetic correlations of specific fatty acid concentrations with carcass traits that have been under selection for several years. The most relevant fatty acids in beef for selection would be myristic acid, because of its impact on healthfulness, and oleic acid, because of its amount in beef. Myristic acid has favorable genetic correlations with hot carcass weight, 12-13th rib subcutaneous fat thickness, and Warner-Bratzler shear force (-0.23, 0.27, and 0.31, respectively). Additionally, the genetic correlation of oleic acid with marbling is very strong and favorable (0.83). Unfortunately, myristic acid has a moderate antagonistic genetic correlation to marbling (0.31). In addition, oleic acid has weak to moderate antagonistic genetic correlations with hot carcass weight, 12-13th rib subcutaneous fat thickness, percentage kidney, pelvic, and heart fat, and Warner-Bratzler shear force (-0.14, 0.18, 0.36, and 0.12, respectively). Information about the genetic correlations of traditional carcass traits and fatty acid concentrations will enable us to create a selection scheme that will create more healthful beef that meets the other carcass characteristics desired by the consumer

Insect-inspired visual navigation on-board an autonomous robot: real-world routes encoded in a single layer network

Insect-Inspired models of visual navigation, that operate by scanning for familiar views of the world, have been shown to be capable of robust route navigation in simulation. These familiarity-based navigation algorithms operate by training an artificial neural network (ANN) with views from a training route, so that it can then output a familiarity score for any new view. In this paper we show that such an algorithm – with all computation performed on a small low-power robot – is capable of delivering reliable direction information along real-world outdoor routes, even when scenes contain few local landmarks and have high-levels of noise (from variable lighting and terrain). Indeed, routes can be precisely recapitulated and we show that the required computation and storage does not increase with the number of training views. Thus the ANN provides a compact representation of the knowledge needed to traverse a route. In fact, rather than losing information, there are instances where the use of an ANN ameliorates the problems of sub optimal paths caused by tortuous training routes. Our results suggest the feasibility of familiarity-based navigation for long-range autonomous visual homing

Quantifying patient- and hospital-level antimicrobial resistance dynamics in Staphylococcus aureus from routinely collected data

Introduction. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to all antibiotic classes has been found in the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus . The reported prevalence of these resistances varies, driven by within-host AMR evolution at the patient level, and between-host transmission at the hospital level. Without dense longitudinal sampling, pragmatic analysis of AMR dynamics at multiple levels using routine surveillance data is essential to inform control measures. Gap Statement. The value and limitations of routinely collected hospital data to gain insight into AMR dynamics at the hospital and individual levels simultaneously are unclear. Methodology. We explored S. aureus AMR diversity in 70 000 isolates from a UK paediatric hospital between 2000–2021, using electronic datasets containing multiple routinely collected isolates per patient with phenotypic antibiograms and information on hospitalization and antibiotic consumption. Results. At the hospital level, the proportion of isolates that were meticillin-resistant (MRSA) increased between 2014–2020 from 25–50 %, before sharply decreasing to 30%, likely due to a change in inpatient demographics. Temporal trends in the proportion of isolates resistant to different antibiotics were often correlated in MRSA, but independent in meticillin-susceptible S. aureus . Ciprofloxacin resistance in MRSA decreased from 70–40 % of tested isolates between 2007–2020, likely linked to a national policy to reduce fluoroquinolone usage in 2007. At the patient level, we identified frequent AMR diversity, with 4 % of patients ever positive for S. aureus simultaneously carrying, at some point, multiple isolates with different resistances. We detected changes over time in AMR diversity in 3 % of patients ever positive for S. aureus . These changes equally represented gain and loss of resistance. Conclusion. Within this routinely collected dataset, we found that 65 % of changes in resistance within a patient’s S. aureus population could not be explained by antibiotic exposure or between-patient transmission of bacteria, suggesting that within-host evolution via frequent gain and loss of AMR genes may be responsible for these changing AMR profiles. Our study highlights the value of exploring existing routine surveillance data to determine underlying mechanisms of AMR. These insights may substantially improve our understanding of the importance of antibiotic exposure variation, and the success of single S. aureus clones