Southern Dairy Farmers' Evaluation of Milk Handlers

Southern dairy farmers' perception of their cooperative's or proprietary handler's performance, level of satisfaction with the milk handler, and reasons for staying with the handler, or for shifting handlers, were evaluated. The data were from a 1989 mail survey of Southern dairy farmers. The dairy farmers' differing evaluations of their milk handlers depended on the type of handler they dealt with, geographic location, and/or the characteristics of the farm and farmer. Generally, dairy farmers were concerned about price, deductions, and assessments. The price farmers received appeared to be a significant factor affecting farmers' satisfaction level. There appeared to be a tradeoff between price and deductions versus service, and market and payment assurance. Dairy farmers wanted cooperatives to provide an assured market for members' milk.Cooperative, milk handler, proprietary handler, assured market, price, S-217, Agribusiness,

FACTORS INFLUENCING SOUTHERN DAIRY FARMERS' CHOICE OF MILK HANDLERS

Survey data of 2,538 dairy farmers located in 12 southern states were used to analyze the factors influencing farmers' choice of milk handlers. Results from a qualitative response model indicate that a combination of price and non-price factors contribute to dairy farmers' attitudes toward their milk handlers. Specifically, the decision to change milk handlers was significantly influenced by prices paid and deductions charged. However, non-price factors including field services, friendly personnel, and loyalty to a handler contributed to the longer term affiliation of dairy farmers with their milk handlers.Dairy farmers, Milk handlers, Market channels, Qualitative response, Marketing, Agribusiness,

Overexpression of TIMP-1 in Embryonic Stem Cells Attenuates Adverse Cardiac Remodeling Following Myocardial Infarction

Transplanted embryonic stem (ES) cells, following myocardial infarction (MI), contribute to limited cardiac repair and regeneration with improved function. Therefore. novel strategies are still needed to understand the effects of genetically modified transplanted stem cells on cardiac remodeling. The present study evaluates whether transplanted mouse ES cells overexpressing TIMP-1, an antiapoptotic and antifibrotic protein. can enhance cardiac myocyte differentiation, inhibit native cardiac myocyte apoptosis, reduce fibrosis, and improve cardiac function in the infarcted myocardium. MI was produced in C57BL/6 mice by coronary artery ligation. TIMP-1-ES cells, ES cells, or culture medium (control) were transplanted into the peri-infarct region of the heart. Immunofluorescence, TUNEL staining, caspase-3 activity. ELISAs, histology, and echocardiography were used to identify newly differentiated cardiac myocytes and assess apoptosis, fibrosis, and heart function. Two weeks post-MI, significantly (p \u3c 0.05) enhanced engraftment and cardiac myocyte differentiation was observed in TIMP-1-ES cell-transplanted hearts compared with hearts transplanted with ES cells and control. Hearts transplanted with TIMP-1-ES cells demonstrated a reduction in apoptosis as well as an increase (p \u3c 0.05) in p-Akt activity compared with ES cells or culture media controls. Infarct size and interstitial and vascular fibrosis were significantly (p \u3c 0.05) decreased in the TIMP-1-ES cell group compared to controls. Furthermore. MMP-9. a key profibrotic protein, was significantly (p \u3c 0.01) reduced following TIMP-1-ES cell transplantation. Echocardiography data showed fractional shortening and ejection fraction were significantly (p \u3c 0.05) improved in the TIMP-1-ES cell group compared with respective controls. Our data suggest that transplanted ES cells overexpressing TIMP-1 attenuate adverse myocardial remodeling and improve cardiac function compared with ES cells that may have therapeutic potential in regenerative medicine

Cytotoxic Activity of Hexane Extracts of Psidium guajava L (Myrtaceae) and Cassia alata L (Caesalpineaceae) in Kasumi-1 and OV2008 Cancer Cell Lines

Purpose: The cytotoxic effects of hexane extracts of Cassia alata and Psidium guajava leaves were evaluated in OV2008 ovarian and Kasumi-1 leukemia cancer cell lines, respectively.Methods: The cancer cells were exposed to various concentrations of either C. alata (100 – 180 μg/ml) or P. guajava (100 – 500 μg/ml) leaf extract for 24 h. Following treatment, the cells were evaluated using the 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay to determine the cytotoxic effect of the extracts. C. alata extract was also analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).Results: C. alata and P. guajava extracts produced significant (p < 0.05) cytotoxicity in OV2008 and Kasumi-1 cell lines, respectively. The IC50 values were 160 μg/ml for C. alata and 200 μg/ml for P guajava. Further, the cytotoxicity exhibited by C. alata might be attributable to the flavonoid, kaempferol, which was identified as a constituent of the extract.Conclusion: The results suggest that further chemical analysis and mechanistic investigations should be conducted on P. guajava and C. alata extracts to validate their potential uses for anticancer therapy.Keywords: P. guajava, C. alata, Cytotoxicity, Kasumi-1, Cancer cell, OV200

A study of the radiation-reaction on a point charge that moves along a constant applied electric field in an electromagnetic Bopp-Land\'e-Thomas-Podolsky vacuum

The relativistic problem of motion of a classical electrical point charge that has been placed between the plates of a charged capacitor and then released from rest is well-posed in Bopp-Land\'e-Thomas-Podolsky (BLTP) electrodynamics. That theory introduces a single new parameter, Bopp's $\varkappa$, a reciprocal length. The present article concerns the small-$\varkappa$ regime. Radiation-reaction effects on the motion are shown to appear at order $\varkappa^3$. It is found that in the initial phase the motion is accurately accounted for by test particle theory, with the inertia determined by the bare mass of the particle. Subsequently, radiation-reaction effects cause substantial deviations from the test particle motion.Comment: 13 pages, 1 improved figure; invited paper in remembrance of Detlef Duerr; referee's comments have been implemented in this mildly revised version; accepted for publication in a memorial collectio

Fibroblast Growth Factor-9 Enhances M2 Macrophage Differentiation and Attenuates Adverse Cardiac Remodeling in the Infarcted Diabetic Heart

Inflammation has been implicated as a perpetrator of diabetes and its associated complications. Monocytes, key mediators of inflammation, differentiate into pro-inflammatory M1 macrophages and anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages upon infiltration of damaged tissue. However, the inflammatory cell types, which propagate diabetes progression and consequential adverse disorders, remain unclear. The current study was undertaken to assess monocyte infiltration and the role of fibroblast growth factor-9 (FGF-9) on monocyte to macrophage differentiation and cardioprotection in the diabetic infarcted heart. Db/db diabetic mice were assigned to sham, myocardial infarction (MI), and MI+FGF-9 groups. MI was induced by permanent coronary artery ligation and animals were subjected to 2D transthoracic echocardiography two weeks post-surgery. Immunohistochemical and immunoassay results from heart samples collected suggest significantly increased infiltration of monocytes (Mean +/- SEM; MI: 2.02% +/- 0.23% vs. Sham 0.75% +/- 0.07%; p \u3c 0.05) and associated pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-alpha, MCP-1, and IL-6), adverse cardiac remodeling (Mean +/- SEM; MI: 33% +/- 3.04% vs. Sham 2.2% +/- 0.33%; p \u3c 0.05), and left ventricular dysfunction (Mean +/- SEM; MI: 35.4% +/- 1.25% vs. Sham 49.19% +/- 1.07%; p \u3c 0.05) in the MI group. Importantly, treatment of diabetic infarcted myocardium with FGF-9 resulted in significantly decreased monocyte infiltration (Mean +/- SEM; MI+FGF-9: 1.39% +/- 0.1% vs. MI: 2.02% +/- 0.23%; p \u3c 0.05), increased M2 macrophage differentiation (Mean +/- SEM; MI+FGF-9: 4.82% +/- 0.86% vs. MI: 0.85% +/- 0.3%; p \u3c 0.05) and associated anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10 and IL-1RA), reduced adverse remodeling (Mean +/- SEM; MI+FGF-9: 11.59% +/- 1.2% vs. MI: 33% +/- 3.04%; p \u3c 0.05), and improved cardiac function (Fractional shortening, Mean +/- SEM; MI+FGF-9: 41.51% +/- 1.68% vs. MI: 35.4% +/- 1.25%; p \u3c 0.05). In conclusion, our data suggest FGF-9 possesses novel therapeutic potential in its ability to mediate monocyte to M2 differentiation and confer cardiac protection in the post-MI diabetic heart