Tax Reform: The Cure to the United States’ Economic Slowdown

Benjamin Franklin once said, “The only two certainties in life are death and taxes.” This infamous saying is as true today as it was more than 200 years ago when it was coined; the only difference between taxes today and taxes in the days of Ben Franklin is the complexity of how taxes are managed. As the American economy teeters on the brink of its second recession in four years, tax reform may be the solution to the economic situation the United States finds itself in today

Key to the 2012 Presidential Election: The Philadelphia Suburbs

Mitt Romney or Barack Obama: this is the choice Pennsylvanian voters will have in November as the 2012 presidential election draws closer. The voters of Pennsylvania will be at the height of importance in the history of American presidential elections, playing a key role as one of the leading battleground states in this upcoming election. With twenty electoral votes, tied for the fifth most of any state in the country, both campaigns will look to focus a great amount of time and money on trying to win this crucial state. And at the center of this fierce battle between the current GOP presumptive nominee and the President of the United States are four counties that comprise the suburbs of Philadelphia. These counties will ultimately decide the fate of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes, and possibly even the election itself

Amino acids in the uterine luminal fluid reflects the temporal changes in transporter expression in the endometrium and conceptus during early pregnancy in cattle

In cattle, conceptus-maternal interactions are critical for the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. A major component of this early interaction involves the transport of nutrients and secretion of key molecules by uterine epithelial cells to help support conceptus development during the peri-implantation period of pregnancy. Objectives were to: 1) analyze temporal changes in the amino acid (AA) content of uterine luminal fluid (ULF) during the bovine estrous cycle; 2) understand conceptus-induced alterations in AA content; 3) determine expression of AA transporters in the endometrium and conceptus; and 4) determine how these transporters are modulated by (Progesterone) P4. Concentrations of aspartic acid, arginine, glutamine, histidine, lysine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine and tyrosine decreased on Day 16 of the estrous cycle but increased on Day 19 in pregnant heifers (P < 0.05). Glutamic acid only increased in pregnant heifers on Day 19 (P,0.001). Asparagine concentrations were greater in ULF of cyclic compared to pregnant heifers on Day 7 (P < 0.05) while valine concentrations were higher in pregnant heifers on Day 16 (P < 0.05). Temporal changes in expression of the cationic AA transporters SLC7A1 SLC7A4 and SLC7A6 occurred in the endometrium during the estrous cycle/early pregnancy coordinate with changes in conceptus expression of SLC7A4, SLC7A2 and SLC7A1 (P < 0.05). Only one acidic AA transporter (SLC1A5) increased in the endometrium while conceptus expression of SLC1A4 increased (P < 0.05). The neutral AA transporters SLC38A2 and SLC7A5 increased in the endometrium in a temporal manner while conceptus expression of SLC38A7, SLC43A2, SLC38A11 and SLC7A8 also increased (P < 0.05). P4 modified the expression of SLC1A1, -1A4, -1A5, -38A2 , -38A4, -38A7, -43A2, -6A14, -7A1, -7A5 and -7A7 in the endometrium. Results demonstrate that temporal changes in AA in the ULF reflect changes in transporter expression in the endometrium and conceptus during early pregnancy in cattle, some of which are modified by P4. © 2014 Forde et al

Response to dietary phosphorus deficiency is affected by genetic background in growing pigs

Concern over the environmental effect of P excretion from pig production has led to reduced dietary P supplementation. To examine how genetics influence P utilization, 94 gilts sired by 2 genetic lines (PIC337 and PIC280) were housed individually and fed either a P-adequate diet (PA) or a 20% P-deficient diet (PD) for 14 wk. Initially and monthly, blood samples were collected and BW recorded after an overnight fast. Growth performance and plasma indicators of P status were determined monthly. At the end of the trial, carcass traits, meat quality, bone strength, and ash percentage were determined. Pigs fed the PD diet had decreased (P \u3c 0.05) plasma P concentrations and poorer G:F (P \u3c 0.05) over the length of the trial. After 4 wk on trial, pigs fed the PD diet had increased (P \u3c 0.05) plasma 1,25(OH)2D3 and decreased (P \u3c 0.05) plasma parathyroid hormone compared with those fed the PA diet. At the end of the trial, pigs fed the PD diet had decreased (P \u3c 0.05) BW, HCW, and percentage fat-free lean and tended to have decreased LM area (P = 0.06) and marbling (P= 0.09) and greater (P = 0.12) 10th-rib backfat than pigs fed the PA diet. Additionally, animals fed the PD diet had weaker bones and also decreased (P \u3c 0.05) ash percentage and increased (P \u3c 0.05) concentrations of 1α-hydroxylase and parathyroid hormone receptor mRNA in kidney tissue. Regardless of dietary treatment, PIC337-sired pigs consumed more feed and gained more BW than their PIC280-sired counterparts (P \u3c 0.05) during the study. The PIC337-sired pigs also had greater (P \u3c 0.05) HCW, larger (P \u3c 0.01) LM area, and tended to have (P = 0.07) greater dressing percentage. Meat from the PIC337-sired pigs also tended to have greater (P = 0.12) concentrations of lactate but decreased (P = 0.07) concentrations of total glucose units 24 h postslaughter. Although plasma 1,25(OH)2D3 concentrations were elevated (P \u3c 0.05) in all the animals fed the PD diet, this elevation due to P deficiency tended (P = 0.09) to be greater in the PIC337-sired pigs after 12 wk on the treatment. The PIC337-sired pigs had stronger (P \u3c 0.01) bones with greater ash percentage than the PIC280-sired pigs. The difference in the strength of the radii between the PIC337-sired pigs fed the PA and PD diets was greater than their PIC280-sired counterparts, which resulted in sire line × treatment interactions (P \u3c 0.05). These data indicate differing mechanisms of P utilization between these genetic lines. Elucidating these mechanisms may lead to strategies to increase efficiency of growth in a more environmentally friendly manner

Sexually dimorphic gene expression in bovine conceptuses at the initiation of implantation

In cattle, maternal recognition of pregnancy occurs on Day 16 via secretion of interferon tau (IFNT) by the conceptus. The endometrium can distinguish between embryos with different developmental competencies. In eutherian mammals, X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) is required to ensure an equal transcriptional level of most X-linked genes for both male and female embryos in adult tissues, but this process is markedly different in cattle than mice. We examined how sexual dimorphism affected conceptus transcript abundance and amino acid composition as well as the endometrial transcriptome during the peri-implantation period of pregnancy. Of the 5132 genes that were differentially expressed on Day 19 in male compared to female conceptuses, 2.7% were located on the X-chromosome. Concentrations of specific amino acids were higher in the uterine luminal fluid of male compared to female conceptuses, while female conceptuses had higher transcript abundance of specific amino acid transporters (SLC6A19 and SLC1A35). Of note, the endometrial transcriptome was not different in cattle gestating a male or a female conceptus. These data support the hypothesis that, far from being a blastocyst specific phenomenon, XCI is incomplete before and during implantation in cattle. Despite differences in transcript abundance and amino acid utilization in male versus female conceptuses, the sex of the conceptus itself does not elicit a different transcriptomic response in the endometrium

Conceptus-induced, interferon tau-dependent gene expression in bovine endometrial epithelial and stromal cells†

International audienceAbstract Bovine endometrium consists of epithelial and stromal cells that respond to conceptus interferon tau (IFNT), the maternal recognition of pregnancy (MRP) signal, by increasing expression of IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs). Endometrial epithelial and stromal-cell-specific ISGs are largely unknown but hypothesized to have essential functions during pregnancy establishment. Bovine endometrial epithelial cells were cultured in inserts above stromal fibroblast (SF) cells for 6 h in medium alone or with IFNT. The epithelial and SF transcriptomic response was analyzed separately using RNA sequencing and compared to a list of 369 DEGs recently identified in intact bovine endometrium in response to elongating bovine conceptuses and IFNT. Bovine endometrial epithelial and SF shared 223 and 70 DEGs in common with the list of 369 endometrial DEGs. Well-known ISGs identified in the epithelial and SF were ISG15, MX1, MX2, and OAS2. DEGs identified in the epithelial but not SF included a number of IRF molecules (IRF1, IRF2, IRF3, and IRF8), mitochondria SLC transporters (SLC25A19, SLC25A28, and SLC25A30), and a ghrelin receptor. Expression of ZC3HAV1, an anti-retroviral gene, increased specifically within the SF. Gene ontology analysis identified the type I IFN signaling pathway and activation of nuclear factor kappa B transcription factors as biological processes associated with the epithelial cell DEGs. This study has identified biologically relevant IFNT-stimulated genes within specific endometrial cell types. The findings provide critical information regarding the effects of conceptus IFNT on specific endometrial compartments during early developmental processes in cattle

Implementation and evaluation of the SPRINT protocol for tight glycaemic control in critically ill patients: a clinical practice change

SPRINT was implemented as a clinical practice change in a general intensive care unit (ICU). The objective of this study was to measure the effect of the SPRINT protocol on glycaemic control and mortality compared to previous ICU control methods. Glycaemic control and mortality outcomes for 371 SPRINT patients with median acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE II) score 18 [IQR: 15-24] are compared to a 413 patient retrospective cohort with median APACHE II score of 18 [IQR: 15-23]