Performance of Meat Goats Grazing Winter Annual Grasses in the Piedmont of the Southeastern USA

In the Southeastern United States, meat goats (Capra hircus hircus) are becoming increasingly important contributors to the income of many small producers. Meat goats perform well in grazing situations if grazing management practices match their grazing behavior. Nevertheless, little research data are available from the region specifically directed toward forage feeding programs for goats reared for meat production. Hart et al. (1993) reported that growing Alpine, Angora and Nubian kids grazed on high quality Triticum aestivum forage gained 50 g/d, whereas Kiesling et al. (1994) reported gains ranging from 65 to 141 g/d in growing Angora goats grazing Secale cereale. This 3-year (YR) grazing study was designed to evaluate the performance of replacement does and wethers grazed on Secale cereale (SC, var. Elbon), Lolium multiflorum (LM, var. Marshall) and Triticum secale (TS, var. Resource Seeds 102)

Intake and Digestibility of Black Locust Foliage Fed to Growing Goat Wethers

Leaves of Black locust (BL, Robinia pseudoacacia), a native southeastern United States tree species known to contain substantial levels of condensed tannins, were fed to 16, four month old (20.4 kg body weight [BW]) Boer wether goats (Capra hircus hircus) to determine their effects on intake and digestibility. Four diets were stall fed in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications. Diets included: (1) 100% eastern gamagrass (EGH; Tripsacum dactyloides) hay; (2) 70% EGH and 30% mixture of ground corn (GC; Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max) meal (SBM); (3) 75% EGH and 25% fresh BL leaves; (4) 50% EGH and 50% fresh BL leaves. Diet apparent digestibilities of dry matter (DM) [62.4, 68.2, 57.6 and 60.6%] and crude protein (CP) [62.8, 72.7, 55.5, 60.6%] were respectively different (P\u3c .03). Goats that consumed diet 1 and diet 2 had higher digestibilities (P\u3c .01) of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) than goats consuming diet 3 and 4. Lignin digestibilities for diet 3 (-56.7%) and diet 4 (-49.3%) were negative due to the probable complexing of tannins with the CP fraction. Intake of DM was similar across diets. The overall differences in the diets may be related to the chemical nature of tannins present in BL leaves

Mineral Concentration of Herbage from Three Paulownia Species Used for Goat Browse

Goats naturally prefer a high proportion of browse in their diets. Therefore, research was initiated to investigate various silvo-pastoral production systems. In May 1997, six Paulownia treatments were planted in a randomized complete block experiment with six replications. Trees were between 6 and 12 cm in height at planting. Treatments included: P. fortunei seedlings, P. tomentosa seedlings, P. elongata seedlings, and three P. elongata clones. Each 4-m wide plot contained a single row of 12 trees with an intra-row spacing of 1 m. Leaf samples were analyzed from all six replications to determine mineral concentration in October 1997, and June and August 1998. Ca and P concentrations varied widely, and the Ca:P ratio exceeded the desired 2:1 with a range from 2.7:1 to 10.1:1. In October 1997, concentrations of Ca were similar in leaf laminae and petioles (1.26%), whereas P concentrations were twice as high in laminae (0.19%) as in petioles (0.09%). In October 1997, laminae from seedlings contained greater concentrations of Ca, Fe, and Zn than did laminae from clones, whereas the opposite was true for every element, with the exception of Fe, in June 1998. By August 1998, these differences had disappeared. Regardless of sampling date and leaf part, concentrations of Ca, Mg, K, Fe, Mn and Zn were sufficient to fulfill goat nutritional requirements, whereas P concentrations were too low. Goats readily browsed Paulownia laminae and no clear preference trends were observed between treatments

Bioengineering Dermo-Epidermal Skin Grafts with Blood and Lymphatic Capillaries

The first bioengineered, autologous, dermo-epidermal skin grafts are presently undergoing clinical trials; hence, it is reasonable to envisage the next clinical step at the forefront of plastic and burn surgery, which is the generation of autologous skin grafts that contain vascular plexuses, preformed in vitro. As the importance of the blood, and particularly the lymphatic vascular system, is increasingly recognized, it is attractive to engineer both human blood and lymphatic vessels in one tissue or organ graft. We show here that functional lymphatic capillaries can be generated using three-dimensional hydrogels. Like normal lymphatics, these capillaries branch, form lumen, and take up fluid in vitro and in vivo after transplantation onto immunocompromised rodents. Formation of lymphatic capillaries could be modulated by both lymphangiogenic and anti-lymphangiogenic stimuli, demonstrating the potential usefulness of this system for in vitro testing. Blood and lymphatic endothelial cells never intermixed during vessel development, nor did blood and lymphatic capillaries anastomose under the described circumstances. After transplantation of the engineered grafts, the human lymphatic capillaries anastomosed to the nude rat's lymphatic plexus and supported fluid drainage. Successful preclinical results suggest that these skin grafts could be applied on patients suffering from severe skin defects

Goats to Control the Encroachment of Undesirable Brush and Woody Species in Cattle Pastures

Field studies were initiated in an abandoned, overgrown 8.4 ha orchard left untouched for 15 years to evaluate the effectiveness of using goats (Capra hircus hircus) to manage undesirable vegetation. Goats alone (G: 30 does/ha) or cattle (Bos taurus) with goats (GC:17 does/ha and 3 steers/ha) were mob-grazed twice a year during four grazing seasons. Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora Thunb.) canopy area decreased from 12 to 2.5 m2 in grazed pastures and multiflora rose live canes were 100% in the control, 0% in G, and only 8% in GC at the completion of the study. Following two years of rest, cattle alone (C: 6 steers) or goats + cattle (GC: 9 goats and 6 steers) were rotationally grazed on the same site. Over four grazing seasons, brambles (Rubus spp.) and honeysuckle (Locifera japonica) vines were practically eliminated from grazed pastures. Multiflora rose bushes grew to a height of 1.8 m in C, but were kept low (avg .6 m) in GC (P \u3c 0.01). Similarly, multiflora rose canopy area was well controlled in GC (avg .5 m2), but increased to 7 m2 in C (P \u3c 0.03). Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) trees were browsed by goats and cattle and were practically eliminated from grazed pastures. Integrating goats into mountain grazing systems is a useful and environmentally-friendly management tool to keep these pastures in production

A systematic review of treating recurrent head and neck cancer: a reintroduction of brachytherapy with or without surgery.

Purpose: To review brachytherapy use in recurrent head and neck carcinoma (RHNC) with focus on its efficacy and complication rates. Material and methods: A literature search of PubMed, Ovid, Google Scholar, and Scopus was conducted from 1990 to 2017. Publications describing treatment of RHNC with brachytherapy with or without surgery were included. The focus of this review is on oncologic outcomes and the safety of brachytherapy in the recurrent setting. Results: Thirty studies involving RHNC treatment with brachytherapy were reviewed. Brachytherapy as adjunctive treatment to surgical resection appears to be associated with an improved local regional control and overall survival, when compared with the published rates for re-irradiation utilizing external beam radiotherapy (RT) or brachytherapy alone. Safety data remains variable with different isotopes and dose rates with implantable brachytherapy demonstrating a tolerable side effect profile. Conclusions: Although surgery remains a mainstay treatment for RHNC, intraoperative interstitial brachytherapy delivery as adjunctive therapy may improve the treatment outcome and may be associated with fewer complication rates as compared to reirradiation using external beam radiotherapy. Further investigations are required to elucidate the role of brachytherapy for RHNC

Use of an herbal dewormer for the control of gastric intestinal tract nematodes in meat goats

Two trials were conducted to determine the efficacy of a commercial herbal dewormer (HDC) to decrease fecal eggs per gram (EPG) in goats grazing either Festuca arundinacea (Trial 1) or Lolium multiflorum (Trial 2) pastures. In trial 1, EPG of goats orally-dosed with HDC decreased and leveled out at 742 EPG. In trial 2, oral fenbendazole and one or two weekly doses of HDC had no effect on EPG. Within the confines of these trials, HDC was mostly ineffective in reducing EPG in goats grazing pastures infected with GIT nematodes. (Spanish

Mutation signature analysis identifies increased mutation caused by tobacco smoke associated DNA adducts in larynx squamous cell carcinoma compared with oral cavity and oropharynx.

Squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (HNSCC) arise from mucosal keratinocytes of the upper aero-digestive tract. Despite a common cell of origin and similar driver-gene mutations which divert cell fate from differentiation to proliferation, HNSCC are considered a heterogeneous group of tumors categorized by site of origin within the aero-digestive mucosa, and the presence or absence of HPV infection. Tobacco use is a major driver of carcinogenesis in HNSCC and is a poor prognosticator that has previously been associated with poor immune cell infiltration and higher mutation numbers. Here, we study patterns of mutations in HNSCC that are derived from the specific nucleotide changes and their surrounding nucleotide context (also known as mutation signatures). We identify that mutations linked to DNA adducts associated with tobacco smoke exposure are predominantly found in the larynx. Presence of this class of mutation, termed COSMIC signature 4, is responsible for the increased burden of mutation in this anatomical sub-site. In addition, we show that another mutation pattern, COSMIC signature 5, is positively associated with age in HNSCC from non-smokers and that larynx SCC from non-smokers have a greater number of signature 5 mutations compared with other HNSCC sub-sites. Immunohistochemistry demonstrates a significantly lower Ki-67 proliferation index in size matched larynx SCC compared with oral cavity SCC and oropharynx SCC. Collectively, these observations support a model where larynx SCC are characterized by slower growth and increased susceptibility to mutations from tobacco carcinogen DNA adducts

A ROSAT Deep Survey of Four Small Gamma-Ray Burst Error Boxes

We have used the ROSAT High Resolution Imager to search for quiescent X-ray counterparts to four gamma-ray bursts which were localized to small (< 10 sq. arcmin.) error boxes with the Interplanetary Network. The observations took place years after the bursts, and the effective exposure times for each target varied from ~16 - 23 ks. We have not found any X-ray sources inside any of the error boxes. The 0.1 - 2.4 keV 3 sigma flux upper limits range from around 5 x 10^-14 erg cm^-2 s^-1 to 6 x 10^-13 erg cm^-2 s^-1 depending on the burst and the assumed shape of the quiescent spectrum. We consider four types of X-ray emitting galaxies (normal, AGN, faint, and star-forming) and use the flux upper limits to constrain their redshifts. We then use the GRB fluences to constrain the total energies of the bursts.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures; submitted to the Astrophysical Journa

Infrared Excess in the Be Star Delta Scorpii

We present infrared photometric observations of the Be binary system delta Scorpii obtained in 2006. The J,H and K magnitudes are the same within the errors compared to observations taken 10 months earlier. We derive the infrared excess from the observation and compare this to the color excess predicted by a radiative equilibrium model of the primary star and its circumstellar disk. We use a non-LTE computational code to model the gaseous envelope concentrated in the star's equatorial plane and calculate the expected spectral energy distribution and Halpha emission profile of the star with its circumstellar disk. Using the observed infrared excess of delta Sco, as well as Halpha spectroscopy bracketing the IR observations in time, we place constraints on the radial density distribution in the circumstellar disk. Because the disk exhibits variability in its density distribution, this work will be helpful in understanding its dynamics.Comment: 12 pages, 14 figures, to be published in PASP May 200