Comparison of Two Systems of Pasture Allocation on Milking Intervals and Total Daily Milk Yield of Dairy Cows in a Pasture-Based Automatic Milking System

In pasture-based automatic milking systems (AMS), cows usually have a lower milking frequency (MF, the number of milking events in any 24 h period) than those reported in indoor housing systems (García and Fulkerson 2005). Moreover, milking intervals (MI, the interval between consecutive milking events, measured at every milking session in hours since the previous milking event) are higher, with up to 30% of milking events occurring with intervals above 16 h in grazing systems (NA Lyons unpublished data). Milking events occurring with long intervals have a negative effect on milk yield (Schmidt 1960) and udder health (Hammer et al. 2012). Recognising that feed is the main incentive to achieve voluntary cow traffic (Prescott et al. 1998), some initial reports have depicted the potential importance and effect of incentives put in place per day (Jago et al. 2007). Yet to date no research has been published that quantifies the actual impact of number of feed allocations, on animal performance in pasture-based systems. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of 2 different grazing treatments (2-way grazing [2WG] versus 3-way grazing [3WG] allocations of feed per 24 h period), on MI, MF and daily milk yield (DY, in kg milk/d). It was hypothesised that an increase in frequency of feed allocation would result in increased cow traffic, MF and DY

Animal Behaviour and Pasture Depletion in a Pasture-Based Automatic Milking System

In an automatic milking system (AMS) feed is used as an incentive to encourage voluntary and distributed cow traffic to the milking unit (Prescott et al. 1998). Therefore the timing, placement and size of feed allocations need to be managed in order to achieve targeted milking events per day. Behavioural studies allow the construction of time budgets (Gibb et al. 1998), and aid understanding of how cows modify their behaviour under different management regimes (Johansson et al. 1999). To date there are no published reports on how different location of feed incentives affect cows’ behaviour upon arrival at a pasture allocation in pasture-based AMS. A behavioural study was conducted in a pasture-based AMS where cows received supplementary feed either prior to (PRE), or immediately after (POST) milking. It was hypothesised that as PRE cows would have spent comparatively more time than POST cows since they ate their respective allocation of supplementary feed (at the time of exiting the dairy), they would be more motivated to go to the paddock in search of additional feed. Thus they would graze more intensively once they entered their pasture allocation

Weight loss for obese prostate cancer patients on androgen deprivation therapy

PURPOSE: Excess fat mass (FM) contributes to poor prostate cancer (PCa) prognosis and comorbidity. However, FM gain is a common side effect of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). We examined the efficacy of a 12-wk weight loss intervention to reduce FM and maintain lean mass (LM) in ADT-treated obese PCa patients. METHODS: Fourteen ADT-treated obese PCa patients (72 ± 9 yr, 39.7% ± 5.4% body fat) were recruited for a self-controlled prospective study, with 11 completing the 6-wk control period, followed by a 12-wk intervention comprising 300 min·wk-1 of exercise including supervised resistance training and home-based aerobic exercise, and dietitian consultations advising a daily energy deficit (2100-4200 kJ) and protein supplementation. Body composition was assessed by dual x-ray absorptiometry. Secondary outcomes included muscle strength (one-repetition maximum), cardiorespiratory fitness (maximal oxygen consumption), and blood biomarkers. RESULTS: There were no significant changes during the control period. Patients attended 89% of supervised exercise sessions and 100% of dietitian consultations. No changes in physical activity or energy intake were observed. During the intervention, patients experienced significant reductions in weight (-2.8 ± 3.2 kg, P = 0.016), FM (-2.8 ± 2.6 kg, P \u3c 0.001), and trunk FM (-1.8 ± 1.4 kg, P \u3c 0.001), with LM preserved (-0.05 ± 1.6 kg, P = 0.805). Muscle strength (4.6%-24.7%, P \u3c 0.010) and maximal oxygen consumption (3.5 ± 4.7 mL·min-1·kg-1, P = 0.041) significantly improved. Leptin significantly decreased (-2.2 (-2.7 to 0.5) ng·mL-1, P = 0.016) with no other changes in blood biomarkers such as testosterone and lipids (P = 0.051-0.765); however, C-reactive protein (rs = -0.670, P = 0.024) and triglycerides (r = -0.667, P = 0.025) were associated with individual changes in LM. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows preliminary efficacy for an exercise and nutrition weight loss intervention to reduce FM, maintain LM, and improve muscle strength and cardiorespiratory fitness in ADT-treated obese PCa patients. The change in body composition may affect blood biomarkers associated with obesity and PCa progression; however, further research is required

Maintaining weight loss in obese men with prostate cancer following a supervised exercise and nutrition program—A pilot study

Supervised exercise and nutrition programs can mitigate or reverse androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) induced fat mass (FM) gain, lean mass (LM) loss, and impaired physical function. It is unclear whether these benefits are retained following transition to self-management. This study examined the effect of a home-based weight maintenance program on body composition and physical function in obese men with prostate cancer (PCa) on ADT following a 12-week supervised weight loss intervention. Eleven obese PCa patients (74 ± 5 years, 40.0 ± 4.9% body fat) on ADT ( \u3e 6 months) com-pleted a 12-week self-managed home-based weight maintenance program consisting of 150 min/week of aerobic and resistance training while maintaining a healthy balanced diet. Body composition (DXA), muscle strength (1RM), and cardiorespiratory fitness (400 m walk) were assessed. Significant reductions in weight (−2.8 ± 3.2 kg) and FM (−2.8 ± 2.6 kg), preservation of LM (−0.05 ± 1.6 kg), and improvements in muscle strength and VO2max were achieved across the supervised intervention. Across the home-based program, no significant changes were observed in weight (−0.6 ± 2.8 kg, p = 0.508), FM (0.2 ± 1.4 kg, p = 0.619), LM (−0.8 ± 1.6 kg, p = 0.146), muscle strength (−0.2 to 4.1%, p = 0.086–0.745), or estimated VO2max (0.3 ± 2.1 mL/min/kg, p = 0.649). Self-managed, home-based exercise and nutrition programs are a viable strategy to promote maintenance of body composition and physical function following a supervised intervention in obese PCa patients on ADT

Incomplete milkings in automatic milking systems

Ponencia presentada en 2nd International Conference on Precision Dairy Farming. Rochester, Minnesota, 18 al 20 de junio de 2019.Fil: Masía, Fernando Miguel. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias. Cátedra de Producción de Leche; Argentina.Fil: Masía, Fernando Miguel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET); Argentina.Fil: Lyons, Nicolas A. NSW Government. Department of Primary Industries; Australia.Fil: Piccardi, Mónica Belén. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Piccardi, Mónica Belén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET); Argentina.Fil: Balzarini, Mónica Graciela. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias. Cátedra de Estadística y Biometría; Argentina.Fil: Balzarini, Mónica Graciela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). Centro Científico Tecnológico (CCT Córdoba); Argentina.Fil: Hovey, Russell C. University of California, Davis. Department of Animal Science; Estados Unidos de América.Fil: Garcia, Sergio C. The University of Sydney. School of Life and Environmental Sciences; Australia.Fil: Garcia, Sergio C. The University of Sydney. Sydney Institute of Agriculture; Australia.Automatic milking systems (AMS) rely on voluntary and distributed attendance of cows to the dairy facility throughout lactation. This generates variation in milking intervals (MI), defined as the period of time that elapses between two consecutive milking events, measured in hours. Farmers operating AMS need to manage variation in MI within and between cows. In AMS a robotic arm locates and attaches a cup onto each individual teat. Success of this task depends on several cow and equipment factors, including localisation and insertion of the teats, which is related to the amount of milk in the udder. Unsuccessful attachment of the cups to one or more teats, and premature cup removal, are some of the causes of incomplete milkings (Lyons et al., 2014). The aim of this work was to cluster cows according to the risk of having incomplete milkings and to characterize the groups regarding MI, peak yield (Lpeak) and days to peak yield (Dpeak).http://www.precisiondairyfarming.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/PrecisionDairy2019_Proceedings.pdfFil: Masía, Fernando Miguel. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias. Cátedra de Producción de Leche; Argentina.Fil: Masía, Fernando Miguel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET); Argentina.Fil: Lyons, Nicolas A. NSW Government. Department of Primary Industries; Australia.Fil: Piccardi, Mónica Belén. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Piccardi, Mónica Belén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET); Argentina.Fil: Balzarini, Mónica Graciela. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias. Cátedra de Estadística y Biometría; Argentina.Fil: Balzarini, Mónica Graciela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). Centro Científico Tecnológico (CCT Córdoba); Argentina.Fil: Hovey, Russell C. University of California, Davis. Department of Animal Science; Estados Unidos de América.Fil: Garcia, Sergio C. The University of Sydney. School of Life and Environmental Sciences; Australia.Fil: Garcia, Sergio C. The University of Sydney. Sydney Institute of Agriculture; Australia

Evidence for the exclusive decay Bc+- to J/psi pi+- and measurement of the mass of the Bc meson

We report first evidence for a fully reconstructed decay mode of the B_c^{\pm} meson in the channel B_c^{\pm} \to J/psi \pi^{\pm}, with J/psi \to mu^+mu^-. The analysis is based on an integrated luminosity of 360 pb$^{-1} in p\bar{p} collisions at 1.96 TeV center of mass energy collected by the Collider Detector at Fermilab. We observe 14.6 \pm 4.6 signal events with a background of 7.1 \pm 0.9 events, and a fit to the J/psi pi^{\pm} mass spectrum yields a B_c^{\pm} mass of 6285.7 \pm 5.3(stat) \pm 1.2(syst) MeV/c^2. The probability of a peak of this magnitude occurring by random fluctuation in the search region is estimated as 0.012%.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures. Version 3, accepted by PR

Search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu decay channel, where l = e or mu, in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is presented. The data were collected at the LHC, with the CMS detector, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 inverse femtobarns. No significant excess is observed above the background expectation, and upper limits are set on the Higgs boson production cross section. The presence of the standard model Higgs boson with a mass in the 270-440 GeV range is excluded at 95% confidence level.Comment: Submitted to JHE

Measurement of the t t-bar production cross section in the dilepton channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The t t-bar production cross section (sigma[t t-bar]) is measured in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV in data collected by the CMS experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.3 inverse femtobarns. The measurement is performed in events with two leptons (electrons or muons) in the final state, at least two jets identified as jets originating from b quarks, and the presence of an imbalance in transverse momentum. The measured value of sigma[t t-bar] for a top-quark mass of 172.5 GeV is 161.9 +/- 2.5 (stat.) +5.1/-5.0 (syst.) +/- 3.6(lumi.) pb, consistent with the prediction of the standard model.Comment: Replaced with published version. Included journal reference and DO

Combined search for the quarks of a sequential fourth generation

Results are presented from a search for a fourth generation of quarks produced singly or in pairs in a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 inverse femtobarns recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2011. A novel strategy has been developed for a combined search for quarks of the up and down type in decay channels with at least one isolated muon or electron. Limits on the mass of the fourth-generation quarks and the relevant Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix elements are derived in the context of a simple extension of the standard model with a sequential fourth generation of fermions. The existence of mass-degenerate fourth-generation quarks with masses below 685 GeV is excluded at 95% confidence level for minimal off-diagonal mixing between the third- and the fourth-generation quarks. With a mass difference of 25 GeV between the quark masses, the obtained limit on the masses of the fourth-generation quarks shifts by about +/- 20 GeV. These results significantly reduce the allowed parameter space for a fourth generation of fermions.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Search for anomalous t t-bar production in the highly-boosted all-hadronic final state

A search is presented for a massive particle, generically referred to as a Z', decaying into a t t-bar pair. The search focuses on Z' resonances that are sufficiently massive to produce highly Lorentz-boosted top quarks, which yield collimated decay products that are partially or fully merged into single jets. The analysis uses new methods to analyze jet substructure, providing suppression of the non-top multijet backgrounds. The analysis is based on a data sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 inverse femtobarns. Upper limits in the range of 1 pb are set on the product of the production cross section and branching fraction for a topcolor Z' modeled for several widths, as well as for a Randall--Sundrum Kaluza--Klein gluon. In addition, the results constrain any enhancement in t t-bar production beyond expectations of the standard model for t t-bar invariant masses larger than 1 TeV.Comment: Submitted to the Journal of High Energy Physics; this version includes a minor typo correction that will be submitted as an erratu