Price settings of weaned feeders

Efter att ha fått förfrågningar från branschen har vi valt att i vårt examensarbete undersöka hur den avvanda dikalven ska värderas vid förmedling från dikoproducenten till slutgödning hos specialiserade slaktuppfödare. Idag finns ingen tillgänglig prislista att utgå från vid prissättning av djuren utan priset riskerar att i vissa fall bli ofördelaktigt för endera parten. Detta gör att det blir svårt att få fram underlag för kalkyler vilket i sin tur kan leda till att producenter avstår från att nyinvestera eller avvecklar sin befintliga produktion. Vårt mål var att hitta ett system där varje kalv värderas utifrån dess kvalité, och som talar om på ett tydligt sätt för uppfödaren vilka egenskaper som leder till ett högre pris. Med ett sådant system skulle dikoproducenten i god tid kunna planera sin produktion efter vad marknaden efterfrågar och även i förväg kunna kalkylera med ?rätt? pris på de kalvar som produceras i den enskilda besättningen. Vi har tittat närmare på hur prissättningen på förmedlingskalvar (mjölkras) fungerar och även intervjuat producenter i branschen. Därtill har vi även gjort en studieresa till Canada och intervjuat dikalvsproducenter och kalvköpare där för att få en bild av hur prissättning och förmedling fungerar i ett land med omfattande och rent marknadsstyrd produktion. Under vårt besök i Canada besökte vi även två st custom feedlots. Detta är slutgödningsanläggningar där ägaren själv inte äger några djur utan enbart säljer tjänsten uppfödning till slakt och hyr ut platserna mot en hyresavgift. Vi ville undersöka hur de sätter hyrorna för dessa djur och se om det finns något i dessa system som vi kan använda oss av i vårt arbete. Det system som vi från början tänkte oss med en prissättningsmodell som man skulle använda för att bestämma en kalvs pris tror vi inte längre är den rätta lösningen. Detta för att uppfödare efterfrågar olika kalvar med olika kriterier. Till exempel en producent med intensiv uppfödning och hög andel kraftfoder i foderstaten efterfrågar en helt annan typ av kalv än en uppfödare som baserar sin foderstat på vallfoder och kanske även bete. Detta gör att det är svårt att säga vilka egenskaper som är värda ett högre pris då en egenskap som är positiv för den ene uppfödaren mycket väl kan vara negativ för en annan. Genom att öka tillgängligheten på de djur som finns ute till försäljning för de intresserade köparna så blir konkurrensen högre om de attraktiva djuren och priset därmed högre. Till säljarna ges signaler om vad som marknaden efterfrågar och de som vill producera en välbetald produkt har möjlighet att anpassa sin produktion enligt marknadens efterfrågan.In this study we have decided to evaluate the weaned calves’ value at the time of leaving the producers through agencies and on to special breeders for fattening. The beef cattle branch of trade is very interested in the subject and has asked us to do this research, and this has helped us in our determination to find a good answer. There is no available price-list to start from when pricing the animals today. Therefore the price might be adverse for one part in the deal. Because of this it is hard to collect information for proper calculations. Which lead to producers abandoning their dream of investing in their production and some of them might even give up producing and sell their animals. Our goal with the study was to find a system where each calf was valued for their individual qualities. These qualities should tell the breeder which characteristics that leads to a higher price for their product. With a system like this, beef cattle producers would be able to plan their production to suit the market demands. They would also be able to calculate with the right price and know how much they will be able to make on the calves in their existing herd. We looked closer at how pricing on agency calves (dairy breed) works and we have also interviewed producers in that branch of trade. We made an educational tour through the southwestern parts of Canada and interviewed producers there to get an idea about how pricing and mediating works in a country with extensive and production totally controlled by the market. During our Canada tour we visited two custom feedlots. This is the end station in the fattening of beef cattle where the owner does not own the animals. People that own custom feedlots just provide the service of fattening beef cattle for animal owners that don’t have the area, the feed or the time to do the work themselves, for a monthly fee. We wanted to evaluate how they rate the fees for this service and if there was anything in this type of system that we could use in this study. The system we originally planned with a model for pricing for exact value of calves is not a possibility and we don’t believe in that idea anymore. The biggest reason for this is that there are so many different producers with different criteria for what kind of calves they want to buy. For example, a producer with intensive production that feeds a lot of grain wants a totally different calf than a producer that fattens his beef cattle on pasture or with green feed. Because of this it is hard to tell which qualities are worth a higher price when a positive quality for one producer might be negative for another. By increasing the availability of animals on the sales market for interested buyers, the concurrence increases for the attractive cattle and the price goes up. For the sellers, signals are given about what the market demand and the producers have the chance to adjust their production after market demands

Aberrant WNT/β-catenin signaling in parathyroid carcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Parathyroid carcinoma (PC) is a very rare malignancy with a high tendency to recur locally, and recurrent disease is difficult to eradicate. In most western European countries and United States, these malignant neoplasms cause less than 1% of the cases with primary hyperparathyroidism, whereas incidence as high as 5% have been reported from Italy, Japan, and India. The molecular etiology of PC is poorly understood.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The APC (adenomatous polyposis coli) tumor suppressor gene was inactivated by DNA methylation in five analyzed PCs, as determined by RT-PCR, Western blotting, and quantitative bisulfite pyrosequencing analyses. This was accompanied by accumulation of stabilized active nonphosphorylated β-catenin, strongly suggesting aberrant activation of the WNT/β-catenin signaling pathway in these tumors. Treatment of a primary PC cell culture with the DNA hypomethylating agent 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (decitabine, Dacogen(r)) induced APC expression, reduced active nonphosphorylated β-catenin, inhibited cell growth, and caused apoptosis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Aberrant WNT/β-catenin signaling by lost expression and DNA methylation of APC, and accumulation of active nonphosphorylated β-catenin was observed in the analyzed PCs. We suggest that adjuvant epigenetic therapy should be considered as an additional option in the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic parathyroid carcinoma.</p

Sex differences in the prognostic significance of KRAS codons 12 and 13, and BRAF mutations in colorectal cancer: a cohort study

Background: Activating KRAS and BRAF mutations predict unresponsiveness to EGFR-targeting therapies in colorectal cancer (CRC), but their prognostic value needs further validation. In this study, we investigated the impact of KRAS codons 12 and 13, and BRAF mutations on survival from CRC, overall and stratified by sex, in a large prospective cohort study. Methods: KRAS codons 12 and 13, and BRAF mutations were analysed by pyrosequencing of tumours from 525 and 524 incident CRC cases in The Malmö Diet and Cancer Study. Associations with cancer-specific survival (CSS) were explored by Cox proportional hazards regression, unadjusted and adjusted for age, TNM stage, differentiation grade, vascular invasion and microsatellite instability (MSI) status. Results: KRAS and BRAF mutations were mutually exclusive. KRAS mutations were found in 191/ 525 (36.4%) cases, 82.2% of these mutations were in codon 12, 17.3% were in codon 13, and 0.5% cases had mutations in both codons. BRAF mutations were found in 78/524 (14.9%) cases. Overall, mutation in KRAS codon 13, but not codon 12, was associated with a significantly reduced CSS in unadjusted, but not in adjusted analysis, and BRAF mutation did not significantly affect survival. However, in microsatellite stable (MSS), but not in MSI tumours, an adverse prognostic impact of BRAF mutation was observed in unadjusted, but not in adjusted analysis. While KRAS mutation status was not significantly associated with sex, BRAF mutations were more common in women. BRAF mutation was not prognostic in women; but in men, BRAF mutation was associated with a significantly reduced CSS in overall adjusted analysis (HR = 3.50; 95% CI = 1.41–8.70), but not in unadjusted analysis. In men with MSS tumours, BRAF mutation was an independent factor of poor prognosis (HR = 4.91; 95% CI = 1.99–12.12). KRAS codon 13 mutation was associated with a significantly reduced CSS in women, but not in men in unadjusted, but not in adjusted analysis. Conclusions: Results from this cohort study demonstrate sex-related differences in the prognostic value of BRAF mutations in colorectal cancer, being particularly evident in men. These findings are novel and merit further validation

Allele-specific copy number analysis of tumor samples with aneuploidy and tumor heterogeneity

We describe a bioinformatic tool, Tumor Aberration Prediction Suite (TAPS), for the identification of allele-specific copy numbers in tumor samples using data from Affymetrix SNP arrays. It includes detailed visualization of genomic segment characteristics and iterative pattern recognition for copy number identification, and does not require patient-matched normal samples. TAPS can be used to identify chromosomal aberrations with high sensitivity even when the proportion of tumor cells is as low as 30%. Analysis of cancer samples indicates that TAPS is well suited to investigate samples with aneuploidy and tumor heterogeneity, which is commonly found in many types of solid tumors

DISTRIBUCIÓN DE LAS ÁREAS VERDES, ÍNDICE DE MARGINACIÓN Y JUSTICIA AMBIENTAL EN LEÓN, GUANAJUATO

Las áreas verdes constituyen un elemento estratégico para la sostenibilidad de las ciudades, ya que poseen cualidades que derivan en la mejora de la calidad de vida y el bienestar social. No obstante, la ciudad de León, Guanajuato, muestra una distribución desigual y deficitaria en la dotación de áreas verdes, lo cual se manifiesta en una exclusión socio-espacial de los beneficios que estos espacios brindan a toda la población. El trabajo evidencia que las zonas con menor índice de áreas verdes coinciden con las zonas de mayor índice de marginación, especialmente en el caso de los siete polígonos de pobreza de ciudad. El reto que subyace para la ciudad es lograr una distribución justa y equitativa de las áreas verdes, mediante instrumentos de planificación que permitan lograr la sostenibilidad urbana, con justicia ambiental y correlacionarse positivamente con los índices de marginación

PENGARUH LIMBAH SERBUK BESI SEBAGAI PENGGANTI SEJUMLAH AGREGAT HALUS TERHADAP CAMPURAN ASPAL

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Изучение байесовского подхода к анализу медико-биологических данных в курсе медицинской и биологической физики

Background: The clinical behaviour of colon cancer is heterogeneous. Five-year overall survival is 50-65% with all stages included. Recurring somatic chromosomal alterations have been identified and some have shown potential as markers for dissemination of the tumour, which is responsible for most colon cancer deaths. We investigated 115 selected stage II-IV primary colon cancers for associations between chromosomal alterations and tumour dissemination. Methods: Follow-up was at least 5 years for stage II-III patients without distant recurrence. Affymetrix SNP 6.0 microarrays and allele-specific copy number analysis were used to identify chromosomal alterations. Fisher's exact test was used to associate alterations with tumour dissemination, detected at diagnosis (stage IV) or later as recurrent disease (stage II-III). Results: Loss of 1p36.11-21 was associated with tumour dissemination in microsatellite stable tumours of stage II-IV (odds ratio = 5.5). It was enriched to a similar extent in tumours with distant recurrence within stage II and stage III subgroups, and may therefore be used as a prognostic marker at diagnosis. Loss of 1p36.11-21 relative to average copy number of the genome showed similar prognostic value compared to absolute loss of copies. Therefore, the use of relative loss as a prognostic marker would benefit more patients by applying also to hyperploid cancer genomes. The association with tumour dissemination was supported by independent data from the The Cancer Genome Atlas. Conclusion: Deletions on 1p36 may be used to guide adjuvant treatment decisions in microsatellite stable colon cancer of stages II and III

Molecular characterization of a large unselected cohort of metastatic colorectal cancers in relation to primary tumor location, rare metastatic sites and prognosis

Background: We have reported that BRAF V600E mutations and microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) are more prevalent in a population-based cohort of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients than has been reported from clinical trials or hospital-based patient groups. The aim was to explore if other mutations in mCRC differ in prevalence between these cohorts in relation to mismatch repair status and primary tumor location and if presence of bone or brain metastases is associated with any mutations. Material and methods: A population-based cohort of 798 mCRC patients from three regions in Scandinavia was used. Forty-four cancer related genes were investigated in a custom designed Ampliseq hotspot panel. Differences in survival were analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier estimator and the Cox regression analysis. Results: Determination of mutations was possible in 449/501 patients for 40/44 genes. Besides BRAF V600E, seen in 19% of the tumors, none of the other mutations appeared more prevalent than in trial cohorts. BRAF V600E and MSI-H, seen in 8%, were associated with poor prognosis as was right-sided primary tumor location (39%) when compared to left-sided and rectum together; however, in a multivariable regression, only the BRAF mutation retained its statistical significance. No other mutations were associated with poor prognosis. ERBB2 alterations were more common if bone metastases were present at diagnosis (17% vs. 4%, p = .011). No association was found for brain metastases. Fifty-two percent had an alteration that is treatable with an FDA-approved targeted therapy, chiefly by EGFR-inhibitor for RAS wild-type and a check-point inhibitor for MSI-H tumors. Conclusions: Right-sided tumor location, BRAF V600E mutations, but no other investigated mutation, and MSI-H are more commonly seen in an unselected cohort than is reported from clinical patient cohorts, likely because they indicate poor prognosis. Half of the patients have a tumor that is treatable with an already FDA-approved targeted drug for mCRC.publishedVersio