Breed Evaluation for Efficiency of Feed Utilization for First Calf Production

Individual feed intake was measured in drylot on first-calf females for a 1-year period through weaning of their first calf. Dam breeds included crossbred Simmental-Hereford, Angus-Hereford, Salers-Hereford and Tarentaise-Hereford produced in two-breed rotations and straightbred Hereford. Cow weights were heaviest for Simmental-Hereford and lowest for Tarentaise-Hereford and straightbred Hereford. Calf weaning weights were heaviest for Simmental-Hereford and Lightest for straightbred Hereford and Angus-Hereford. Intake of cow feed TDN was highest for Simmental-Hereford cows and Lowest for Tarentaise-Hereford and straightbred Hereford. Breed group rankings for total cow feed and calf creep feed TDN intake were the same as rankings for cow TDN intake. Efficiency of feed utilization was calculated as total TDN consumed by the cow and calf during the year divided by calf weaning weight. Breed group averages for efficiency ranged from 12.8 lb. TDN/lb. calf weaning weight for Tarentaise-Hereford to 13.8 lb. TDN/lb. calf weaning weight for Angus-Hereford. A Large amount of variation among individual cows for the efficiency ratio was noted. These results indicate some differences among breed types for efficiency of feed utilization for first calf production, although variation among individuals was also important

Evaluation of Varying Levels of Hereford, Simmental and Angus Breeding Cows

Cow size, reproductive performance and calf performance to weaning were evaluated for Simmental-Hereford cows (25 to 38% Hereford) mated to Hereford bulls, Simmental-Hereford cows (50% Hereford) mated to Hereford bulls, Simmental-Hereford cows (62-7!5% Hereford) mated to Simmental bulls, Angus-Hereford cows (25.38% Hereford) mated to Hereford bulls, Angus-Hereford cows (50% Hereford) mated to Hereford bulls and Angus-Hereford cows (62-75% Hereford) mated to Angus bulls. Simmental cross cows were heavier and taller and produced heavier calves at b i r t h and weaning than Angus cross cows. Pregnancy rate, calf preweaning survival rate and calf birth date did not vary significantly among breed groups. Preweaning growth was greater for calves from cows of high percentage Simmental cows mated to Hereford bulls than for calves from low percentage Simmental cows mated to Simmental bulls, indicating a strong maternal effect for Simmental on calf growth

PHP152 How are topics selected and prioritized by the national institute of health and care excellence (nice) and what might be the options if a technology is not selected?

Contents: Safety culture assessment saves Barilla money via better understanding of employee attitudes; Iowa State and CIRAS launch new online safety training modules; CIRAS sets table for food companies\u27 success; CIRAS helps Regency Consulting rocket share of federal contracts upward 28 percent; Iowa\u27s worker shortage: An old problem requiring new solutions; Filling the pipeline: By growing your own workers; Luring labor via LEGOS; Timerbline\u27s long-term relationship with CIRAS enhances company growth an dprofitability; CIRAS-arragned webinar to show job shops how to get more done factor; Want to buy a rapid prototyping machine? Don\u27t decide too rapidlyhttps://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ciras_news/1048/thumbnail.jp

Human rhinovirus-induced inflammatory responses are inhibited by phosphatidylserine containing liposomes

Human rhinovirus (HRV) infections are major contributors to the healthcare burden associated with acute exacerbations of chronic airway disease, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. Cellular responses to HRV are mediated through pattern recognition receptors that may in part signal from membrane microdomains. We previously found Toll-like receptor signaling is reduced, by targeting membrane microdomains with a specific liposomal phosphatidylserine species, 1-stearoyl-2-arachidonoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-L-serine (SAPS). Here we explored the ability of this approach to target a clinically important pathogen. We determined the biochemical and biophysical properties and stability of SAPS liposomes and studied their ability to modulate rhinovirus-induced inflammation, measured by cytokine production, and rhinovirus replication in both immortalized and normal primary bronchial epithelial cells. SAPS liposomes rapidly partitioned throughout the plasma membrane and internal cellular membranes of epithelial cells. Uptake of liposomes did not cause cell death, but was associated with markedly reduced inflammatory responses to rhinovirus, at the expense of only modest non-significant increases in viral replication, and without impairment of interferon receptor signaling. Thus using liposomes of phosphatidylserine to target membrane microdomains is a feasible mechanism for modulating rhinovirus-induced signaling, and potentially a prototypic new therapy for viral-mediated inflammation

The HEASARC Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Archive: The Pipeline and the Catalog

Since its launch in late 2004, the Swift satellite triggered or observed an average of one gamma-ray burst (GRB) every 3 days, for a total of 771 GRBs by 2012 January. Here, we report the development of a pipeline that semi automatically performs the data-reduction and data-analysis processes for the three instruments on board Swift (BAT, XRT, UVOT). The pipeline is written in Perl, and it uses only HEAsoft tools and can be used to perform the analysis of a majority of the point-like objects (e.g., GRBs, active galactic nuclei, pulsars) observed by Swift. We run the pipeline on the GRBs, and we present a database containing the screened data, the output products, and the results of our ongoing analysis. Furthermore, we created a catalog summarizing some GRB information, collected either by running the pipeline or from the literature. The Perl script, the database, and the catalog are available for downloading and querying at the HEASARC Web site

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on a cohort of adults with epilepsy

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the direct and indirect impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on adults with epilepsy in Glasgow. Methods: We used routinely collected data for a previously identified cohort of patients with epilepsy to evaluate access to scheduled and unscheduled care with quarterly rates of inpatient admissions, outpatient attendance and accident & emergency attendance calculated. Anti-seizure medication prescribing and persistence, incidence of anxiety and depression and deaths for a cohort of patients with epilepsy was evaluated prior to the pandemic in comparison to during the pandemic, from 2015 to 2021. Results: All-cause mortality and epilepsy related mortality showed a statistically significant reduction during the pandemic. Although overall rates of out-patient hospital attendance dropped during the early stages of the pandemic (and had not returned to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2021) epilepsy-related services saw a maintenance of patient contact as a result of a rapid adoption of telephone clinics. A significant decrease in overall mortality was observed in PWE during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period. COVID-19 was the single commonest cause of death in PWE during the pandemic (61/453) and 160 patients (3.7%) had at least 1 admission to hospital for COVID-19. Anti-seizure medication (ASM) prescribing remained rates remained stable during the pandemic. During the pandemic an average of 38.8% of cohort patients were treated for depression and 16.3% for anxiety per quarter, 8.2% and 12.4% of whom had not been previously treated for these conditions respectively. Conclusion: We have shown that during a national lockdown, in the context of a pandemic, mortality in patients with epilepsy has reduced, while out-patient services were delivered remotely, primarily via the telephone. The reasons for this remain unclear but suggest that some of the excess mortality in people with epilepsy may be potentially avoidable by changes in lifestyle

Microbial use of low molecular weight DOM in filtered and unfiltered freshwater:Role of ultra-small microorganisms and implications for water quality monitoring

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays a central role in regulating productivity and nutrient cycling in freshwaters. It is therefore vital that we can representatively sample and preserve DOM in freshwaters for subsequent analysis. Here we investigated the effect of filtration, temperature (5 and 25 °C) and acidification (HCl) on the persistence of low molecular weight (MW) dissolved organic carbon (DOC), nitrogen (DON) and orthophosphate in oligotrophic and eutrophic freshwater environments. Our results showed the rapid loss of isotopically-labelled glucose and amino acids from both filtered (0.22 and 0.45 μm) and unfiltered waters. We ascribe this substrate depletion in filtered samples to the activity of ultra-small (< 0.45 μm) microorganisms (bacteria and archaea) present in the water. As expected, the rate of C, N and P loss was much greater at higher temperatures and was repressed by the addition of HCl. Based on our results and an evaluation of the protocols used in recently published studies, we conclude that current techniques used to sample water for low MW DOM characterisation are frequently inadequate and lack proper validation. In contrast to the high degree of analytical precision and rigorous statistical analysis of most studies, we argue that insufficient consideration is still given to the presence of ultra-small microorganisms and potential changes that can occur in the low MW fraction of DOM prior to analysis

Microplastics on the menu: Plastics pollute Indonesian Manta Ray and Whale Shark feeding grounds

The implications of plastic pollution, including microplastics, on marine ecosystems and species are increasingly seen as an environmental disaster. Yet few reports focus on filter-feeding megafauna in regions heavily impacted by plastic pollution, such as Indonesia in the Coral Triangle, a global marine biodiversity hotspot. Here, we evaluate plastic abundance and characterize debris from feeding grounds for manta rays Mobula alfredi and whale sharks Rhincodon typus in three coastal locations in Indonesia: Nusa Penida Marine Protected Area, Komodo National Park, and Pantai Bentar, East Java. A 200 μm plankton net was used to sample the top 0.5 m of the water column (‘trawl survey’) and floating plastics were assessed along ∼440 m long transects (‘visual survey’) during the Indonesian north-west (wet) and south-east (dry) monsoon seasons during 2016–2018. Microplastics were identified visually, measured and categorized from trawl samples, and larger floating plastics were counted and categorized visually from boats. Plastic abundance ranged widely from 0.04 to 0.90 pieces m–3 (trawl survey) and 210 to 40,844 pieces km–2 (visual survey). Results from linear models showed significant seasonal and location differences in estimated plastic abundance for trawl and visual surveys in Nusa Penida and Komodo. Plastic abundance was up to ∼ 44 times higher in the wet than the dry season, with the largest seasonal effect observed in Nusa Penida. Overall, small pieces  50% combined) were the most prevalent plastics. Theoretical plastic ingestion rates were calculated using estimated filtration volumes of manta rays and whale sharks and the mean plastic abundance in their feeding grounds. Upper plastic ingestion estimates for manta rays were ∼63 and 25 pieces h–1 for Nusa Penida and Komodo locations, respectively, and ∼137 pieces h–1 for whale sharks in Java. Analysis of manta ray egested material confirmed plastic ingestion, the consequences of which might include exposure to toxic plastic additives and adhered persistent organic pollutants. Communicating this information to communities who stand to benefit from healthy megafauna populations might help local governments as they work toward reducing plastics in the marine environment