Beef production from feedstuffs conserved using new technologies to reduce negative environmental impacts

End of project reportMost (ca. 86%) Irish farms make some silage. Besides directly providing feed for livestock, the provision of grass silage within integrated grassland systems makes an important positive contribution to effective grazing management and improved forage utilisation by grazing animals, and to effective feed budgeting by farmers. It can also contribute to maintaining the content of desirable species in pastures, and to livestock not succumbing to parasites at sensitive times of the year. Furthermore, the optimal recycling of nutrients collected from housed livestock can often be best achieved by spreading the manures on the land used for producing the conserved feed. On most Irish farms, grass silage will remain the main conserved forage for feeding to livestock during winter for the foreseeable future. However, on some farms high yields of whole-crop (i.e. grain + straw) cereals such as wheat, barley and triticale, and of forage maize, will be an alternative option provided that losses during harvesting, storage and feedout are minimised and that input costs are restrained. These alternative forages have the potential to reliably support high levels of animal performance while avoiding the production of effluent. Their production and use however will need to advantageously integrate into ruminant production systems. A range of technologies can be employed for crop production and conservation, and for beef production, and the optimal options need to be identified. Beef cattle being finished indoors are offered concentrate feedstuffs at rates that range from modest inputs through to ad libitum access. Such concentrates frequently contain high levels of cereals such as barley or wheat. These cereals are generally between 14% to 18% moisture content and tend to be rolled shortly before being included in coarse rations or are more finely processed prior to pelleting. Farmers thinking of using ‘high-moisture grain’ techniques for preserving and processing cereal grains destined for feeding to beef cattle need to know how the yield, conservation efficiency and feeding value of such grains compares with grains conserved using more conventional techniques. European Union policy strongly encourages a sustainable and multifunctional agriculture. Therefore, in addition to providing European consumers with quality food produced within approved systems, agriculture must also contribute positively to the conservation of natural resources and the upkeep of the rural landscape. Plastics are widely used in agriculture and their post-use fate on farms must not harm the environment - they must be managed to support the enduring sustainability of farming systems. There is an absence of information on the efficacy of some new options for covering and sealing silage with plastic sheeting and tyres, and an absence of an inventory of the use, re-use and post-use fate of plastic film on farms. Irish cattle farmers operate a large number of beef production systems, half of which use dairy bred calves. In the current, continuously changing production and market conditions, new beef systems must be considered. A computer package is required that will allow the rapid, repeatable simulation and assessment of alternate beef production systems using appropriate, standardised procedures. There is thus a need to construct, evaluate and utilise computer models of components of beef production systems and to develop mathematical relationships to link system components into a network that would support their integration into an optimal system model. This will provide a framework to integrate physical and financial on-farm conditions with models for estimating feed supply and animal growth patterns. Cash flow and profit/loss results will be developed. This will help identify optimal systems, indicate the cause of failure of imperfect systems and identify areas where applied research data are currently lacking, or more basic research is required

Motivational Interviewing Post-Stroke: An Analysis of Stroke Survivors' Concerns and Adjustment

Our earlier research demonstrated that participation in four sessions of motivational interviewing (MI) early post-stroke has a positive impact on stroke survivors' mood. However, the theoretical underpinnings of MI in supporting adjustment (rather than its traditional use in supporting behavior change) require clarification. This article describes a content analysis of MI transcripts for 10 participants in our previous study, to identify the focus of discussions (patient "concerns") and potential effective components of our MI approach. Patients' post-stroke concerns were shown in 16 categories, including frustration, family impact, and getting well. There was a pattern of change discourse across sessions: "Sustain talk" (reasons for not changing) reduced from Session 1 onward, "change talk" (intent to change) increased then reduced, and "change expressed" (changes achieved) increased from Sessions 1 to 4. MI facilitates healthy adjustment post-stroke in some patients, in turn affecting mood, but clarification of how this effect is achieved requires further exploration

Gene content evolution in the arthropods

Arthropods comprise the largest and most diverse phylum on Earth and play vital roles in nearly every ecosystem. Their diversity stems in part from variations on a conserved body plan, resulting from and recorded in adaptive changes in the genome. Dissection of the genomic record of sequence change enables broad questions regarding genome evolution to be addressed, even across hyper-diverse taxa within arthropods. Using 76 whole genome sequences representing 21 orders spanning more than 500 million years of arthropod evolution, we document changes in gene and protein domain content and provide temporal and phylogenetic context for interpreting these innovations. We identify many novel gene families that arose early in the evolution of arthropods and during the diversification of insects into modern orders. We reveal unexpected variation in patterns of DNA methylation across arthropods and examples of gene family and protein domain evolution coincident with the appearance of notable phenotypic and physiological adaptations such as flight, metamorphosis, sociality, and chemoperception. These analyses demonstrate how large-scale comparative genomics can provide broad new insights into the genotype to phenotype map and generate testable hypotheses about the evolution of animal diversity

Infectivity of Plasmodium falciparum in malaria-naive individuals is related to knob expression and cytoadherence of the parasite

Plasmodium falciparum is the most virulent human malaria parasite because of its ability to cytoadhere in the microvasculature. Nonhuman primate studies demonstrated relationships among knob expression, cytoadherence, and infectivity. This has not been examined in humans. Cultured clinical-grade P. falciparum parasites (NF54, 7G8, and 3D7B) and ex vivo-derived cell banks were characterized. Knob and knob-associated histidine-rich protein expression, CD36 adhesion, and antibody recognition of parasitized erythrocytes (PEs) were evaluated. Parasites from the cell banks were administered to malaria-naive human volunteers to explore infectivity. For the NF54 and 3D7B cell banks, blood was collected from the study participants for in vitro characterization. All parasites were infective in vivo. However, infectivity of NF54 was dramatically reduced. In vitro characterization revealed that unlike other cell bank parasites, NF54 PEs lacked knobs and did not cytoadhere. Recognition of NF54 PEs by immune sera was observed, suggesting P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 expression. Subsequent recovery of knob expression and CD36-mediated adhesion were observed in PEs derived from participants infected with NF54. Knobless cell bank parasites have a dramatic reduction in infectivity and the ability to adhere to CD36. Subsequent infection of malaria-naive volunteers restored knob expression and CD36-mediated cytoadherence, thereby showing that the human environment can modulate virulence

Structural and Functional Features of a Developmentally Regulated Lipopolysaccharide-Binding Protein

ABSTRACT Mammalian lipopolysaccharide (LPS) binding proteins (LBPs) occur mainly in extracellular fluids and promote LPS delivery to specific host cell receptors. The function of LBPs has been studied principally in the context of host defense; the possible role of LBPs in nonpathogenic host-microbe interactions has not been well characterized. Using the Euprymna scolopes-Vibrio fischeri model, we analyzed the structure and function of an LBP family protein, E. scolopes LBP1 (EsLBP1), and provide evidence for its role in triggering a symbiont-induced host developmental program. Previous studies showed that, during initial host colonization, the LPS of V. fischeri synergizes with peptidoglycan (PGN) monomer to induce morphogenesis of epithelial tissues of the host animal. Computationally modeled EsLBP1 shares some but not all structural features of mammalian LBPs that are thought important for LPS binding. Similar to human LBP, recombinant EsLBP1 expressed in insect cells bound V. fischeri LPS and Neisseria meningitidis lipooligosaccharide (LOS) with nanomolar or greater affinity but bound Francisella tularensis LPS only weakly and did not bind PGN monomer. Unlike human LBP, EsLBP1 did not bind N. meningitidis LOS:CD14 complexes. The eslbp1 transcript was upregulated ~22-fold by V. fischeri at 24 h postinoculation. Surprisingly, this upregulation was not induced by exposure to LPS but, rather, to the PGN monomer alone. Hybridization chain reaction-fluorescent in situ hybridization (HCR-FISH) and immunocytochemistry (ICC) localized eslbp1 transcript and protein in crypt epithelia, where V. fischeri induces morphogenesis. The data presented here provide a window into the evolution of LBPs and the scope of their roles in animal symbioses. IMPORTANCE Mammalian lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-binding protein (LBP) is implicated in conveying LPS to host cells and potentiating its signaling activity. In certain disease states, such as obesity, the overproduction of this protein has been a reliable biomarker of chronic inflammation. Here, we describe a symbiosis-induced invertebrate LBP whose tertiary structure and LPS-binding characteristics are similar to those of mammalian LBPs; however, the primary structure of this distantly related squid protein (EsLBP1) differs in key residues previously believed to be essential for LPS binding, suggesting that an alternative strategy exists. Surprisingly, symbiotic expression of eslbp1 is induced by peptidoglycan derivatives, not LPS, a pattern converse to that of RegIIIγ, an important mammalian immunity protein that binds peptidoglycan but whose gene expression is induced by LPS. Finally, EsLBP1 occurs along the apical surfaces of all the host’s epithelia, suggesting that it was recruited from a general defensive role to one that mediates specific interactions with its symbiont

Tumor Growth Decreases NK and B Cells as well as Common Lymphoid Progenitor

Background: It is well established that chronic tumor growth results in functional inactivation of T cells and NK cells. It is less clear, however, whether lymphopoeisis is affected by tumor growth. Principal Findings: In our efforts of analyzing the impact of tumor growth on NK cell development, we observed a major reduction of NK cell numbers in mice bearing multiple lineages of tumor cells. The decrease in NK cell numbers was not due to increased apoptosis or decreased proliferation in the NK compartment. In addition, transgenic expression of IL-15 also failed to rescue the defective production of NK cells. Our systematic characterization of lymphopoeisis in tumor-bearing mice indicated that the number of the common lymphoid progenitor was significantly reduced in tumor-bearing mice. The number of B cells also decreased substantially in tumor bearing mice. Conclusions and Significance: Our data reveal a novel mechanism for tumor evasion of host immunity and suggest a new interpretation for the altered myeloid and lymphoid ratio in tumor bearing hosts

Reduced blood flow through intrapulmonary arteriovenous anastomoses at rest and during exercise in lowlanders during acclimatization to high altitude

Blood flow through intrapulmonary arteriovenous anastomoses (QIPAVA ) is elevated during exercise at sea level (SL) and at rest in acute normobaric hypoxia. Following high altitude (HA) acclimatization, resting QIPAVA is similar to SL, but it is unknown if this is true during exercise at HA. We reasoned that exercise at HA (5,050 m) would exacerbate QIPAVA due to heightened pulmonary arterial pressure. Using a supine cycle ergometer, seven healthy adults free from intracardiac shunts underwent an incremental exercise test at SL (25, 50, 75% of SL VO2peak ) and at HA (25, 50% of SL VO2peak ). Echocardiography was used to determine cardiac output (Q) and pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) and agitated saline contrast was used to determine QIPAVA (bubble score; 0-5). The principal findings were: (1) Q was similar at SL-rest (3.9 +/- 0.47 l min-1 ) compared with HA-rest (4.5 +/- 0.49 l min-1 ; P = 0.382), but increased from rest during both SL and HA exercise (P < 0.001); (2) PASP increased from SL-rest (19.2 +/- 0.7 mmHg) to HA-rest (33.7 +/- 2.8 mmHg; P = 0.001) and, compared with SL, PASP was further elevated during HA exercise (P = 0.003); (3) QIPAVA was increased from SL-rest (0) to HA-rest (median = 1; P = 0.04) and increased from resting values during SL exercise (P < 0.05), but were unchanged during HA exercise (P = 0.91), despite significant increases in Q and PASP. Theoretical modeling of microbubble dissolution suggests that the lack of QIPAVA in response to exercise at HA is unlikely caused by saline contrast instability

Trial outcomes and information for clinical decision-making: a comparative study of opinions of health professionals

Background: Trials are robust sources of data for clinical practice, however, trial outcomes may not reflect what is important to communicate for decision making. The study compared clinicians’ views of outcomes to include in a core outcome set for colorectal cancer (CRC) surgery, with what clinicians considered important information for clinical practice (core information). Methods: Potential outcomes/information domains were identified through systematic literature reviews, reviews of hospital information leaflets and interviews with patients. These were organized into 6 categories, and used to design a questionnaire survey that asked surgeons and nurses from a sample of CRC centers to rate the importance of each domain as an outcome or as information on a 9-point Likert scale. Respondents were re-surveyed (round 2) following group feedback (Delphi methods). Comparisons were made by calculating the difference in mean scores between the outcomes and information domains, and paired t-tests were used to explore the difference between mean scores of the 6 outcome/information categories. Results: Data sources identified 1216 outcomes/information of CRC surgery that informed a 94 item questionnaire. First round questionnaires were returned from 63/81 (78%) of centers. Clinicians rated 76/94 (84%) domains of higher importance to measure in trials than to information to communicate to patients in Round 1. This was reduced to 24/47 (51%) in Round 2. The greatest difference was evident in domains about survival, which was rated much more highly as a trial outcome than important piece of information for decision-making (mean difference 2.3, 95% CI 1.9-2.8, p<0.0001). Specific complications and quality-of-life domains were rated similarly (mean difference 0.18, 95% CI -0.1-0.4, p=0.2 and 0.2, 95% CI -0.1-0.5, p=0.2 respectively). Conclusions: Whilst clinicians want to measure key outcomes in trials, they rate these as less important to communicate in decision-making with patients. This discrepancy needs to be explored and addressed to maximize the impact of trials on clinical practice