Effects of zilpaterol hydrochloride and zinc methionine on growth performance and carcass characteristics of beef bulls

Sixty beef bulls with a body weight (BW) of 314.79 16.2 kg were used to evaluate the effects of zilpaterol hydrochloride (ZH) and zinc methionine (ZM) on growth performance and carcass characteristics. The experimental design was a randomized complete block, with a factorial 22 arrangement of treatments (ZH: 0 and 0.15 mg kg 1 BW; ZM: 0 and 80 mg kg 1 dry matter). The ZH increased (PB0.05) the final BW, average daily gain, feed conversion, carcass yield and longissimus dorsi area. Bulls fed ZH plus ZM had less (PB0.01) backfat thickness and intramuscular fat (IMF) compared with those fed ZH or ZM alone. The ZH increased (PB0.02) the meat crude protein content and cooking loss. It is therefore concluded that ZH increases growth performance, carcass yield, longissimus dorsi area, and meat crude protein. The interaction of ZM and ZH did not present additional advantages. The reason for the reduction in backfat thickness and IMF by ZH plus ZM is unclear, and implies that our knowledge of b-agonistic adrenergic substances and their interactions with minerals is incomplete

Evidence for a retroviral insertion in TRPM1 as the cause of congenital stationary night blindness and leopard complex spotting in the horse

Leopard complex spotting is a group of white spotting patterns in horses caused by an incompletely dominant gene (LP) where homozygotes (LP/LP) are also affected with congenital stationary night blindness. Previous studies implicated Transient Receptor Potential Cation Channel, Subfamily M, Member 1 (TRPM1) as the best candidate gene for both CSNB and LP. RNA-Seq data pinpointed a 1378 bp insertion in intron 1 of TRPM1 as the potential cause. This insertion, a long terminal repeat (LTR) of an endogenous retrovirus, was completely associated with LP, testing 511 horses (χ²=1022.00, p<<0.0005), and CSNB, testing 43 horses (χ2=43, p<<0.0005). The LTR was shown to disrupt TRPM1 transcription by premature poly-adenylation. Furthermore, while deleterious transposable element insertions should be quickly selected against the identification of this insertion in three ancient DNA samples suggests it has been maintained in the horse gene pool for at least 17,000 years. This study represents the first description of an LTR insertion being associated with both a pigmentation phenotype and an eye disorder.Rebecca R. Bellone … David L. Adelson, Sim Lin Lim … et al

Effects of Calcium Magnesium Carbonate and Roughage Level on Feedlot Performance, Ruminal Metabolism, and Site and Extent of Digestion in Steers Fed High-Grain Diets

A feedlot growth performance experiment and 2 metabolism experiments were conducted to evaluate dietary roughage concentration and calcium magnesium carbonate in steers fed a high-grain diet. In Exp. 1, one hundred ninety-two crossbred yearling steers (320 ± 10 kg of initial BW) were fed diets based on steam-flaked corn with 0, 0.75, or 1.5% CaMg(CO3) 2. There were no effects (P ≥ 0.13) on ADG, DMI, G:F, or total water intake due to CaMg(CO3)2. In Exp. 2, five ruminally and duodenally fistulated steers (263 ± 9 kg of initial BW) were used in a 5 × 5 Latin square design, with 5 dietary treatments arranged in a 2 × 2 + 1 factorial: 1) 3.8% dietary roughage and no CaMg(CO3)2; 2) 7.6% dietary roughage and no CaMg(CO3)2; 3) 11.4% dietary roughage and no CaMg(CO3)2; 4) 3.8% dietary roughage and 1.5% CaMg(CO3)2; and 5) 7.6% dietary roughage and 1.5% CaMg(CO3)2. Water consumption was less (quadratic, P = 0.003) when 7.6% dietary roughage was fed compared with 3.8 or 11.4% dietary roughage. Intake of DM was not affected (P ≥ 0.16) by dietary roughage or by CaMg(CO3)2. Poststomach and total tract starch digestion decreased (linear, P \u3c 0.01) as dietary roughage increased. Ruminal pH tended (P = 0.08) to increase as dietary roughage increased but was not affected (P = 0.60) by CaMg(CO3)2. In Exp. 3, DMI and ruminal pH were continuously monitored in a 6 × 6 Latin square design using 6 ruminally and duodenally fistulated Holstein steers (229 ± 10 kg of initial BW). A 3 × 2 factorial treatment structure was utilized, with factors consisting of dietary roughage concentration (4.5, 9.0, or 13.5%) and CaMg(CO3)2 inclusion (0 or 1.0%) to replace MgO and partially replace limestone. A dietary roughage × CaMg(CO3)2 interaction (P = 0.01) occurred as steers consuming 13.5% roughage, 1.0% CaMg(CO3)2 had greater DMI per meal than those consuming 4.5% dietary roughage, no CaMg(CO3)2 and 9.0% dietary roughage, 1.0% CaMg(CO3)2. Steers consuming 13.5% dietary roughage, 1.0% CaMg(CO3)2 and 9.0% dietary roughage, no CaMg(CO3)2 had greater meal length (min/meal; P = 0.01) than steers consuming 4.5% dietary roughage, no CaMg(CO3)2. Total tract OM digestibility decreased linearly (P = 0.01), and ruminal pH increased linearly (P = 0.01) with increasing dietary roughage concentration. Inclusion of CaMg(CO3)2 can replace limestone and MgO but did not produce ruminal pH responses similar to those observed by increasing dietary roughage in high-concentrate diets

The Harvester, the Botmaster, and the Spammer : On the Relations Between the Different Actors in the Spam Landscape

A spammer needs three elements to run a spam operation: a list of victim email addresses, content to be sent, and a bot-net to send it. Each of these three elements are critical for the success of the spam operation: a good email list should be composed of valid email addresses, a good email content should be both convincing to the reader and evades anti-spam filters, and a good botnet should efficiently sent spam. Given how critical these three elements are, figures special-ized on each of these elements have emerged in the spam ecosystem. Email harvesters crawl the web and compile email lists, botmasters infect victim computers and main-tain efficient botnets for spam dissemination, and spammers rent botnets and buy email lists to run spam campaigns. Previous research suggested that email harvesters and bot-masters sell their services to spammers in a prosperous un-derground economy. No rigorous research has been per-formed, however, on understanding the relations between these three actors. This paper aims to shed some light on the relations between harvesters, botmasters, and spam-mers. By disseminating email addresses on the Internet, fingerprinting the botnets that contact these addresses, and looking at the content of these emails, we can infer the re-lations between the actors involved in the spam ecosystem. Our observations can be used by researchers to develop more effective anti-spam systems. Categories and Subject Descriptors K.4.1 [Computers and Society]: Abuse and crime involv-ing computer

The Effect of a “Universal Antiretroviral Therapy” Recommendation on HIV RNA Levels Among HIV-Infected Patients Entering Care With a CD4 Count Greater Than 500/µL in a Public Health Setting

BackgroundOn 1 January 2010, a large, publicly funded clinic in San Francisco announced a "universal ART" approach to initiate antiretroviral therapy (ART) in all human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected persons. The effect of changing guidance on real-world patient outcomes has not been evaluated.MethodsWe evaluated untreated adult patients (defined as going &gt;90 days without ART use) visiting clinic from 2001 to 2011. The cumulative incidence of HIV RNA suppression (viral load, &lt;500 copies/mL), stratified by CD4 cell count at entry and calendar dates representing guideline issuance, were estimated using a competing risk framework. A multivariate Poisson-based model identified factors associated with HIV RNA suppression 6 months after clinic entry.ResultsOf 2245 adults, 87% were male, and the median age was 39 years (interquartile range, 33-45 years). In 534 patients entering clinic with a CD4 cell count of &gt;500 cells/µL, the 1-year incidence of HIV RNA suppression was 10.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 6.6%-14.6%) before 4 April 2005; 9.1% (95% CI, 3.6%-17.4%) from 4 April 2005 to 1 December 2007; 14.1% (95% CI, 7.5%-22.8%) from 1 December 2007 to the universal ART recommendation and 52.8% (95% CI, 38.2%-65.4%) after. After adjustment, the SFGH policy was associated with a 6-fold increase in the probability of HIV RNA suppression 6 months after clinic entry.ConclusionsRecommendations to initiate ART in all HIV-infected patients increased the rate of HIV RNA suppression for patients enrolling in care with a CD4 cell count of &gt;500 cells/µL and may foreshadow national trends given the March 2012 revision of national treatment guidelines to favor ART initiation for persons with CD4 cell counts of &gt;500 cells/µL