Ractopamine HCl improved cardiac hypertrophy but not poor growth, metabolic inefficiency, or greater white blood cells associated with heat stress in concentrate-fed lambs

Heat stress decreases livestock performance and well-being (Hahn, 1999; Nienaber and Hahn, 2007), causes metabolic dysfunction that decreases growth efficiency (O’Brien et al., 2010), and alters cardiovascular function (Crandall et al., 2008). Each year, heat stress costs the livestock industry up to $2.5 billion (St-Pierre et al., 2003). Ractopamine HCl acts as a nutrient repartitioning agent (Beermann, 2002); classified as a β adrenergic agonist (βAA), it shares pharmacological properties with adrenaline (Beermann, 2002). βAA increase muscle mass and decreases fat deposition through unknown mechanisms (Beermann, 2002). In feedlot cattle, they increase growth efficiency and improve carcass yield and merit (Scramlin et al., 2010; Buntyn et al., 2017), which increases profit and allows more meat to be produced from fewer animals. However, because βAA act via a stress system, it is unclear how the products affect animals under stress conditions. β1AA and β2AA can also cause tachycardia, heart palpitations, and arrhythmias (Sears, 2002). We hypothesize that β1AA combined with heat stress may overstimulate the adrenergic system, resulting is metabolic dysfunction and decreased performance. Sheep are a common model for cattle, and thus, the objective of this study was to determine the impact of ractopamine HCl on health and cardiovascular parameters, growth, and metabolic efficiency in feeder lambs

Ractopamine HCl improved cardiac hypertrophy but not poor growth, metabolic inefficiency, or greater white blood cells associated with heat stress in concentrate-fed lambs

Heat stress decreases livestock performance and well-being (Hahn, 1999; Nienaber and Hahn, 2007), causes metabolic dysfunction that decreases growth efficiency (O’Brien et al., 2010), and alters cardiovascular function (Crandall et al., 2008). Each year, heat stress costs the livestock industry up to $2.5 billion (St-Pierre et al., 2003). Ractopamine HCl acts as a nutrient repartitioning agent (Beermann, 2002); classified as a β adrenergic agonist (βAA), it shares pharmacological properties with adrenaline (Beermann, 2002). βAA increase muscle mass and decreases fat deposition through unknown mechanisms (Beermann, 2002). In feedlot cattle, they increase growth efficiency and improve carcass yield and merit (Scramlin et al., 2010; Buntyn et al., 2017), which increases profit and allows more meat to be produced from fewer animals. However, because βAA act via a stress system, it is unclear how the products affect animals under stress conditions. β1AA and β2AA can also cause tachycardia, heart palpitations, and arrhythmias (Sears, 2002). We hypothesize that β1AA combined with heat stress may overstimulate the adrenergic system, resulting is metabolic dysfunction and decreased performance. Sheep are a common model for cattle, and thus, the objective of this study was to determine the impact of ractopamine HCl on health and cardiovascular parameters, growth, and metabolic efficiency in feeder lambs

An Open, Large-Scale, Collaborative Effort to Estimate the Reproducibility of Psychological Science

Reproducibility is a defining feature of science. However, because of strong incentives for innovation and weak incentives for confirmation, direct replication is rarely practiced or published. The Reproducibility Project is an open, large-scale, collaborative effort to systematically examine the rate and predictors of reproducibility in psychological science. So far, 72 volunteer researchers from 41 institutions have organized to openly and transparently replicate studies published in three prominent psychological journals in 2008. Multiple methods will be used to evaluate the findings, calculate an empirical rate of replication, and investigate factors that predict reproducibility. Whatever the result, a better understanding of reproducibility will ultimately improve confidence in scientific methodology and findings

Brain bases of morphological awareness and longitudinal word reading outcomes

Children’s spoken language skills are essential to the development of the “reading brain,” or the neurocognitive systems that underlie successful literacy. Morphological awareness, or sensitivity to the smallest units of meaning, is a language skill that facilitates fluent recognition of meaning in print. Yet despite the growing evidence that morphology is integral to literacy success, associations between morphological awareness, literacy acquisition, and brain development remain largely unexplored. To address this gap, we conducted a longitudinal investigation with seventy-five elementary school children, ages 5-11, who completed an auditory morphological awareness neuroimaging task at Time 1 as well as literacy assessments at both Time 1 and Time 2 (1.5 years later). Findings reveal longitudinal brain-behavior associations between morphological processing at Time 1 and reading outcomes at Time 2. First, activation in superior temporal brain regions involved in word segmentation was associated with both future reading skill and steeper reading gains over time. Second, a wider array of brain regions across the language network were associated with polymorphemic word reading as compared to broader word reading skill (reading simple and complex words). Together, these findings reinforce the importance of word segmentation skills in learning to read and highlight the importance of considering complex word reading skills in building comprehensive neurocognitive models of literacy. This study fills a gap in our knowledge of how processing meaningful units in speech may help to explain differences in children’s reading development over time and informs ongoing theoretical questions about the role of morphology in learning to read

Production and Recycling of EV Batteries : On the Road to Circularity?

Eunomia Research & Consulting and Mepex Consult AS were commissioned by the Nordic Working Group for Circular Economy to carry out a study on production and recycling of batteries used in electrical vehicles (EVs) with a focus on the Nordic region. The study sought to contribute to building knowledge around technologies and procedures capable of reducing emissions and minimising environmental risks across the EV battery value chain, and to provide initial findings that may inform future Best Available Techniques Reference documents. The EV battery value chain is experiencing rapid growth and evolution at all stages. Each of these stages, and associated technologies, are accompanied by environmental risks, waste products and emissions. Additionally, distinct barriers to the circularity of batteries include degradation of battery capacity and complexity of technologies and supply chains

Impacts of the COVID-19 disruption on the language and literacy development of monolingual and heritage bilingual children in the United States

Abstract Children who speak one language at home and a different language at school may be at higher risk of falling behind in their academic achievement when schooling is disrupted. The present study examined the effects of COVID-19-related school disruptions on English language and literacy development among monolingual and bilingual children in the US. All children attended English-only schools that implemented varied forms of virtual and hybrid schooling during the pandemic. Pre-COVID-19 and during-COVID-19 examinations were conducted with 237 children (M(SD)age = 7.78 (1.54) at Time 1) from relatively high SES homes, including 95 monolinguals, 75 Spanish–English and 67 Chinese–English bilinguals. The findings revealed different impacts of COVID-19 school disruptions on the present bilingual and monolingual participants. Specifically, between Time 1 and Time 2, monolingual children made age-appropriate improvements in all literacy measurements. Relative to monolinguals, both bilingual groups showed greater gains in vocabulary but lower gains in reading comprehension. Moreover, across groups, children’s independent reading practices during COVID-19 were positively associated with children’s literacy growth during the pandemic-related schooling disruptions. Taken together, these findings inform theoretical perspectives on learning to read in linguistically diverse children experiencing COVID-19-related schooling disruptions

What- s in a word? Cross- linguistic influences on Spanish- English and Chinese- English bilingual children- s word reading development

This study investigates the cross- linguistic transfer of literacy skills in Spanish- English, Chinese- English bilingual, and English monolingual children (N = 283, 5- 10 years). Research question 1 examines English literacy and asks how phonological and morpho- semantic skills contribute to word reading as a function of children’s language background. Structural equation modeling revealed contrasting bilingual effects: compared to English monolinguals, Spanish- English bilinguals relied more on phonological awareness in word reading, whereas Chinese- English bilinguals relied more on lexical knowledge. Research question 2 examines relations between bilinguals- heritage language proficiency and English literacy. Results revealed direct and indirect effects of heritage language meta- linguistic skills on English word reading. The study yields implications for reading theories and instructional practices in optimizing literacy in linguistically diverse children.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/171546/1/cdev13666.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/171546/2/cdev13666-sup-0001-Supinfo.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/171546/3/cdev13666_am.pd

Lexical morphology as a source of risk and resilience for learning to read with dyslexia: An fNIRS investigation

Purpose: To understand the role of meaning-based skills in learning to read with dyslexia, we examined the neuro-cognitive bases of lexical morphology in children of varied reading abilities. Method: Children completed auditory morphological and phonological awareness tasks during functional near-infrared spectroscopy neuroimaging. We first examined the relation between lexical morphology and phonological processes in typically developing readers (Study 1, N = 66, Mage = 8.39), followed by a more focal inquiry into lexical morphology processes in dyslexia (Study 2, N = 50, Mage = 8.62). We then conducted a data-driven network analysis to examine functional connectivity during lexical morphology processes in all participants (Study 3, N = 91, Mage = 8.77). Results: Typical readers exhibited stronger engagement of language neurocircuitry during the morphology task relative to the phonology task, suggesting that morphological analyses involve a synthesis of multiple components of sublexical processing. This effect was stronger for more analytically complex derivational morphemes (like+ly) relative to more semantically transparent free root morphemes (snow+man). In contrast, children with dyslexia exhibited stronger activation during the free root relative to derivational morpheme conditions, possibly because children with dyslexia use semantic information to boost word recognition. Data-driven and person-specific functional connectivity analyses revealed two groups of readers with either denser fronto-temporal or temporal-only connections. Stronger readers with and without dyslexia were more likely to fall into the fronto-temporal group. Conclusions: This study informs literacy theories by identifying an interaction between reading ability, word structure, and the way that the developing brain learns to recognize words in speech and in print

Morphological awareness and its role in early word reading in English monolinguals, Spanish-English, and Chinese-English simultaneous bilinguals

Words’ morphemic structure and their orthographic representations vary across languages. How do bilingual experiences with structurally distinct languages influence children's morphological processes for word reading? Focusing on English literacy in monolinguals and bilinguals (N = 350, ages 5-9), we first revealed unique contributions of derivational (friend-li-est) and compound (girl-friend) morphology to early word reading. We then examined mechanisms of bilingual transfer in matched samples of Spanish-English and Chinese-English dual first language learners. Results revealed a principled cross-linguistic interaction between language group (Spanish vs. Chinese bilinguals) and type of morphological awareness. Specifically, bilinguals’ proficiency with the type of morphology that was less characteristic of their home language explained greater variance in their English literacy. These findings showcase the powerful effects of bilingualism on word reading processes in children who have similar reading proficiency but different language experiences, thereby advancing theoretical perspectives on literacy across diverse learners