Aerobic stability of heat and orchardgrass round-bale silage

In Arkansas, silage is typically stored as balage in long rows of round bales wrapped in plastic film. It is important to evaluate the aerobic stability of this fermented forage when it is exposed to air, especially during the winter months when most of it is fed to livestock or sold as a cash crop. Two types of forage, orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata) and wheat (Triticum aestivum), were harvested in May 2002 and stored as balage. Twenty-one bales of each balage type were unwrapped and exposed to air on 10 Dec. 2002 for 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, or 32 d to evaluate aerobic stability. For both orchardgrass and wheat balage, final bale weight, dry matter (DM) content, and pH were not affected (P \u3e 0.05) by exposure time. Across both balage types, DM recoveries were ≥97% for all bales, indicating that both types of balage were very stable when exposed to air. Concentrations of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and 48-h ruminal in situ digestibility were not affected (P \u3e 0.05) by exposure time for either balage type. Concentrations of N were greater (P = 0.045) for orchardgrass balage exposed to air for 16 d or longer compared to balage sampled at exposure (d 0), but this response was not observed (P \u3e 0.05) for wheat balage. These results suggest that the balage evaluated in this trial was very stable after exposure to air for up to 32 d. This should allow for considerable flexibility with respect to feeding, transport, and marketing of balage during winter months without significant aerobic deterioration

Calcium and magnesium absorption and retention by growing goats offered diets with different calcium sources

Calcium addition is necessary in order to balance the high phosphorus concentrations that are characteristic of high-concentrate ruminant diets. However, calcium sources differ in their bioavailability. Our objective was to determine apparent calcium and magnesium absorption and retention in goats offered diets containing different sources of calcium. Spanish-Boer goats (n = 18; 19.6 ± 1.88 kg) were stratified by body weight (BW) and sex and randomized to dietary treatments consisting of Purina Antlermax 16 containing either calcium carbonate (CC), Calmin (CM) or Milk Cal (MC). Goats were adapted to a control, corn-based high-concentrate diet on pasture and then moved to individual 1.0 × 1.5-m pens with plastic coated expanded metal floors, and adjusted to their respective diets along with removal of hay from the diet over a 7-d period. Goats were then offered their respective diets at a total of 2% of BW in equal feedings at 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM for an additional 14-d adaption period to diet and facilities followed by a 7-d collection of total urine and feces. Data were analyzed using PROC MIXED of SAS. Calcium and magnesium intake were not different (P ≥ 0.12) among diets. Calcium and magnesium apparent absorption and retention (g/d and % of intake) were greatest (P \u3c 0.05) in goats offered CC and did not differ (P ≥ 0.20) between goats offered the CM and MC diets. Therefore, calcium and magnesium were more available for goats from the diet containing calcium carbonate compared with diets containing Calmin and Milk Cal

Integrative modeling of transcriptional regulation in response to antirheumatic therapy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The investigation of gene regulatory networks is an important issue in molecular systems biology and significant progress has been made by combining different types of biological data. The purpose of this study was to characterize the transcriptional program induced by etanercept therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Etanercept is known to reduce disease symptoms and progression in RA, but the underlying molecular mechanisms have not been fully elucidated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using a DNA microarray dataset providing genome-wide expression profiles of 19 RA patients within the first week of therapy we identified significant transcriptional changes in 83 genes. Most of these genes are known to control the human body's immune response. A novel algorithm called TILAR was then applied to construct a linear network model of the genes' regulatory interactions. The inference method derives a model from the data based on the Least Angle Regression while incorporating DNA-binding site information. As a result we obtained a scale-free network that exhibits a self-regulating and highly parallel architecture, and reflects the pleiotropic immunological role of the therapeutic target TNF-alpha. Moreover, we could show that our integrative modeling strategy performs much better than algorithms using gene expression data alone.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We present TILAR, a method to deduce gene regulatory interactions from gene expression data by integrating information on transcription factor binding sites. The inferred network uncovers gene regulatory effects in response to etanercept and thus provides useful hypotheses about the drug's mechanisms of action.</p

Individual development of preschool children - prevalences and determinants of delays in Germany: a cross-sectional study in Southern Bavaria

The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2431/12/188 Extent: 9p.Background: Even minor abnormalities of early child development may have dramatic long term consequences. Accurate prevalence rates for a range of developmental impairments have been difficult to establish. Since related studies have used different methodological approaches, direct comparisons of the prevalence of developmental delays are difficult. The understanding of the key factors affecting child development, especially in preschool aged children remains limited. We used data from school entry examinations in Bavaria to measure the prevalence of developmental impairments in pre-school children beginning primary school in 1997–2009. Methods: The developmental impairments of all school beginners in the district of Dingolfing- Landau, Bavaria were assessed using modified “Bavarian School Entry Model” examination from 1997 to 2009 (N=13,182). The children were assessed for motor, cognitive, language and psychosocial impairments using a standardised medical protocol. Prevalence rates of impairments in twelve domains of development were estimated. Using uni- and multivariable logistic regression models, association between selected factors and development delays were assessed. Results: The highest prevalence existed for impairments of pronunciation (13.8%) followed by fine motor impairments (12.2%), and impairments of memory and concentration (11.3%) and the lowest for impairments of rhythm of speech (3.1%). Younger children displayed more developmental delays. Male gender was strongly associated with all developmental impairments (highest risk for fine motor impairments = OR 3.22, 95% confidence interval 2.86-3.63). Preschool children with siblings (vs. children without any siblings) were at higher risk of having impairments in pronunciation (OR 1.31, 1.14-1.50). The influence of the non-German nationality was strong, with a maximum risk increase for the subareas of grammar and psychosocial development. Although children with non-German nationality had a reduced risk of disorders for the rhythm of speech and pronunciation, in all other 10 subareas their risk was increased. Conclusions: In preschool children, most common were delays of pronunciation, memory and concentration. Age effects suggest that delays can spontaneously resolve, but providing support at school entry might be helpful. Boys and migrant children appear at high risk of developmental problems, which may warrant tailored intervention strategies.Heribert L Stich, Bernhard Th Baune, Riccardo N Caniato, Rafael T Mikolajczyk and Alexander Kräme