The effects of feed budgeting, complete diet blending, and corn supplement blending on finishing pig growth performance in a commercial environment

A total of 808 pigs (PIC 337 x 1050, initially 78.4 ± 1.4 lb BW) were used to compare different feed-blending strategies for finishing pigs using the FeedPro system (Feedlogic Corp., Willmar, MN). There were 3 experimental treatments: (1) a standard-phase complete feed program, (2) blending a high- and low-lysine complete diet (curve), and (3) blending ground corn and a supplement. FeedPro is an integrated feed dispensing system that can deliver and blend 2 separate diets while dispensing. Treatment diets were fed over 4 phases (78 to 231 lb BW) with a common complete diet containing Paylean fed during the fifth phase. The 5 phases were from 78 to 115, 115 to 157, 157 to 191, 191 to 239, and 239 to 281 lb. Each treatment had 10 replicate pens and 26 to 27 pigs per pen. Overall (d 0 to 78), pigs phase-fed complete diets had greater (P < 0.01) ADG than pigs fed blended diets and tended to have greater (P < 0.07) ADG than those fed the ground corn-supplement blend. Pigs fed the blended diets had lower (P < 0.001) ADFI than pigs phase-fed complete diets or fed the corn-supplement blend. However, pigs fed blended diets had improved (P < 0.001) F/G compared to pigs phase-fed a ground corn-supplement blend and tended to have improved (P < 0.07) F/G compared to pigs fed standard-phase diets. Pigs fed standard-phase diets had heavier (P < 0.03) HCW than pigs fed the corn-supplement blend and tended to have heavier (P < 0.03) HCW than pigs fed diets on a lysine curve. However, there were no differences (P ≥ 0.11) in percentage yield, percentage lean, fat depth, or loin depth among treatments. There were no differences (P ≥ 0.11) in total revenue or income over feed costs (IOFC) across treatments. However, standard phase-fed pigs held a numerical advantage in total revenue, mainly driven by a heavier HCW over other treatments. Also, pigs fed a ground corn-supplement blend had numerically the lowest IOFC compared to other treatments. In conclusion, feeding using the FeedPro system is competitive with standard phase-fed diets on a net return basis, while feeding a ground corn-supplement blend adversely affected net returns

Black Hole Critical Phenomena Without Black Holes

Studying the threshold of black hole formation via numerical evolution has led to the discovery of fascinating nonlinear phenomena. Power-law mass scaling, aspects of universality, and self-similarity have now been found for a large variety of models. However, questions remain. Here I briefly review critical phenomena, discuss some recent results, and describe a model which demonstrates similar phenomena without gravity.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures; Submission for the proceedings of ICGC 2000 in the journal Preman

In Patients With Severe Alcoholic Hepatitis, Prednisolone Increases Susceptibility to Infection and Infection-Related Mortality, and Is Associated With High Circulating Levels of Bacterial DNA

Background & Aims Infections are common in patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis (SAH), but little information is available on how to predict their development or their effects on patients. Prednisolone is advocated for treatment of SAH, but can increase susceptibility to infection. We compared the effects of infection on clinical outcomes of patients treated with and without prednisolone, and identified risk factors for development of infection in SAH. Methods We analyzed data from 1092 patients enrolled in a double-blind placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of treatment with prednisolone (40 mg daily) or pentoxifylline (400 mg 3 times each day) in patients with SAH. The 2 × 2 factorial design led to 547 patients receiving prednisolone; 546 were treated with pentoxifylline. The trial was conducted in the United Kingdom from January 2011 through February 2014. Data on development of infection were collected at evaluations performed at screening, baseline, weekly during admission, on discharge, and after 90 days. Patients were diagnosed with infection based on published clinical and microbiologic criteria. Risk factors for development of infection and effects on 90-day mortality were evaluated separately in patients treated with prednisolone (n = 547) and patients not treated with prednisolone (n = 545) using logistic regression. Pretreatment blood levels of bacterial DNA (bDNA) were measured in 731 patients. Results Of the 1092 patients in the study, 135 had an infection at baseline, 251 developed infections during treatment, and 89 patients developed an infection after treatment. There was no association between pentoxifylline therapy and the risk of serious infection (P = .084), infection during treatment (P = .20), or infection after treatment (P = .27). Infections classified as serious were more frequent in patients treated with prednisolone (odds ratio [OR], 1.27; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.27−2.92; P = .002). There was no association between prednisolone therapy and infection during treatment (OR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.78−1.37; P = .80). However, a higher proportion (10%) of patients receiving prednisolone developed an infection after treatment than of patients not given prednisolone (6%) (OR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.07−2.69; P = .024). Development of infection was associated with increased 90-day mortality in patients with SAH treated with prednisolone, independent of model for end-stage liver disease or Lille score (OR, 2.46; 95% CI, 1.41−4.30; P = .002). High circulating bDNA predicted infection that developed within 7 days of prednisolone therapy, independent of Model for End-Stage Liver Disease and white blood cell count (OR, 4.68; 95% CI, 1.80−12.17; P = .001). In patients who did not receive prednisolone, infection was not independently associated with 90-day mortality (OR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.54−1.62; P = .82) or levels of bDNA (OR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.39−1.75; P = .62). Conclusions Patients with SAH given prednisolone are at greater risk for developing serious infections and infections after treatment than patients not given prednisolone, which may offset its therapeutic benefit. Level of circulating bDNA before treatment could identify patients at high risk of infection if given prednisolone; these data could be used to select therapies for patients with SAH. EudraCT no: 2009-013897-42; Current Controlled Trials no: ISRCTN88782125

Retropharyngeal Abscess and Pott’s Disease Due to Tuberculosis: A Case Report

Introduction: Extrapulmonary mycobacterial infection can lead to vertebral spondylitis and osteomyelitis (Pott’s disease). Retropharyngeal abscess with concurrent spinal osteomyelitis is a rare presentation of tuberculosis in the US. Chart review on a patient was completed, and the relevant published literature was reviewed. Case Presentation: A previously healthy 34-year-old male originally from Sudan presented to an outside hospital with a 2-month history of neck pain, sore throat, odynophagia, fevers, and chills. MRI showed a retropharyngeal abscess and suspected cervical spine osteomyelitis. Acid-fast bacillus (AFB) smear was positive from a neck drain specimen, but sputum was negative. Chest imaging did not show findings consistent with pulmonary tuberculosis. He was treated with rifampin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol (RIPE) along with moxifloxacin and linezolid due to concern for possible multidrug resistant tuberculosis and transferred to our center for further care. Culture isolated Mycobacterium tuberculosis. CT neck showed vertebral tuberculous osteomyelitis (Pott’s disease) of C1-C3 with a multiloculated retropharyngeal and prevertebral abscess (Figure 1). The patient was taken to the OR for posterior spinal fusion from occiput to C4 and transoral incision and drainage of the abscess. The post-operative course was uneventful, and moxifloxacin and linezolid were discontinued when Xpert MTB/RIF test revealed rifampin susceptibility. At follow-up the patient’s symptoms had resolved. Patient consent was obtained to utilize this case for educational purposes. Conclusions: This report presents the multidisciplinary treatment of this patient requiring infection control measures and antibiotic therapy by infectious disease, posterior spine fusion by orthopedic surgery, and retropharyngeal abscess drainage by otolaryngology

VAST: An ASKAP Survey for Variables and Slow Transients

The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) will give us an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the transient sky at radio wavelengths. In this paper we present VAST, an ASKAP survey for Variables and Slow Transients. VAST will exploit the wide-field survey capabilities of ASKAP to enable the discovery and investigation of variable and transient phenomena from the local to the cosmological, including flare stars, intermittent pulsars, X-ray binaries, magnetars, extreme scattering events, interstellar scintillation, radio supernovae and orphan afterglows of gamma ray bursts. In addition, it will allow us to probe unexplored regions of parameter space where new classes of transient sources may be detected. In this paper we review the known radio transient and variable populations and the current results from blind radio surveys. We outline a comprehensive program based on a multi-tiered survey strategy to characterise the radio transient sky through detection and monitoring of transient and variable sources on the ASKAP imaging timescales of five seconds and greater. We also present an analysis of the expected source populations that we will be able to detect with VAST.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figures. Submitted for publication in Pub. Astron. Soc. Australi

Shaping the Supervision Narrative: Innovating Teaching and Leading to Improve STEM Instruction

This paper offers a model of supervisory collaboration that brings teacher and administrator programs together through a lens of formative evaluation. The roles of teacher and principal must be collaborative to sustain student success, yet the preparation models for those respective positions are often isolated from each other, as varying university departments and focus areas exist in silos. Preparation programs must maximize the clinical experiences of teacher education and administrator preparation programs, with a focus on practical teaching strategies and authentic feedback to pre-service educators and their instructors for reflection and change. This paper overviews a collaborative supervision model and incorporates case study vignettes focused on reflective supervisory practices in a STEM instructional environment

Evaluation of feed budgeting, complete diet blending, and corn-supplement blending on finishing-pig performance

A total of 283 pigs (PIC TR4 x 1050, initially 77.2 ± 1.4 lb BW) were used to compare phase feeding with blending finishing diets by using the FeedPro system (Feedlogic Corporation, Willmar, MN). There were 3 experimental treatments: (1) a standard 4-phase complete feed program, (2) blending high- and low-lysine complete diets over the entire experiment, and (3) blending ground corn and a separate complete supplement within each phase. FeedPro is an integrated feed dispensing system that can deliver and blend 2 separate diets while dispensing. The 4 phases were 77 to 120, 120 to 175, 175 to 221, and 221 to 278 lb. Each treatment had 12 replicate pens and 8 pigs per pen. Overall (77 to 278 lb), ADG and ADFI were similar (P \u3e 0.24) across treatments. However, pigs fed the ground corn-supplement blend had poorer (P \u3c 0.01) F/G than pigs fed diets blended in multiple phases and tended to have poorer (P \u3c 0.09) F/G than pigs fed the standard phase diets. There were no differences (P \u3e 0.70) in HCW, percentage yield, and loin depth across treatments. Pigs fed using phase feeding of the ground corn-supplement blend had greater (P \u3c 0.02) percentage lean and lower (P \u3c 0.04) fat depth than pigs fed using phase feeding of complete diets or diet blending. There were no (P \u3e 0.28) statistical differences in total revenue and income over feed costs (IOFC) across treatments. However, the highest IOFC was obtained from diet blending, which had a numeric advantage of $1.44 to$2.32/pig over other treatments. In conclusion, the FeedPro system blended separate complete diets and a ground corn-supplement combination without adversely affecting growth performance and carcass characteristics.; Swine Day, Manhattan, KS, November 18, 201

Modelling the impact of improving screening and treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection on future hepatocellular carcinoma rates and liver-related mortality.

BACKGROUND: The societal, clinical and economic burden imposed by the complications of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection - including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) - is expected to increase over the coming decades. However, new therapies may improve sustained virological response (SVR) rates and shorten treatment duration. This study aimed to estimate the future burden of HCV-related disease in England if current management strategies remain the same and the impact of increasing diagnosis and treatment of HCV as new therapies become available. METHODS: A previously published model was adapted for England using published literature and government reports, and validated through an iterative process of three meetings of HCV experts. The impact of increasing diagnosis and treatment of HCV as new therapies become available was modelled and compared to the base-case scenario of continuing current management strategies. To assess the 'best case' clinical benefit of new therapies, the number of patients treated was increased by a total of 115% by 2018. RESULTS: In the base-case scenario, total viraemic (HCV RNA-positive) cases of HCV in England will decrease from 144,000 in 2013 to 76,300 in 2030. However, due to the slow progression of chronic HCV, the number of individuals with cirrhosis, decompensated cirrhosis and HCC will continue to increase over this period. The model suggests that the 'best case' substantially reduces HCV-related hepatic disease and HCV-related liver mortality by 2020 compared to the base-case scenario. The number of HCV-related HCC cases would decrease 50% by 2020 and the number progressing from infection to decompensated cirrhosis would decline by 65%. Therefore, compared to projections of current practices, increasing treatment numbers by 115% by 2018 would reduce HCV-related mortality by 50% by 2020. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis suggests that with current treatment practices the number of patients developing HCV-related cirrhosis, decompensated cirrhosis and HCC will increase substantially, with HCV-related liver deaths likely to double by 2030. However, increasing diagnosis and treatment rates could optimise the reduction in the burden of disease produced by the new therapies, potentially halving HCV-related liver mortality and HCV-related HCC by 2020

Human and great ape red blood cells differ in plasmalogen levels and composition

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Plasmalogens are ether phospholipids required for normal mammalian developmental, physiological, and cognitive functions. They have been proposed to act as membrane antioxidants and reservoirs of polyunsaturated fatty acids as well as influence intracellular signaling and membrane dynamics. Plasmalogens are particularly enriched in cells and tissues of the human nervous, immune, and cardiovascular systems. Humans with severely reduced plasmalogen levels have reduced life spans, abnormal neurological development, skeletal dysplasia, impaired respiration, and cataracts. Plasmalogen deficiency is also found in the brain tissue of individuals with Alzheimer disease.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In a human and great ape cohort, we measured the red blood cell (RBC) levels of the most abundant types of plasmalogens. Total RBC plasmalogen levels were lower in humans than bonobos, chimpanzees, and gorillas, but higher than orangutans. There were especially pronounced cross-species differences in the levels of plasmalogens with a C16:0 moiety at the <it>sn</it>-1 position. Humans on Western or vegan diets had comparable total RBC plasmalogen levels, but the latter group showed moderately higher levels of plasmalogens with a C18:1 moiety at the <it>sn</it>-1 position. We did not find robust sex-specific differences in human or chimpanzee RBC plasmalogen levels or composition. Furthermore, human and great ape skin fibroblasts showed only modest differences in peroxisomal plasmalogen biosynthetic activity. Human and chimpanzee microarray data indicated that genes involved in plasmalogen biosynthesis show cross-species differential expression in multiple tissues.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We propose that the observed differences in human and great ape RBC plasmalogens are primarily caused by their rates of biosynthesis and/or turnover. Gene expression data raise the possibility that other human and great ape cells and tissues differ in plasmalogen levels. Based on the phenotypes of humans and rodents with plasmalogen disorders, we propose that cross-species differences in tissue plasmalogen levels could influence organ functions and processes ranging from cognition to reproduction to aging.</p

Measurements of Smoke Characteristics in HVAC Ducts

Research paper published in the journal Fire Technology in 2001The characteristics of smoke traveling in an HVAC duct have been observed along with the response of selected duct smoke detectors. The simulated HVAC system consists of a 9 m long duct, 0.45 m in diameter. An exhaust fan is placed at one end of the duct and is capable of inducing airflow rates that range from 0 to 1.5 m 3 /s. The flow is controlled by means of a manual damper. On the upstream end of the duct there is a square exhaust hood approximately 2.2 m at the bottom and 0.3 m at the top. The bottom of the hood is approximately 2.5 m above the floor a shroud extends down to approximately 1.5 m above the floor. The test section, placed immediately downstream of the hood, is 3.5 m long duct with a square cross section of 0.4 m on a side. The instrumentation includes oxygen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide gas analyzers and a load cell to determine the energy release rate of the fires tested. The smoke within the duct is characterized by means of a laser light sheet and CCD camera, two white light source and photocell ensembles, a Pitot tube and an array of eight thermocouples placed on the vertical plane of symmetry. A smoke detector was placed at the downstream end of the test section. Two types of detectors were tested, ionization and photoelectric, with a single sampling probe geometry. The fires tested cover a wide range of fuels (propane, heptane, toluene, toluene/heptane mixture, shredded paper, polyurethane foam, wood cribs) with the peak energy release rates up to 800 kW. The smoke detector performance, temperature, flow field, smoke particle size and particle distributions are dependent on the fire characteristics and airflow through the duct. The different measurements could be scaled by means of the fire size and airflow rate but left a strong dependency on the fuel and burning characteristics (i.e. smoldering, flaming). The optical density and mass optical density are analyzed as metrics for characterizing smoke and smoke detector response. Detailed comparisons between the different metrics used are presented throughout this work. Clear evidence of stratification and aging of the smoke along the duct are also presented. The limitations of the present configuration and the need for a larger scale study are also discussed