bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comment on ‘The relativistic Aharonov–Bohm–Coulomb system with position-dependent mass’
Authors: Mendrot V B , de Castro A S
Published: November 2020

It is shown that the paper ‘The relativistic Aharonov–Bohm–Coulomb system with position-dependent mass’ recently published in this journal has fulcrum on false assertions.
Role of interactions in a closed quenched driven diffusive system
Authors: Pal Bipasha , Gupta Arvind Kumar
Published: November 2020

We study the non-equilibrium steady states in a closed system consisting of interacting particles obeying exclusion principle with quenched hopping rate. Cluster mean field approach is utilized to theoretically analyze the system dynamics in terms of phase diagram, density profiles, current, etc, with respect to interaction energy E. It turns out that on increasing the interaction energy beyond a critical value, E
c, shock region shows non-monotonic behavior and contracts until another critical value

E

c

1

is attained; a further increase leads to its expansion. Moreover, the phase diagram of an interacting system with specific set of parameters has a good agreement with its non-interacting analogue. For interaction energy below E
c, a new shock phase displaying features different from non-interacting version is observed leading to two distinct shock phases. We have also performed Monte Carlo simulations extensively to validate our theoretical findings.
Experimental study of forming limit diagram and mechanical properties of aluminum foils processed by the accumulative roll bonding
Authors: Alisaraei E A , Hashemi R , Rahmatabadi D , Sommitsch C
Published: November 2020

In this article, for the first time, the forming limit diagram (FLD) and mechanical properties of aluminum foil samples processed by the accumulative roll bonding (ARB) process have been studied experimentally. For this purpose, thin aluminum foils with a thickness of 200 microns have been produced using ARB in five passes at ambient temperature. By rising the number of ARB passes, the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) enhanced drastically, and at the end pass of ARB, it reached 393 MPa, about 5.9 times larger than the initial sample. Also, during the ARB process, the applied strain increased, and the thickness of the layers decreased, and the bonding quality between layers improved. SEM images of tensile fracture surface after five cycles showed the mechanism of fracture retained ductile. However, due to the unevenly applied strain, the dimples were drawn in different directions, and their depth and number were reduced relative to the raw material. The area under the FLDs, a criterion of formability, declined sharply after the first pass and then increased at a low rate until the final pass. The trend of similar changes of formability in the tensile (elongation) and Nakazima tests (FLDs) was reported. Responsibility for all mechanical properties and ductility changes is related to the ARB process’s nature and the two dominant mechanisms of strain hardening and grain refinement.
Fish mucus mediated biosynthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles: spectral characterization, morphology and biological activity
Authors: Chinnadurai G , Subramanian R , Ahamed Maqusood
Published: November 2020

Simple methodology was developed to synthesize copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) using mucus of Channa striatus (C. striatus). The mucus of C. striatus is known for its biological properties due to the presence of numerous amino acids. This mucus was used as stabilizing agent for CuO NPs synthesis from copper acetate. The prepared CuO NPs were characterized by fourier transforms infrared spectrometer (FTIR), powder x-ray diffraction (XRD), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray analysis (EDX) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) coupled with selected area diffraction pattern (SAED). The FTIR study suggested the utilization of mucus in the synthesis of CuO NPs. The XRD data also confirmed formation of pure crystalline phase of CuO NPs. Fish mucus stabilized CuO NPs exhibited significant activity against HeLa cells. The results of cell death clearly indicated that the synthesized CuO nanoparticles could be served as a biomaterial for anticancer treatment.
Non-homogeneous extensions of Cantor minimal systems
Authors: Deeley Robin , Putnam Ian , Strung Karen
Published: November 2020

Floyd gave an example of a minimal dynamical system which was an extension of an odometer and the fibres of the associated factor map were either singletons or intervals. Gjerde and Johansen showed that the odometer could be replaced by any Cantor minimal system. Here, we show further that the intervals can be generalized to cubes of arbitrary dimension and to attractors of certain iterated function systems. We discuss applications.
Schubert varieties and finite free resolutions of length three
Authors: Sam Steven , Weyman Jerzy
Published: November 2020

In this paper we describe the relationship between the finite free resolutions of perfect ideals in split format (for Dynkin formats) and certain intersections of opposite Schubert varieties with the big cell for homogeneous spaces

G

/

P

G/P

, where

P
P

is a maximal parabolic subgroup.
The burden of service for faculty of color to achieve diversity and inclusion: the minority tax
Authors: Trejo JoAnn
Published: November 2020

The exclusion of Blacks/African-Americans, Latinx/Hispanics, and Indigenous people from science has resulted in their underrepresentation in the biomedical workforce, especially in academia. Faculty diversity at academic institutions is unacceptably low (<6%) and has remained unchanged in the past 20 years. Despite low representation, faculty of color are disproportionately tasked with service to enhance diversity and inclusion of the academy, often to the detriment of their research and academic success. This essay offers a perspective on the undue burden of service placed on underrepresented faculty to achieve institutional diversity and inclusion. I reflect on the challenges that faculty of color face trying to maintain a competitive research program while serving the needs of the academy, often in a capacity greater than that of their well-represented peers. I also discuss opportunities for faculty of color to leverage related diversity and inclusion work to boost their career progression and academic advancement.
Retrospective Analyses Associate Hemostasis Activation Biomarkers With Poor Outcomes in Patients With COVID-19
Authors: Moosavi Mitchell , Wooten Melanie , Goodman Abigail , Nahab Fadi B , Duncan Alexander , Maier Cheryl , Guarner Jeannette
Published: November 2020

Objectives

Patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have thromboembolic complications. Assessment of coagulation and other markers could be useful to understand their coagulopathy.

Methods

We performed a retrospective study of inflammatory and coagulation parameters, including prothrombin fragment 1.2 (PF1.2), thrombin-antithrombin complexes (TATs), fibrin monomers, and D-dimer, in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We compared the markers in patients with thrombosis, admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), and poor outcome.

Results

Of the 81 patients, 9 (11%) experienced an acute thrombotic event (4 with pulmonary embolism, 3 with venous thrombosis, and 2 with stroke). PF1.2 was elevated in 32 (39%) patients, TATs in 54 (67%), fibrin monomers in 49 (60%), and D-dimer in 76 (94%). Statistically significant elevation in PF1.2 and TATs was seen in patients admitted to the ICU, while D-dimer and fibrin monomers were significantly elevated in patients with poor outcomes. The presence of multiple abnormal coagulation parameters was associated with ICU admission. Other parameters with statistically significant results included abnormal WBC counts and elevated C-reactive protein, which were associated with ICU admission and poor outcomes.

Conclusions

Our data demonstrate that abnormalities of biomarkers of hemostasis activation and inflammatory markers are associated with poor outcomes in patients with COVID-19.
Secondary Upper Blepharoplasty: Converting Static Folds Into Dynamic Folds
Authors: Huang Jiuzuo , Feng Shouyun , Dong Ruijia , Wang Hefei , Hamra Sam T , Liu Zhigang , Long Xiao
Published: November 2020

Background

For the patients seeking secondary upper blepharoplasty, a static double-eyelid fold featuring an immobile lower flap and depression of the fold is common.

Objectives

In this study, the authors propose a novel technique of reconstructing pretarsal tissue defects (PTDs) to converting static folds to dynamic folds.

Methods

A total of 203 patients with static folds underwent revision surgery. After complete adhesion release of the lower flap, a PTD was identified, which was defined as an area deficient of orbicularis oculi muscle in front of the tarsal plate. If the width of the PTD was over 2 mm, tissue transfer was performed to reconstruct the PTD, usually with a free retro-orbicularis oculus fat graft or a pretarsal orbicularis oculi flap.

Results

Among the 105 patients with severe static folds, 67 received retro-orbicularis oculus fat grafts and 38 received orbicularis oculi muscle flaps. This technique converted a static fold into a dynamic fold. The surgery satisfaction rate was 86.7%. Complications included partial fold loss (n = 7, 3.4%), complete fold loss (n = 3, 1.5%), sunken upper eyelids (n = 5, 2.5%), multiple folds (n = 3, 1.5%), an unnatural curve of the double fold (n = 5, 2.5%), and asymmetric folds (n = 4, 2.0%).

Conclusions

To convert a static fold to a dynamic fold, we devised a technique that releases adhesion of the lower flap and reconstructs the PTD with retro-orbicularis oculus fat graft or an orbicularis oculi muscle flap. Our study achieved a high patient satisfaction rate, and the resulting fold mimicked the dynamics of the congenital double-eyelid fold.

Level of Evidence: 4
Transcriptome analysis of cepharanthine against a SARS-CoV-2-related coronavirus
Authors: Li Shasha , Liu Wenli , Chen Yangzhen , Wang Liqin , An Wenlin , An Xiaoping , Song Lihua , Tong Yigang , Fan Huahao , Lu Chenyang
Published: November 2020

Antiviral therapies targeting the pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are urgently required. We studied an already-approved botanical drug cepharanthine (CEP) in a cell culture model of GX_P2V, a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-related virus. RNA-sequencing results showed the virus perturbed the expression of multiple genes including those associated with cellular stress responses such as endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and heat shock factor 1 (HSF1)-mediated heat shock response, of which heat shock response-related genes and pathways were at the core. CEP was potent to reverse most dysregulated genes and pathways in infected cells including ER stress/unfolded protein response and HSF1-mediated heat shock response. Additionally, single-cell transcriptomes also confirmed that genes of cellular stress responses and autophagy pathways were enriched in several peripheral blood mononuclear cells populations from COVID-19 patients. In summary, this study uncovered the transcriptome of a SARS-CoV-2-related coronavirus infection model and anti-viral activities of CEP, providing evidence for CEP as a promising therapeutic option for SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Complete populations of virtual patients forin silicoclinical trials
Authors: Sinisi S , Alimguzhin V , Mancini T , Tronci E , Leeners B
Published: November 2020

Motivation

Model-based approaches to safety and efficacy assessment of pharmacological drugs, treatment strategies or medical devices (In Silico Clinical Trial, ISCT) aim to decrease time and cost for the needed experimentations, reduce animal and human testing, and enable precision medicine. Unfortunately, in presence of non-identifiable models (e.g. reaction networks), parameter estimation is not enough to generate complete populations of Virtual Patients (VPs), i.e. populations guaranteed to show the entire spectrum of model behaviours (phenotypes), thus ensuring representativeness of the trial.

Results

We present methods and software based on global search driven by statistical model checking that, starting from a (non-identifiable) quantitative model of the human physiology (plus drugs PK/PD) and suitable biological and medical knowledge elicited from experts, compute a population of VPs whose behaviours are representative of the whole spectrum of phenotypes entailed by the model (completeness) and pairwise distinguishable according to user-provided criteria. This enables full granularity control on the size of the population to employ in an ISCT, guaranteeing representativeness while avoiding over-representation of behaviours. We proved the effectiveness of our algorithm on a non-identifiable ODE-based model of the female Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal axis, by generating a population of 4 830 264 VPs stratified into 7 levels (at different granularity of behaviours), and assessed its representativeness against 86 retrospective health records from Pfizer, Hannover Medical School and University Hospital of Lausanne. The datasets are respectively covered by our VPs within Average Normalized Mean Absolute Error of 15%, 20% and 35% (90% of the latter dataset is covered within 20% error).

Availability and implementation. Our open-source software is available at https://bitbucket.org/mclab/vipgenerator

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Osteotomies for avascular necrosis of the femoral head
Authors: Quaranta Marco , Miranda Luca , Oliva Francesco , Aletto Cristian , Maffulli Nicola
Published: November 2020

Background

In osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH), blood supply is insufficient for the metabolic requirements of the bone. The initial management is conservative, and, in case of failure, surgery is indicated. Osteotomies aim to change the spatial position of the necrotic portion of the femoral head. This systematic review evaluates the effectiveness and safety of osteotomies for ONFH.

Source of data

The systematic review, organized, conducted and reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines, was performed on PubMed and Google Scholar. We analysed outcomes in term of Harris Hip Score, leg shortening, secondary collapse and blood loss. We also verified the percentage of patients who required total hip replacement (THR) after osteotomy for ONFH.

Areas of agreement

A total of 16 articles were selected, including 775 patients and 852 osteotomies [curved varus osteotomy in 369 (43.3%) patients; transtrochanteric rotational osteotomy in 435 (51.05%) patients; half wedge osteotomy in 48 (5.6%) patients]. There was an overall THR conversion rate of 31.5% (268 hips on 852 osteotomies).

Areas of controversy

There were no prospective randomized trials, and the outcome measures employed were often heterogeneous.

Growing points

Approximately one-third of the osteotomies performed in cases of ONFH are converted to THR over a period of ~7 years. In older patients, primary THR should be considered, especially as the conversion to THR after osteotomy is technically demanding.

Areas timely for developing research

Randomized clinical studies should be conducted in order to define the parameters of the patient that can direct towards the most suitable osteotomic technique.
The genome sequence of tetraploid sweet basil, Ocimum basilicum L., provides tools for advanced genome editing and molecular breeding
Authors: Gonda Itay , Faigenboim Adi , Adler Chen , Milavski Renana , Karp Merrie-Jean , Shachter Alona , Ronen Gil , Baruch Kobi , Chaimovitsh David , Dudai Nativ
Published: November 2020

Sweet basil, Ocimum basilicum L., is a well-known culinary herb grown worldwide, but its uses go beyond the kitchen to traditional medicine, cosmetics and gardening. To date, the lack of an available reference genome has limited the utilization of advanced molecular breeding methods. We present a draft version of the sweet basil genome of the cultivar ‘Perrie’, a fresh-cut Genovese-type basil. Genome sequencing showed basil to be a tetraploid organism with a genome size of 2.13 Gbp, assembled in 12,212 scaffolds, with > 90% of the assembly being composed of 107 scaffolds. About 76% of the genome is composed of repetitive elements, with the majority being long-terminal repeats. We constructed and annotated 62,067 protein-coding genes and determined their expression in different plant tissues. We analysed the currently known phenylpropanoid volatiles biosynthesis genes. We demonstrated the necessity of the reference genome for a comprehensive understanding of this important pathway in the context of tetraploidy and gene redundancy. A complete reference genome is essential to overcome this redundancy and to avoid off-targeting when designing a CRISPR: Cas9-based genome editing research. This work bears promise for developing fast and accurate breeding tools to provide better cultivars for farmers and improved products for consumers.
Inactivation of the core cheVAWY chemotaxis genes disrupts chemotactic motility and organised biofilm formation in Campylobacter jejuni
Authors: Reuter Mark , Ultee Eveline , Toseafa Yasmin , Tan Andrew , van Vliet Arnoud H M
Published: November 2020

Flagellar motility plays a central role in the bacterial foodborne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni, as flagellar motility is required for reaching the intestinal epithelium and subsequent colonisation or disease. Flagellar proteins also contribute strongly to biofilm formation during transmission. Chemotaxis is the process directing flagellar motility in response to attractant and repellent stimuli, but its role in biofilm formation of C. jejuni is not well understood. Here we show that inactivation of the core chemotaxis genes cheVAWY in C. jejuni strain NCTC 11168 affects both chemotactic motility and biofilm formation. Inactivation of any of the core chemotaxis genes (cheA, cheY, cheV or cheW) impaired chemotactic motility but did not affect flagellar assembly or growth. The ∆cheY mutant swam in clockwise loops, while complementation restored normal motility. Inactivation of the core chemotaxis genes interfered with the ability to form a discrete biofilm at the air-media interface, and the ∆cheY mutant displayed reduced dispersal/shedding of bacteria into the planktonic fraction. This suggests that while the chemotaxis system is not required for biofilm formation per se, it is necessary for organized biofilm formation. Hence interference with the Campylobacter chemotaxis system at any level disrupts optimal chemotactic motility and transmission modes such as biofilm formation.
Fractional ridge regression: a fast, interpretable reparameterization of ridge regression
Authors: Rokem Ariel , Kay Kendrick
Published: November 2020

Background

Ridge regression is a regularization technique that penalizes the L2-norm of the coefficients in linear regression. One of the challenges of using ridge regression is the need to set a hyperparameter (α) that controls the amount of regularization. Cross-validation is typically used to select the best α from a set of candidates. However, efficient and appropriate selection of α can be challenging. This becomes prohibitive when large amounts of data are analyzed. Because the selected α depends on the scale of the data and correlations across predictors, it is also not straightforwardly interpretable.

Results

The present work addresses these challenges through a novel approach to ridge regression. We propose to reparameterize ridge regression in terms of the ratio γ between the L2-norms of the regularized and unregularized coefficients. We provide an algorithm that efficiently implements this approach, called fractional ridge regression, as well as open-source software implementations in Python and matlab (https://github.com/nrdg/fracridge). We show that the proposed method is fast and scalable for large-scale data problems. In brain imaging data, we demonstrate that this approach delivers results that are straightforward to interpret and compare across models and datasets.

Conclusion

Fractional ridge regression has several benefits: the solutions obtained for different γ are guaranteed to vary, guarding against wasted calculations; and automatically span the relevant range of regularization, avoiding the need for arduous manual exploration. These properties make fractional ridge regression particularly suitable for analysis of large complex datasets.
Dadasnake, a Snakemake implementation of DADA2 to process amplicon sequencing data for microbial ecology
Authors: Weißbecker Christina , Schnabel Beatrix , Heintz-Buschart Anna
Published: November 2020

Background

Amplicon sequencing of phylogenetic marker genes, e.g., 16S, 18S, or ITS ribosomal RNA sequences, is still the most commonly used method to determine the composition of microbial communities. Microbial ecologists often have expert knowledge on their biological question and data analysis in general, and most research institutes have computational infrastructures to use the bioinformatics command line tools and workflows for amplicon sequencing analysis, but requirements of bioinformatics skills often limit the efficient and up-to-date use of computational resources.

Results

We present dadasnake, a user-friendly, 1-command Snakemake pipeline that wraps the preprocessing of sequencing reads and the delineation of exact sequence variants by using the favorably benchmarked and widely used DADA2 algorithm with a taxonomic classification and the post-processing of the resultant tables, including hand-off in standard formats. The suitability of the provided default configurations is demonstrated using mock community data from bacteria and archaea, as well as fungi.

Conclusions

By use of Snakemake, dadasnake makes efficient use of high-performance computing infrastructures. Easy user configuration guarantees flexibility of all steps, including the processing of data from multiple sequencing platforms. It is easy to install dadasnake via conda environments. dadasnake is available at https://github.com/a-h-b/dadasnake.
Pulse recruitment and recovery of Cayman Islands Nassau Grouper (Epinephelus striatus) spawning aggregations revealed by in situ length-frequency data
Authors: Stock Brian C , Heppell Scott A , Waterhouse Lynn , Dove India C , Pattengill-Semmens Christy V , McCoy Croy M , Bush Phillippe G , Ebanks-Petrie Gina , Semmens Brice X
Published: November 2020

Fish spawning aggregations (FSAs) are vulnerable to overexploitation, yet quantitative assessments of FSA populations are rare. We document an approach for how to conduct such an assessment, evaluating the response of Critically Endangered Nassau Grouper (Epinephelus striatus) to protections in the Cayman Islands. We assessed pre-protection status on all islands using length data from fishery catch. We then used 17 years of noninvasive length-frequency data, collected via diver-operated laser calipers, to estimate recruitment and spawning biomass of Nassau Grouper on Little Cayman following protection. Bimodal length distributions in 2017–2019 indicated a large recruitment pulse (4–8× average) derived from spawning in 2011. Biomass recovered to 90–106% of the pre-exploitation level after 16 years, largely driven by the strong 2011 year class. Length distributions were also bimodal in 2017–2019 on nearby Cayman Brac, implying a synchronous recruitment pulse occurred on both islands. Our results demonstrate that: (i) in situ length data can be used to monitor protected FSAs; (ii) spatiotemporal FSA closures can be effective, but success takes time if population recovery depends upon sporadic recruitment; and (iii) FSA fishery management targets may need to be higher than commonly recommended (i.e. spawning potential ratio >0.6 instead of 0.4).
COVID-19 is having a destructive impact on health-care workers’ mental well-being
Authors: Vanhaecht Kris , Seys Deborah , Bruyneel Luk , Cox Bianca , Kaesemans Gorik , Cloet Margot , Van Den Broeck Kris , Cools Olivia , De Witte Andy , Lowet Koen , Hellings Johan , Bilsen Johan , Lemmens Gilbert , Claes Stephan
Published: November 2020

Background

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may aggravate workplace conditions that impact health-care workers’ mental health. However, it can also place other stresses on workers outside of their work. This study determines the effect of COVID-19 on symptoms of negative and positive mental health and the workforce’s experience with various sources of support. Effect modification by demographic variables was also studied.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey study, conducted between 2 April and 4 May 2020 (two waves), led to a convenience sample of 4509 health-care workers in Flanders (Belgium), including paramedics (40.6%), nurses (33.4%), doctors (13.4%) and management staff (12.2%). About three in four were employed in university and acute hospitals (29.6%), primary care practices (25.7%), residential care centers (21.3%) or care sites for disabled and mental health care. In each of the two waves, participants were asked how frequently (on a scale of 0–10) they experienced positive and negative mental health symptoms during normal circumstances and during last week, referred to as before and during COVID-19, respectively. These symptoms were stress, hypervigilance, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, unable to relax, fear, irregular lifestyle, flashback, difficulty concentrating, feeling unhappy and dejected, failing to recognize their own emotional response, doubting knowledge and skills and feeling uncomfortable within the team. Associations between COVID-19 and mental health symptoms were estimated by cumulative logit models and reported as odds ratios. The needed support was our secondary outcome and was reported as the degree to which health-care workers relied on sources of support and how they experienced them.

Results

All symptoms were significantly more pronounced during versus before COVID-19. For hypervigilance, there was a 12-fold odds (odds ratio 12.24, 95% confidence interval 11.11–13.49) during versus before COVID-19. Positive professional symptoms such as the feeling that one can make a difference were less frequently experienced. The association between COVID-19 and mental health was generally strongest for the age group 30–49 years, females, nurses and residential care centers. Health-care workers reported to rely on support from relatives and peers. A considerable proportion, respectively, 18 and 27%, reported the need for professional guidance from psychologists and more support from their leadership.

Conclusions

The toll of the crisis has been heavy on health-care workers. Those who carry leadership positions at an organizational or system level should take this opportunity to develop targeted strategies to mitigate key stressors of health-care workers’ mental well-being.
245 Equine research programs: Where are they going?
Authors: Nielsen Brian D
Published: November 2020

Those in the equine community have a strong desire for knowledge in the quest to provide the best care for their horses. Unfortunately, they often seek out advice through on-line sources and are quick to take anecdotal evidence or testimonials as fact. While those in the scientific community would encourage decisions to be made based upon quality research, often there are insufficient data available to answer questions posed by the industry. One of the reasons for this is limited resources. In the past it was common to have departmental-funded assistantships for graduate students. However, those assistantships have disappeared in many departments and now students are often supported through grants. Likewise, there is additional pressure by administrators for federal funding though “horse research” is often considered less important to such funding agencies as horses are viewed as recreational animals as opposed to being a food-producing animals. Hence, much funded equine research would fall under the category of product-testing. While somewhat limited in scope, such research may provide the opportunity to answer other research questions if projects are appropriately planned. However, such “side-projects” are only useful if adequate subject numbers and controls are in place. Reduced animal availability and increased costs of utilizing horses in research may necessitate using other animal models for horses to answer fundamental questions and, if appropriately designed, may allow projects to be competitive for federal funding. Especially as it pertains to junior faculty, collaborative research utilizing colleagues with specialized skills can be important in terms of promoting competitive and fundamental research proposals. While limited resources may increase the appeal for low-cost studies, there is still a need for well-designed studies that answer questions critical to the horse industry and doing quality research is important to enhance the reputation of equine research.
95 Evaluation of variation attributable to lab and technician for measurements of beef carcass traits made using ultrasound
Authors: Schmidt Bradie M , MacNeil Michael , Gonda Michael
Published: November 2020

Carcass data that is collected using ultrasound contributes to national genetic evaluation of beef cattle. Cattle are scanned by many technicians and the resulting images are processed by three laboratories providing data to breed associations. The Ultrasound Guidelines Council certifies technicians and laboratories as being proficient. However, there has been no comprehensive evaluation of non-genetic sources of variation that affect the data. The objective of this study was to partition the variance of ultrasound carcass measurements to animal genetic effects, ultrasound scanning technician and image interpretation laboratory. Ultrasound carcass data for longissimus muscle area, percent intramuscular fat, and subcutaneous fat depth were provided by the American Angus Association (n=65,971), American Hereford Association (n=43,380), and American Simmental Association (n=48,298). For each breed variance components were estimated for additive genetic effects of each animal, technician, contemporary group nested within technician and residual. Genetic correlations were estimated treating measurements from the different interpretation laboratories as separate traits. Across all three breeds, additive genetic effects explained between 15 and 30%, 11 and 25%, and 6 and 13% of the phenotypic variance for IMF, SQF, and LMA, respectively. Similarly, technician explained 12-27%, 4-28%, and 4-26% of the phenotypic variance; contemporary groups within technician accounted for 25-45%, 20-54%, and 43-73% of phenotypic variance. Among the image interpretation laboratories, the ratio of greatest to least residual variance was 3.96, 1.62, and 1.50 for IMF, SQF, and LMA, respectively. Genetic correlations between labs ranged from 0.79 to 0.95 for IMF, 0.64 to 0.94 for SQF and 0.78 to 0.98 for LMA. These results suggest the potential for the residual variances to be heterogeneous, particularly for IMF, depending on the image interpretation laboratory.
217 Young Scholar Presentation: The use of diverse cattle breeds to understand marbling development and growth
Authors: Jaborek Jerad , Fluharty Francis L , Relling Alejandro E
Published: November 2020

Wagyu cattle have been genetically selected to have superior marbling deposition compared with many other cattle breeds, including Angus. It was hypothesized that greater marbling deposition by Wagyu influenced cattle may be due to an additional wave of adipogenic gene expression compared with Angus cattle. The present study compared the expression of lipid metabolism genes within the longissimus muscle (LM) of Wagyu and Angus sired cattle at similar harvest endpoints: days on feed and age, or body weight (613 kg). Angus sired steers were sired by an Angus bull selected for marbling (T1), while Wagyu sired steers were sired by either a Wagyu bull selected for growth (T2 & T4) or marbling (T3 & T5), at the respective age or body weight endpoints. Cattle were weaned at 7 months of age, entered the feedlot 54 d later, and consumed the same growing (119 d) and finishing ration. Muscle biopsies were collected from the LM posterior to the 13th rib at approximately 7, 9, 11, 14, and 17 months of age (harvest) for T1, T2, and T3 cattle. Muscle biopsies for T4 and T5 cattle were collected when their body weight was similar to T1 cattle at the time of biopsy, approximately 241, 276, 400, 531, and 613 kg (harvest). The high marbling sired Wagyu steers (T3 &T5) had greater marbling scores and percent LM lipid compared with high growth Wagyu (T2 & T4) and Angus sired steers. Gene expression results from high marbling sired Wagyu steers (T3 &T5) demonstrated additional peaks of PPARδ mRNA expression, greater and earlier PPARγ mRNA expression, and greater or additional peaks of GPAM1, LPIN1, and HSL mRNA expression compared with high growth Wagyu (T2 & T4) and Angus sired steers.
117 Consumer perceptions of beef and beef production
Authors: Husted Rick
Published: November 2020

Consumers love beef but are often uncertain about how beef is raised. In this session we’ll learn more about consumer perceptions, where we are strong and areas where the industry could improve. Focus will be given to consumer attitudes related to beef production and how misconceptions are driving the need for more and more education in this area. Time will also be spent looking at beef’s competition, including focus on meat substitutes and how consumers few these products.
78 Evaluation of the growth performance of finishing pigs (Genesus genetics) to titrated levels of dietary lysine
Authors: Fent Russell W , Hedges Jim D , Peper Kelly M , Liptrap Dennis O
Published: November 2020

A total of 1,000 Genesus (Oakville, Manitoba, Canada) genetics pigs (51.8 kg body weight) were used to estimate the standardized ileal digestible (SID) lysine requirement by dietary phase. Pigs were penned by sex at 25 pigs per pen. Pens were allotted to one of five dietary treatments in a completely randomized design with eight replicate pens (four barrow, four gilt) per treatment. Growth performance was evaluated in four independent phases in which pens were re-allotted to dietary treatment between phases. Dietary SID Lys concentrations evaluated were 0.78, 0.88, 0.98, 1.08, and 1.18% for phase 1, 0.68, 0.77, 0.86, 0.95, and 1.04% for phase 2, 0.60, 0.67, 0.75, 0.83 and 0.90% for phase 3, and 0.53, 0.60, 0.67, 0.74, and 0.81% for phase 4. Diets were formulated to be isoenergetic within each phase. During phase 1 (52-64 kg), average daily gain (ADG) and gain to feed ratio (G:F) increased (P < 0.01) quadratically with increasing SID Lys. Breakpoint analysis estimated the SID Lys requirement for ADG and G:F for phase 1 at 0.99 and 1.02%, respectively. During phase 2 (64-82 kg), ADG increased (P < 0.10) quadratically as dietary SID Lys increased with a plateau observed above 0.86% SID Lys. Gain:feed increased linearly (P < 0.01) with increasing SID Lys. During phase 3 (82-97 kg) cost of gain was a quadratic response (P < 0.10) with the breakpoint being at 0.76% SID Lys. During phase 4 (97-131 kg), a linear response (P < 0.02) in G:F was observed with increasing SID Lys but with no improvement above 0.67% SID Lys. These data indicate the SID lysine requirement for Genesus finishing pigs to be approximately 0.99% (23.0 g/d) for 52-64 kg, 0.86% (21.9 g/d) for 64-82 kg, 0.76% (20.2 g/d) for 82-97 kg, and 0.67% (21.6 g/d) 97-131 kg.
158 Effect of fumonisin-contaminated corn on growth performance of 9- to 28-kg nursery pigs
Authors: Rao Zhong-Xing , Tokach Mike D , Dritz Steve S , Woodworth Jason C , DeRouchey Joel M , Goodband Robert D , Calderon Cartagena Hilda I
Published: November 2020

A total of 350 pigs (241×600; DNA, Columbus, NE; initially 8.9 kg) were used in a 28-d study to determine the effect of fumonisin-contaminated corn on growth performance of nursery pigs. Dietary treatments consisted of fumonisin-contaminated corn blended with low fumonisin corn to provide analyzed toxin (FB1 + FB2) levels in the final diet of 7.2, 14.7, 21.9, 32.7, and 35.1 ppm. There were 5 pigs per pen and 14 pens per treatment. Pens were assigned to treatments in a randomized complete block design with initial weight as the blocking factor. Data were analyzed using lme package in R program with pen as the experimental unit. From d 0 to 28, increasing fumonisin decreased (linear, P< 0.05) ADG, ADFI, G:F, and final BW. Although responses tested linear, the greatest reduction in ADG and G:F was observed in pigs fed 32.7 and 35.1 ppm of fumonisin. Increasing fumonisin increased serum sphinganine to sphingosine (Sa:So) ratios (linear, P< 0.001) on day 14 and 28. Serum Sa:So ratio appears to be a useful biomarker indicating fumonisin intoxication. These results suggest that for 9- to 28-kg nursery pigs, diets containing 32 ppm of fumonisin or greater decreased growth performance and increased serum Sa:So ratio. Further research is warranted to determine the effects of fumonisin concentrations between 22 and 32 ppm.
88 Benefits of increasing amino acid intake in late gestation in prolific sows
Authors: Ball Ron , Levesque Crystal L , Cadogan D J
Published: November 2020

Most sows are fed a constant energy and amino acid supply throughout gestation, in line with the recommendations of most authorities and swine genetic companies. These recommendations for sow feeding have seen little change in decades, despite the many ways that sows have changed dramatically in reproductive performance. Beginning in about the year 2000, sow litter size has steadily increased as a result of genetic selection. With this increase in litter number has been a steady decline in birth weight, and the resulting negative effects of lower birthweight on subsequent piglet performance. Many experiments using so-called ‘bump’ feeding, or increased energy intake in late gestation, have been conducted in attempts to arrest this decline in birthweight and piglet performance. Generally, these experiments have shown little to no improvement in birthweight and often have negative effects on sow feed intake during gestation. These experiments have ignored the fact that the energy:amino acid ratios (lysine, threonine, isoleucine, tryptophan) in late gestation are different than during early and mid-gestation. In recent research in Australia we hypothesised that rapidly increasing essential amino acid levels in late gestation would increase birth weight and potentially improve subsequent reproductive performance. Three hundred and thirty-four multiparous PIC sows (average parity 3.6, average LW 261 kg) were housed in a dynamic gestation pen after mating and randomly assigned to one of two diet regimes. Two 13.5 MJ/kg DE gestation diets were formulated and created by blending in an ESF. The Control diet contained 0.48 g SID lysine per MJ DE and SID threonine, methionine+ cysteine, isoleucine and tryptophan at 68%, 65%, 58% and18% of SID lysine and offered at 2.2kg/day from d 28 to d 110. Sow were then moved to the farrowing house and placed on a lactation diet at 3.5kg/d. The Treatment diet contained 0.55 g SID lysine/MJ DE and SID threonine, methionine+cysteine, isoleucine and tryptophan at 78%, 65%, 60% and 20% of SID lysine and offered at 2.1kg/d from d 28 to d 85 and then increased to 2.4 kg/d to d 110 d. Increasing essential amino acid levels in late gestation increased gestational weight gain (5.6 kg, P=0.004), increased total litter birth weight (1.25 kg, P=0.003), and increased the birthweight of liveborn pigs from 1.286 to 1.329 kg, (P=0.04). There was no significant effect on the total number born or born alive. Piglet performance is not available because this commercial farm practices cross-fostering. Effects of continuation of this feeding regime in the same sows during subsequent parities is currently being evaluated.
172 Increasing inclusion of fermentable fiber decreases nutrient digestibility in grower pigs
Authors: Heyer Charlotte , Wang L F , Zijlstra R T
Published: November 2020

Fermentable fiber may increase endogenous losses of P and AA, thereby reducing apparent nutrient digestibility. Acacia gum fiber with medium-to-high fermentability and low viscosity was used to investigate its effect on apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of nutrients, and standardized total tract digestibility (STTD) of P in grower pigs. A P-free basal diet (49% corn starch; 18% bovine plasma protein) was formulated to measure basal endogenous P losses (EPL). Three diets were formulated to include 2.5, 5.0, or 7.5% acacia gum fiber at the expense of corn starch in the P-free basal diet. Diets contained 16.1–17.4% CP and 0.31–0.33% total P (DM-basis). The 4 diets were fed to 8 ileal-cannulated barrows (initial BW, 54.6 kg) for four 9-d periods in a double 4 × 4 Latin square. Apparent hindgut fermentation (AHF) was ATTD minus AID. Increasing inclusion of acacia gum quadratically decreased (P < 0.01) AID of DM (∆ 11.1%), linearly decreased (P < 0.05) ATTD of DM (∆ 1.7%) CP (∆ 1.2%), and quadratically increased (P < 0.05) AHF of DM (∆ 9.4%). Basal EPL were 391 and 377 mg/kg DM intake (DMI) for ileum and total tract, respectively. Increasing inclusion of fiber linearly increased (P < 0.05) ileal EPL (∆ 184 mg/kg DMI), and tended to linearly increase (P < 0.10) EPL for total tract (∆ 243 mg/kg DMI). Dietary inclusion of acacia gum tended to linearly decrease (P < 0.10) AID of P, but did not affect (P > 0.10) ATTD, or STTD of P. In conclusion, increasing inclusion of fermentable, low viscous acacia gum fiber decreased diet digestibility of DM and ATTD of CP, but did not affect total tract P digestibility, indicating that increasing fermentable fiber did not increase specific endogenous losses of P in the total tract.
263 Effects of soybean meal level on growth performance of 11- to 25-kg nursery pigs
Authors: Cemin Henrique S , Tokach Mike D , Dritz Steve S , Woodworth Jason C , DeRouchey Joel M , Goodband Robert D
Published: November 2020

Four experiments were conducted to determine the effects of increasing soybean meal (SBM) in diets with or without 25% DDGS on growth performance of nursery pigs. Treatments were arranged in a 2 × 3 factorial with main effects of SBM (27.5, 32.5, or 37.5%) and DDGS (0 or 25%). A total of 296, 2,502, 4,118, and 711 pigs, initially 10.6, 11.7, 12.5, and 12.3 kg, were used and there were 10, 16, 13, and 12 replicates per treatment in Exp. 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Experimental diets were fed for 21 d. Pigs were weighed and feed disappearance measured to calculate ADG, ADFI, G:F, and caloric efficiency (CE). Data were analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS with block as random effect and treatment as fixed effect. The average cull rate was 0.7, 0.5, 0.2, and 0% and the mortality rate was 0.7, 0.3, 0.4, and 0% in Exp. 1 to 4, respectively. There were interactions (P ≤ 0.039) between SBM and DDGS for G:F and CE in Exp. 2 and for ADG and ADFI in Exp. 3. These were mostly driven by increasing SBM negatively affecting performance in a greater magnitude when diets contained DDGS compared to diets without DDGS. The main effects of DDGS and SBM were more consistent across experiments. Pigs fed diets with 25% DDGS had decreased (P ≤ 0.001) ADG and ADFI in all experiments as well as poorer (P ≤ 0.028) G:F and CE except for Exp. 3. Feeding increasing amounts of SBM generally did not result in any major impact in ADG, but consistently improved (linear, P ≤ 0.078) G:F and CE across experiments. The mechanism for this response is unclear but could be driven by intrinsic components of SBM or underestimating the energy value of SBM.
31 Effect of polyunsaturated fatty acid and methionine supplementation during late gestation on offspring growth, glucose tolerance test, and carcass characteristic in sheep
Authors: Rosa-Velazquez Milca , Pinos-Rodriguez Juan M , Relling Alejandro E
Published: November 2020

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of supplementing polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), methionine (M) or both to ewes during late gestation on offspring growth, dry matter intake (DMI), carcass composition, and glucose and insulin metabolism (by conducting a glucose tolerance test (GTT)). Seventy-two post-weaned lambs (6 pens/treatment, 3 lambs/pen) born from ewes supplemented from gestation day 100 until lambing were used. Dam supplementation was: 1) no PUFA nor M supplementation (NFA-NM); 2) supplementation with PUFA (PUFA-NM, 1 % StrataG113); 3) supplementation with M (NFA-MET, 0.1 % rumen protected methionine, Smartamine); and 4) supplementation with PUFA and M (PUFA-MET). At weaning (60 days of age) lambs were fed a common finishing diet for 54 days, and DMI was measured daily. Lambs were weighed on weaning day (d0), d28, and d54. Twenty-four lambs (one per pen) were used for a GTT on d55. On d56, other 24 lambs were harvested for carcass characteristics measurements. Offspring data was analyzed as a 2x2x2 factorial (FA, M, and sex). Ewe supplementation affected (P < 0.1) lamb DMI. On d54 lambs born from No FA and methionine showed a greater DMI. There was a tendency for plasma glucose concentration for PUFA*MET*Time (P = 0.07) in the GGT. Lambs born from ewes supplemented with methionine had greater glucose concentration than NFA-NM born lambs, and lambs born from PUFA*MET had greater glucose concentration than the other lambs at 2m of the GGT. Dam MET supplementation decreased lamb’s insulin response (P = 0.06). Hot carcass weight (HCW) (P = 0.08) and Ribeye area (REA) (P = 0.02) were affected by treatment and sex. A tendency and a triple interaction FA*MET*Sex were observed; NFA-MET methionine had a greater HCW and a larger REA. In conclusion, lamb’s insulin response and carcass characteristics are affected by dam’s supplementation.
233 NaturSafe® supplementation mitigates some aspects of the acute phase immune response to a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge in weaned beef calves
Authors: Burdick Sanchez Nicole C , Carroll Jeffery A , Broadway Paul R , Edrington Tom S , Yoon Ilkyu , Belknap Craig R
Published: November 2020

This study was conducted to determine if feeding calves NaturSafe would reduce the acute phase response (APR) to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge. Crossbred steers (n=32; 274±2 kg) were randomly allotted to two treatment diets: 1) Control, fed a standard receiving ration, and 2) NaturSafe, fed the Control ration supplemented with NaturSafe at 12 g/hd/d (NaturSafe®, Diamond V). On d22, steers were fitted with indwelling jugular catheters and rectal temperature monitoring devices and placed in individual stalls. On d23, steers were challenged i.v. with 0.25 µg/kg BW LPS. Serum samples were collected and sickness behavior scores (SBS) recorded at 0.5-h intervals from -2 to 8h and at 24h relative to LPS challenge. Rectal temperatures were greater (P=0.01) in NaturSafe compared to Control steers for the following time intervals following LPS challenge: 6 to 11h, 13h, 15 to 20h, and 22 to 24h. Additionally, SBS were reduced (P< 0.01) in NaturSafe compared to Control steers. White blood cell concentrations were greater (P=0.05) in NaturSafe compared to Control steers prior to the LPS challenge, yet the response to LPS did not differ between treatments (P >0.05). A treatment × time interaction for serum cortisol concentrations (P< 0.01) showed an increase at 0.5 and 2h post-challenge but a reduction at 3h in NaturSafe compared to Control steers. Additionally, fibrinogen was greater (P< 0.01) in NaturSafe compared to Control steers. There was a treatment × time interaction (P< 0.01) for TNF-α where concentrations were reduced from 1 to 2h post-challenge in NaturSafe compared to Control steers. Serum IL-6 tended (P=0.09) to show a reduction in serum concentrations in NaturSafe compared to Control steers. There was a tendency (P=0.07) for a treatment × time interaction for IFN-γ. Overall these data suggest a priming effect of NaturSafe on the innate immune system of steers, resulting in an attenuated APR to the LPS challenge.