Soil moisture availability has a significant impact on environmental processes of different scales. Errors in initializing soil moisture in numerical weather forecasting models tend to cause errors ...in short‐term weather and medium range predictions. We study the use of two drought indices: Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) values and Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) for estimating soil moisture. SPI and PDSI values are compared for three climate divisions: western mountains, central piedmont, and the coastal plain in North Carolina, USA. Results suggest SPI to be more representative of short‐term precipitation and soil moisture variation and hence a better indicator of soil wetness. A regression equation that uses SPI is proposed to estimate soil moisture.
The ecdysteroid biosynthetic pathway involves sequential enzymatic hydroxylations by a group of enzymes collectively known as Halloween gene proteins. Complete sequences for three Halloween genes, ...spook (Vdspo), disembodied (Vddib) and shade (Vdshd), were identified in varroa mites and sequenced. Phylogenetic analyses of predicted amino acid sequences for Halloween orthologues showed that the acarine orthologues were distantly associated with insect and crustacean clades indicating that acarine genes had more ancestral characters. The lack of orthologues or pseudogenes for remaining genes suggests these pathway elements had not evolved in ancestral arthropods. Vdspo transcript levels were highest in gut tissues, while Vddib transcript levels were highest in ovary‐lyrate organs. In contrast, Vdshd transcript levels were lower overall but present in both gut and ovary‐lyrate organs. All three transcripts were present in eggs removed from gravid female mites. A brood cell invasion assay was developed for acquiring synchronously staged mites. Mites within 4 h of entering a brood cell had transcript levels of all three that were not significantly different from mites on adult bees. These analyses suggest that varroa mites may be capable of modifying 7‐dehydro‐cholesterol precursor and hydroxylations of other steroid precursors, but whether the mites directly produce ecdysteroid precursors and products remains undetermined.
QBP359 is an IgG1 human monoclonal antibody that binds with high affinity to human CCL21, a chemokine hypothesized to play a role in inflammatory disease conditions through activation of resident ...CCR7-expressing fibroblasts/myofibroblasts. The pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of QBP359 in non-human primates were characterized through an integrated approach, combining PK, PD, immunogenicity, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and tissue profiling data from single- and multiple-dose experiments in cynomolgus monkeys. When compared with regular immunoglobulin typical kinetics, faster drug clearance was observed in serum following intravenous administration of 10 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg of QBP359. We have shown by means of PK/PD modeling that clearance of mAb-ligand complex is the most likely explanation for the rapid clearance of QBP359 in cynomolgus monkey. IHC and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry data suggested a high turnover and synthesis rate of CCL21 in tissues. Although lymphoid tissue was expected to accumulate drug due to the high levels of CCL21 present, bioavailability following subcutaneous administration in monkeys was 52%. In human disease states, where CCL21 expression is believed to be expressed at 10-fold higher concentrations compared with cynomolgus monkeys, the PK/PD model of QBP359 and its binding to CCL21 suggested that very large doses requiring frequent administration of mAb would be required to maintain suppression of CCL21 in the clinical setting. This highlights the difficulty in targeting soluble proteins with high synthesis rates.
Abstract
Silage baling process has the benefit of eliminating unknowns, such as rainy weather that can negatively affect the quality when trying to cure hay. However, the moisture content and the ...amount of time from baling to wrapping can have significant impacts on the overall quality of the silage. The objective of this study was to observe the effects of wrapping delays on nutritional quality of annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) silage bales at two levels of moisture (30 ± 9.5% or 74 ± 0.8% moisture). A single field of fully headed annual ryegrass was divided into quadrants and cut with a mower conditioner and allowed to cure for 72 hr (DRY) or cut and baled on the same d (WET). Individual silage bales randomly selected from each field quadrant were wrapped with 4 layers of 25-μm plastic film following delays of 0, 1, 2 or 3-d after baling. DRY (n = 18) and WET (n = 20) bales were assigned as replicates and wrapped by pasture quadrant, then stored for 85-d. All bales were sampled pre- and post-storage to compare the nutritional quality changes during storage. Data was analyzed using the Mixed Procedure of SAS (SAS Inst. Inc., Cary, NC) with fixed effects of moisture, wrapping delay and their interaction and bale as a random effect. Contrasts were used to test the linear and quadratic effects of wrapping delay. Over the storage period, weight of DRY bales increased 23 ± 8.1 kg, whereas weight of WET bales decreased 22 ± 7.8 kg (P < 0.01). Pre-storage TDN of the WET bales decreased linearly (P < 0.01) with delay from 56.0 ± 0.30% with no delay to 54.4 ± 0.30% with 3-d delay. Following storage, pH of DRY (5.7 ± 0.13) was greater than WET (4.6 ± 0.13) and pH tended (P = 0.07) to increase with increasing delay. In WET, lactic acid concentration decreased (P < 0.01) while acetic, propionic, and butyric acids increased (P < 0.01) with increasing delay. Organic acids were not affected (P ≥ 0.13) by wrapping delay in DRY. Changes in the fermentation profile of WET bales with delays in wrapping indicate a clostridial fermentation which will result in reduced shelf life and possible reductions in DMI by livestock. Based on these results, ryegrass fermentation patterns and nutritional quality show a decline with each day delayed before wrapping with WET silage, especially with a delays ≥ 24 hr.
The objective this research was to determine the effect of application of multiple grazing management practices at 2 stocking rates (SR) on the productivity and economics of the cow-calf enterprise ...in the Southeastern United States over a 4-yr period. Pasture management systems included: continuous grazing management at a moderate SR (0.8 ha/cow; CG) without additional forage management, rotational grazing management at a moderate SR (0.8 ha/cow (MR) with addition of stockpiled bermudagrass (L.) Pers. and complementary cool season annuals, and rotational grazing management similar to MR but with a high SR (0.4 ha/cow; HR). Stockpiling in MR and HR was managed by fertilization of 0.2 ha/cow of bermudagrass in early August with 168 kg ammonium nitrate and deferring grazing until November. Wheat (; 112 kg/ha) and annual ryegrass ( Lam.; 28 kg/ha) were interseeded (0.2 ha/cow) in HR and MR with a no-till drill in the fall. Cow and calf performance and economics data were analyzed by ANOVA using the MIXED procedure of SAS (SAS Inst. Inc., Cary, NC) and pregnancy percentage was analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS; pasture was the experimental unit and year was the random block. Hay feeding days decreased ( < 0.01) from 107 ± 10.9 d for CG to 37 ± 10.9 d for HR, which was further reduced ( = 0.01) to 15 ± 10.9 d for MR. Pregnancy percentage did not differ ( = 0.20) among treatments. Weaning BW in CG (237 ± 7.3 kg) tended ( = 0.09) to be greater than in MR (227 ± 7.3 kg) and were greater ( < 0.01) than in HR (219 ± 7.3 kg). However, total weaning BW per hectare was 89% greater ( < 0.01) for HR compared with CG and MR, which did not differ ( = 0.31). With rotational stocking, there was the opportunity to harvest excess forage as hay in both MR and HR with a net value of US$52.90/ha ± 25.73 and $15.50/ha ± 25.73, respectively. Net returns per hectare did not differ ( = 0.30) between CG ($429 ± 63.0/ha) and MR ($479 ± 63.0/ha) but were increased ( < 0.01) by 107% by HR ($1,024 ± 63.0/ha). Using rotational grazing, stockpiled bermudagrass, and complementary cool-season annual grasses can drastically reduce winter feed requirements and simultaneously increase carrying capacity and net return.
Apparent treatment-resistant hypertension (aTRH) is associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes. aTRH is common and disproportionately affects African Americans. The objective of this study is to ...explore psychosocial correlates of aTRH in a population-based cohort of African Americans with hypertension. The sample included 1392 participants in the Jackson Heart Study with treated hypertension who reported being adherent to their antihypertensive medications. aTRH was defined as uncontrolled clinic BP (⩾140/90 mm Hg) with ⩾3 classes of antihypertensive medication or treatment with ⩾4 classes of antihypertensive medication, including a diuretic. Self-reported medication adherence was defined as taking all prescribed antihypertensive medication in the 24 h before the study visit. The association of psychosocial factors (chronic stress, depressive symptoms, perceived social support and social network) with aTRH was evaluated using Poisson regression with progressive adjustment for demographic, clinical and behavioural factors. The prevalence of aTRH was 15.1% (n=210). Participants with aTRH had lower social network scores (that is, fewer sources of regular social contact) compared with participants without aTRH (P<0.01). No other psychosocial factors differed between groups. Social network was also the only psychosocial factor that was associated with aTRH prevalence in regression analyses. In age-, sex-adjusted and fully adjusted models, one additional unique source of social contact was associated with a 19% (PR=0.81; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.68-0.94, P=0.001) and a 13% (PR=0.87; 95% CI 0.74-1.0, P=0.041) lower prevalence of aTRH, respectively. Social network was independently associated with aTRH and warrants further investigation as a potentially modifiable determinant of aTRH in African Americans.
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7.1 Darfield (Canterbury) earthquake on 4 September 2010 generated widespread hydrological effects ranging from near-instantaneous coseismic liquefaction and changes of groundwater levels in ...boreholes, to more sustained (days to weeks) post-seismic changes in spring flow, river discharge and groundwater piezometric levels, to longer term shifts in groundwater level one year after the earthquake. Groundwater piezometric responses include local groundwater level increases of >20 m around the Greendale Fault, particularly in deep aquifers (>80 m), whereas decreases occurred in coastal confined aquifers beneath Christchurch city. Increases of up to 5 m persisted within 20 km of the fault 12 h after the earthquake. Groundwater levels and springs were affected throughout New Zealand, from >350 km away in Southland to nearly 1000 km away in Northland, even where shaking intensities were less than Modified Mercalli Intensity (MM) 3-4 (weak to largely observed) and peak ground acceleration was much <0.01 g. Release of artesian groundwater pressure and groundwater flow are postulated to have played pivotal roles in Christchurch liquefaction.
Growth hormone (GH) regulates both bone growth and remodeling, but it is unclear whether these actions are mediated directly by the GH receptor (GHR) and/or IGF-I signaling. The actions of GH are ...transduced by the Jak/Stat signaling pathway via Stat5, which is thought to regulate IGF-I expression. To determine the respective roles of GHR and IGF-I in bone growth and remodeling, we examined bones of wild-type, GHR knockout (GHR(-/-)), Stat5ab(-/-), and GHR(-/-) mice treated with IGF-I. Reduced bone growth in GHR(-/-) mice, due to a premature reduction in chondrocyte proliferation and cortical bone growth, was detected after 2 weeks of age. Additionally, although trabecular bone volume was unchanged, bone turnover was significantly reduced in GHR(-/-) mice, indicating GH involvement in the high bone-turnover level during growth. IGF-I treatment almost completely rescued all effects of the GHR(-/-) on both bone growth and remodeling, supporting a direct effect of IGF-I on both osteoblasts and chondrocytes. Whereas bone length was reduced in Stat5ab(-/-) mice, there was no reduction in trabecular bone remodeling or growth-plate width as observed in GHR(-/-) mice, indicating that the effects of GH in bone may not involve Stat5 activation.
Chromosome 6 is a metacentric chromosome that constitutes about 6% of the human genome. The finished sequence comprises 166,880,988 base pairs, representing the largest chromosome sequenced so far. ...The entire sequence has been subjected to high-quality manual annotation, resulting in the evidence-supported identification of 1,557 genes and 633 pseudogenes. Here we report that at least 96% of the protein-coding genes have been identified, as assessed by multi-species comparative sequence analysis, and provide evidence for the presence of further, otherwise unsupported exons/genes. Among these are genes directly implicated in cancer, schizophrenia, autoimmunity and many other diseases. Chromosome 6 harbours the largest transfer RNA gene cluster in the genome; we show that this cluster co-localizes with a region of high transcriptional activity. Within the essential immune loci of the major histocompatibility complex, we find HLA-B to be the most polymorphic gene on chromosome 6 and in the human genome.
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