The National Beef Quality Audit-2005 assessed the current status of quality and consistency of US fed steers and heifers. Hide colors or breed type were black (56.3%), red (18.6%), Holstein (7.9%), ...gray (6.0%), yellow (4.9%), brown (3.0%), white (2.3%), and brindle (1.0%). Identification method and frequency were lot visual tags (63.2%), individual visual tags (38.7%), metal-clip tags (11.8%), electronic tags (3.5%), bar-coded tags (0.3%), by other means (2.5%), and without identification (9.7%). Brand frequencies were no (61.3%), 1 (35.1%), and 2 or more (3.6%), and brands were located on the butt (26.5%), side (7.4%), and shoulder (1.2%). There were 22.3% of cattle without horns, and the majority of those with horns (52.2%) were between 2.54 and 12.7 cm in length. Percentages of animals with mud or manure on specific body locations were none (25.8%), legs (61.4%), belly (55.9%), side (22.6%), and top-line (10.0%). Permanent incisor number and occurrence were zero (82.2%), 1 (5.2%), 2 (9.9%), 3 (0.4%), 4 (1.2%), 5 (0.1%), 6 (0.3%), 7 (0.0%), and 8 (0.7%). Most carcasses (64.8%) were not bruised, 25.8% had one bruise, and 9.4% had multiple bruises. Bruise location and incidence were round (10.6%), loin (32.6%), rib (19.5%), chuck (27.0%), and brisket, flank, and plate (10.3%). Condemnation item and incidence were liver (24.7%), lungs (11.5%), tripe (11.6%), heads (6.0%), tongues (9.7%), and carcasses (0.0%). Carcass evaluation revealed these traits and frequencies: steer (63.7%), heifer (36.2%), bullock (0.05%), and cow (0.04%) sex classes; dark-cutters (1.9%); A (97.1%), B (1.7%), and C or older (1.2%) overall maturities; and native (90.9%), dairy-type (8.3%), and Bos indicus (0.8%) estimated breed types. Mean USDA yield grade (YG) traits were USDA YG (2.9), HCW (359.9 kg), adjusted fat thickness (1.3 cm), LM area (86.4 cm²), and KPH (2.3%). The USDA YG were YG 1 (16.5%), YG 2 (36.3%), YG 3 (33.1%), YG 4 (11.8%), and YG 5 (2.3%). Mean USDA quality grade traits were USDA quality grade (Select⁹⁰), marbling score (Small³²), overall maturity (A⁶⁴), lean maturity (A⁵⁷), and skeletal maturity (A⁶⁸). Marbling score distribution was Slightly Abundant or greater (2.7%), Moderate (4.3%), Modest (14.4%), Small (34.5%), Slight (41.2%), and Traces or less (2.9%). This information helps the beef industry measure progress and provides a benchmark for future educational and research activities.
In this population‐based study, seasonal periodicity was seen with reduced serum vitamin D, increased serum PTH, and increased bone resorption in winter. This was associated with an increased ...proportion of falls resulting in fracture and an increased risk of wrist and hip fractures.
Introduction: In a population of women who reside in a temperate climate and do not generally receive dietary vitamin D supplementation, we investigated whether seasonal vitamin D insufficiency is associated with increased risk of fracture.
Materials and Methods: An observational, cross‐sectional, population‐based study set in southeastern Australia (latitude 38–39° S). Participants were drawn from a well‐defined community of 27,203 women ≥55 years old: 287 randomly selected from electoral rolls, 1635 with incident fractures, and 1358 presenting to a university hospital with falls. The main outcome measures were annual periodicities of ultraviolet radiation, serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D 25(OH)D, serum parathyroid hormone (PTH), serum C‐telopeptide (CTx), BMD, falls, and fractures.
Results: Cyclic variations in serum 25(OH)D lagged 1 month behind ultraviolet radiation, peaking in summer and dipping in winter (p < 0.001). Periodicity of serum PTH was the inverse of serum 25(OH)D, with a phase shift delay of 1 month (p = 0.004). Peak serum CTx lagged peak serum PTH by 1–2 months. In late winter, a greater proportion of falls resulted in fracture (p < 0.001). Seasonal periodicity in 439 hip and 307 wrist fractures also followed a simple harmonic model (p = 0.078 and 0.002, respectively), peaking 1.5–3 months after the trough in 25(OH)D.
Conclusions: A fall in 25(OH)D in winter is accompanied by increases in (1) PTH levels, (2) bone resorption, (3) the proportion of falls resulting in fracture, and (4) the frequency of hip and wrist fracture. Whether vitamin D supplementation in winter can reduce the population burden of fractures requires further investigation.
Background. Most West Nile virus (WNV) infections in humans are asymptomatic; severe disease occurs in relatively few patients and typically manifests as encephalitis, meningitis, or acute flaccid ...paralysis. A few cases of life-threatening disease with diffuse hemorrhagic manifestations have been reported in Africa; however, this clinical presentation has not been documented for any of the >16,700 cases of WNV disease reported in the United States during 1999–2004. We describe a case of fulminant WNV infection in a 59-year-old Florida man who died following a brief illness that resembled hemorrhagic disease caused by Rickettsia rickettsii, dengue virus or yellow fever virus. Methods. Traditional and contemporary diagnostic assays, including culture isolation, electron microscopic examination, reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction amplification, and immunohistochemical stains, were used to confirm systemic WNV infection in the patient. Results. WNV was isolated in a cell culture from a skin biopsy specimen obtained from the patient shortly prior to death. Electron microscopic examination identified the isolate as a flavivirus, and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction amplified specific WNV sequences from the isolate and patient tissue. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction identified approximately 1 × 107 viral copies/mL in the patient's serum. WNV antigens were detected by immunohistochemical stains in intravascular mononuclear cells and endothelium in skin, lung, liver, kidney, spleen, bone marrow, and central nervous system; no viral antigens were identified in neurons or glial cells of the central nervous system. Conclusions. Although hemorrhagic disease is a rare manifestation of WNV infection, the findings provided by this report may offer new insights regarding the clinical spectrum and pathogenesis of WNV disease in humans.
Summary
Falls among the elderly are common and characteristics may differ between injurious and non-injurious falls. Among 887 older Australian women followed for 1.6 years, 32% fell annually. Only ...8.5% resulted in fracture and/or hospital admission. The characteristics of those falls are indistinguishable from those not coming to medical attention.
Introduction
The precipitants and environment of all falls occurring among a large cohort of older Caucasian women were categorised by injury status to determine if the characteristics differed between injurious and non-injurious falls.
Methods
Among 887 Australian women (70+ years), falls were ascertained using monthly postcard calendars and a questionnaire was administered for each fall. Hospital admissions and fractures were independently confirmed.
Results
All falls were reported for a mean observation time of 577 (IQR 546–607) days per participant, equating to a total 1400 person-years. Thirty-two percent fell at least once per year. The most common features of a fall were that the faller was walking (61%) at home (61%) during the day (88%) and lost balance (32%). Only 12% of all falls occurred at night. Despite no difference in the type of injury between day and night, the likelihood of being hospitalised from a fall at night was 4.5 times greater than that of a daytime fall with adjustment for injury type and participant age (OR 4.5, 95% CI 2.1, 9.5;
p
< 0.001). Of all falls, approximately one third were associated with no injury to the faller (31%), one third reported a single injury (37%) and one third reported more than one injury (32%). In 95% of falls, the faller was not admitted to hospital. Only 5% of falls resulted in fracture(s).
Conclusions
Our findings demonstrate the significant diversity of precipitants and environment where falls commonly occur among older community-dwelling women. Falls resulting in fracture and/or hospital admission collectively represent 8.5% of all falls and their characteristics are indistinguishable from falls not coming to medical attention and incurring no apparent cost to the health system.
Summary A large population-based random sample of Australian white men was used to provide normative bone mineral density (BMD) data at multiple anatomical sites. The femoral neck BMD data are very ...similar to those obtained in USA non-Hispanic white males participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III (NHANES III). The reference ranges will be suitable for similar populations. Introduction To provide normative BMD data for Australian men derived from a large population-based random sample. Methods An age-stratified random sample of men was recruited from the Australian electoral rolls (n = 1,467 aged 20-97 years). BMD was quantified at multiple sites using Lunar densitometers. Results Age-related differences in BMD were best predicted by linear relationships at the spine and hip and by quadratic functions at the whole body and forearm. At the spine, a small age-related increase in mean BMD was observed. Although in the subset with no spinal abnormalities, there was a decrease of 0.003 g/cm² per year from age 20. At the hip sites, mean BMD decreased at 0.001-0.006 g/cm² per year from age 20. At the forearm and whole body, BMD peaked at 41-47 years. Apart from a small difference in men greater than or equal to 80 years, the Australian femoral neck BMD data are not different to those obtained in USA non-Hispanic white males participating in NHANES III and were generally similar to those of large studies from Canada (CaMos) and Spain. Conclusions These data supply BMD reference ranges at multiple anatomical sites that will be applicable to white Australian men and similar populations such as USA non-Hispanic white men.
High-resolution space-based spectral imaging of the Earth's surface delivers critical information for monitoring changes in the Earth system as well as resource management and utilization. Orbiting ...spectrometers are built according to multiple design parameters, including ground sampling distance (GSD), spectral resolution, temporal resolution, and signal-to-noise ratio. Different applications drive divergent instrument designs, so optimization for wide-reaching missions is complex. The Surface Biology and Geology component of NASA's Earth System Observatory addresses science questions and meets applications needs across diverse fields, including terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, natural disasters, and the cryosphere. The algorithms required to generate the geophysical variables from the observed spectral imagery each have their own inherent dependencies and sensitivities, and weighting these objectively is challenging. Here, we introduce intrinsic dimensionality (ID), a measure of information content, as an applications-agnostic, data-driven metric to quantify performance sensitivity to various design parameters. ID is computed through the analysis of the eigenvalues of the image covariance matrix, and can be thought of as the number of significant principal components. This metric is extremely powerful for quantifying the information content in high-dimensional data, such as spectrally resolved radiances and their changes over space and time. We find that the ID decreases for coarser GSD, decreased spectral resolution and range, less frequent acquisitions, and lower signal-to-noise levels. This decrease in information content has implications for all derived products. ID is simple to compute, providing a single quantitative standard to evaluate combinations of design parameters, irrespective of higher-level algorithms, products, applications, or disciplines.
Cohort Profile: Geelong Osteoporosis Study PASCO, Julie A; NICHOLSON, Geoff C; KOTOWICZ, Mark A
International journal of epidemiology,
12/2012, Letnik:
41, Številka:
6
Journal Article
p53 is a pivotal molecule regulating the death of neurons both after acute injury and during development. The molecular mechanisms by which p53 induces apoptosis in neuronal cells, however, are not ...well understood. We have shown previously that adenovirus-mediated p53 gene delivery to neurons was sufficient to induce apoptosis. In the present study we have examined the molecular mechanism by which p53 evokes neuronal cell death. Adenovirus-mediated delivery of p53 to cerebellar granule neurons resulted in caspase-3 (CPP32) activation followed by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated biotinylated UTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining and loss of viability as determined by an MTT survival assay. To determine whether Bax is essential for caspase-3 activation, p53 was expressed in Bax-deficient cells. Bax null neurons did not exhibit caspase-3 activation in response to p53 and were protected from apoptosis. To determine whether Bax-dependent caspase-3 activation was required in p53-mediated neuronal cell death, caspase-3-deficient neurons were examined. Our results indicate that caspase-3-deficient neurons exhibit a remarkable delay in apoptosis and a dramatic decrease in TUNEL-positive cells. These studies demonstrate that p53-induced cell death in postmitotic neurons involves a Bax-dependent caspase-3 activation, suggesting that these molecules are important determinants in neuronal cell death after injury.
Following brain injury, and during the process of neurodegeneration, a reactive astrocytic proliferation occurs. This is accompanied by an increase in the synthesis of neuropeptides, cytokines, ...growth factors and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), a cell-specific marker for reactive astrocytes. Astrocytes are extensively coupled by gap junctions of the Cx43 connexin subtype. Several studies have shown that in severe trauma, coupling between astrocytes may add to the spread of the damaged area. In this study we ask whether the astrocytosis which is a feature of other neurodegenerative diseases also occurs in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) and whether it is accompanied by an increase in astrocytic communication through an upregulation of Cx43 gap junction channel proteins. In order to examine the astrocytic response and the expression pattern of Cx43 protein, double immunohistochemical labeling studies were undertaken using antibodies against GFAP and Cx43 applied to human hippocampal tissue resected from patients with MTLE, and to normal human control hippocampal tissue. Immunofluorescent labeling of astrocytes and Cx43 was examined using confocal laser scanning microscopy. The images obtained were quantitatively analysed and reconstructed using three-dimensional volume rendering. The results of this study have established that not only is astrocytosis greater in MTLE-affected tissues than previously suggested, but it is accompanied by a highly significant increase in astrocytic Cx43 protein levels. We hypothesize that this surprisingly large upregulation in Cx43 may exacerbate generalized seizures in the progression of MTLE.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most commonly prescribed treatments for depression and, as a class of drugs, are among the most used medications in the world. Concern ...regarding possible effects of SSRI treatment on fetal development has arisen recently as studies have suggested a link between maternal SSRI use and an increase in birth defects such as persistent pulmonary hypertension, seizures and craniosynostosis. Furthermore, SSRI exposure in adults is associated with decreased bone mineral density and increased fracture risk, and serotonin receptors are expressed in human osteoblasts and osteoclasts. To determine possible effects of SSRI exposure on developing bone, we treated both zebrafish, during embryonic development, and human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), during differentiation into osteoblasts, with the two most prescribed SSRIs, citalopram and sertraline. SSRI treatment in zebrafish decreased bone mineralization, visualized by alizarin red staining and decreased the expression of mature osteoblast-specific markers during embryogenesis. Furthermore, we showed that this inhibition was not associated with increased apoptosis. In differentiating human MSCs, we observed a decrease in osteoblast activity that was associated with a decrease in expression of the osteoblast-specific genes Runx2, Sparc and Spp1, measured with quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Similar to the developing zebrafish, no increase in expression of the apoptotic marker Caspase 3 was observed. Therefore, we propose that SSRIs inhibit bone development by affecting osteoblast maturation during embryonic development and MSC differentiation. These results highlight the need to further investigate the risks of SSRI use during pregnancy in exposing unborn babies to potential skeletal abnormalities.
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