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The article discusses various papers published within the issue, including one on the status of nutrition and physical activity education for health care professionals, another on residency and fellowship education and a report calling for medical education reform.

The use of molecular genetic information in the evaluation of livestock has become more common. This study looks at the efficacy of using such information to improve the genetic evaluation of a rare breed of dual-purpose cattle. Data were available in the form of pedigree information on the Gloucester cattle breed in the United Kingdom and recorded milk and beef performance on a small number of animals. In addition, molecular genetic information in the form of multi-marker, multiple regression results converted to a 1 to 10 score (Igenity scores) and 123 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotypes for 199 non-recorded animals were available. Appropriate mixed-animal models were explored for the recorded traits and these were used to calculate estimated breeding values (EBV), and their accuracies, for 6527 animals in the breed’s pedigree file. Various ways to improve the accuracy of these EBV were explored. This involved using multivariate BLUP analyses, genomic estimated breeding values (GEBV) and combining Igenity scores with recorded traits in a series of bivariate genetic analyses. Using the milk recording traits as an example, the accuracy of a number of traits could be improved using multivariate analyses by up to 14%, depending on the combination of traits used. The level of increase in accuracy largely corresponded to the absolute difference between the genetic and residual correlations between two traits, but this was not always symmetrical. The use of GEBV did not increase the accuracy of milk trait EBV owing to the low proportion of variance explained by the 101 SNPs used. Using Igenity scores in bivariate analyses with the recorded data was more successful in increasing EBV accuracy. The largest increases were found in genotyped animals with no recorded performance (e.g. a 58% increase in fat weight in milk); however, the size of the increase depended on the level of the genetic correlation between the recorded trait and the Igenity score for that trait. Lower levels of improvements in accuracy were seen in animals that were recoded but not genotyped, and ancestors which were neither genotyped nor recorded. This study demonstrated that it was possible to improve the accuracy of EBV estimation by including Igenity score information in genetic analyses but it also concluded that increasing the level of performance recording in the breed would be beneficial. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The effect of feeding pigs in a three-phase feeding (3PF) system or a daily-phase feeding (DPF) system on growth performance, body composition, and N and P excretions was studied on 8 pens of 10 pigs each. Feeds for the 3PF and DPF treatments were obtained by mixing two feeds, one with a high nutrient concentration and the other with a low nutrient concentration. The DPF pigs tended (P=0.08) to consume more feed (+3.7%) than the 3PF pigs, but only during the first feeding phase. The DPF pigs consumed 7.3% less protein (P<0.01) but a similar amount of total P. For the whole growing period, the DPF pigs tended (P=0.08) to gain more weight (+2.4%) than the 3PF pigs, mainly because of faster growth (P=0.02) during the first feeding period. At the end of the experiment, total body protein mass was similar in the two treatment groups, but the DPF pigs had 8% more body lipids (P=0.04) than the 3PF pigs. Daily multiphase feeding reduced N excretion by 12% (P<0.01) but did not significantly reduce P excretion. In addition, feed costs, nutrient intake and nutrient excretion under the two feeding strategies were simulated and compared after different approaches were used to formulate complete feeds for each phase of the 3PF system, as well as the two feeds used in the DPF program. Simulated feed intake and growth was similar to those observed in the animal experiment. In comparison with the simulated 3PF system, the feed cost for the DPF pigs was reduced by 1.0%, the simulated N and P intakes were reduced by 7.3% and 4.4%, respectively, and the expected N and P excretions were reduced by 12.6% and 6.6%, respectively. The concomitant adjustment of the dietary concentration of nutrients to match the evaluated requirements of pig populations can be an efficient approach to significantly reduce feeding costs and N and P excretions in pig production systems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Piglet body composition at weaning could be a determinant for pig’s viability and may be influenced by factors such as the nutritional management followed during suckling. An experiment was conducted to study whether intermittent suckling (IS) affects body composition at weaning and nutrient and energy retention during a 34-day lactation period in Iberian piglets. Litters were subjected to conventional suckling (CS) or IS (n=10 litters of six piglets per treatment) in two trials. All piglets had ad libitum access to creep feed from day 15 onwards. In IS, piglets were progressively separated from the sow for 6, 8 and 10 h daily during the last week of lactation, whereas in CS piglets had continuous access to their dams. Creep feed intake in litters and BW development of individual piglets were measured throughout the 34-day lactation. Within each litter, both at birth and at weaning (day 35), one piglet was used to assess nutrient retention and body composition by the comparative slaughter approach. During days 29 to 35 of the experiment, daily creep feed intake was greater in IS piglets (IS 124, CS 67 g/piglet, P=0.040), and average daily gain differed significantly between groups (IS 190, CS 150 g/day, P=0.010). BW at weaning was higher in the IS than in the CS piglets (IS 8.19, CS 7.48 kg, P=0.011). Empty-body fat and energy content at weaning were higher in the IS compared with CS litters, as well as fat content in the carcass (P=0.04). The IS treatment did not affect empty-body protein deposition, but significantly increased daily retention of fat, energy, ash and calcium, compared with CS litters (P<0.05). Thus, IS in Iberian piglets seems to enhance feed intake, growth rate and retention of some body components, which may contribute to a higher body fat content at weaning and facilitate the weaning process. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The expression of oestrous behaviour in Holstein Friesian dairy cows has progressively decreased over the past 50 years. Reduced oestrus expression is one of the factors contributing to the current suboptimal reproductive efficiency in dairy farming. Variation between and within cows in the expression of oestrous behaviour is associated with variation in peripheral blood oestradiol concentrations during oestrus. In addition, there is evidence for a priming role of progesterone for the full display of oestrous behaviour. A higher rate of metabolic clearance of ovarian steroids could be one of the factors leading to lower peripheral blood concentrations of oestradiol and progesterone in high-producing dairy cows. Oestradiol acts on the brain by genomic, non-genomic and growth factor-dependent mechanisms. A firm base of understanding of the ovarian steroid-driven central genomic regulation of female sexual behaviour has been obtained from studies on rodents. These studies have resulted in the definition of five modules of oestradiol-activated genes in the brain, referred to as the GAPPS modules. In a recent series of studies, gene expression in the anterior pituitary and four brain areas (amygdala, hippocampus, dorsal hypothalamus and ventral hypothalamus) in oestrous and luteal phase cows, respectively, has been measured, and the relation with oestrous behaviour of these cows was analysed. These studies identified a number of genes of which the expression was associated with the intensity of oestrous behaviour. These genes could be grouped according to the GAPPS modules, suggesting close similarity of the regulation of oestrous behaviour in cows and female sexual behaviour in rodents. A better understanding of the central genomic regulation of the expression of oestrous behaviour in dairy cows may in due time contribute to improved (genomic) selection strategies for appropriate oestrus expression in high-producing dairy cows. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Increase of fat cells (FCs) in adipose tissue is attributed to proliferation of preadipocytes or immature adipocytes in the early stage, as well as adipogenic differentiation in the later stage of adipose development. Although both events are involved in the FC increase, they are contrary to each other, because the former requires cell cycle activity, whereas the latter requires cell cycle withdrawal. Therefore, appropriate regulation of cell cycle inhibition is critical to adipogenesis. In order to explore the important cell cycle inhibitors and study their expression in adipogenesis, we adopted a strategy combining the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database available on the NCBI website and the results of quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) data in porcine adipose tissue. Three cell cycle inhibitors – cyclin G2 (CCNG2), cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2C (CDKN2C) and peripheral myelin protein (PMP22) – were selected for study because they are relatively highly expressed in adipose tissue compared with muscle, heart, lung, liver and kidney in humans and mice based on two GEO DataSets (GDS596 and GDS3142). In the latter analysis, they were found to be more highly expressed in differentiating/ed preadipocytes than in undifferentiated preadipocytes in human and mice as shown respectively by GDS2366 and GDS2743. In addition, GDS2659 also suggested increasing expression of the three cell cycle inhibitors during differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells. Further study with qPCR in Landrace pigs did not confirm the high expression of these genes in adipose tissue compared with other tissues in market-age pigs, but confirmed higher expression of these genes in FCs than in the stromal vascular fraction, as well as increasing expression of these genes during in vitro adipogenic differentiation and in vivo development of adipose tissue. Moreover, the relatively high expression of CCNG2 in adipose tissue of market-age pigs and increasing expression during development of adipose tissue was also confirmed at the protein level by western blot analysis. Based on the analysis of the GEO DataSets and results of qPCR and Western blotting we conclude that all three cell cycle inhibitors may inhibit adipocyte proliferation, but promote adipocyte differentiation and hold a differentiated state by inducing and maintaining cell cycle inhibition. Therefore, their expression in adipose tissue is positively correlated with age and mature FC number. By regulating the expression of these genes, we may be able to control FC number, and, thus, reduce excessive fat tissue in animals and humans. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Pigs are increasingly used in medical research as transgenic laboratory animals; however, little knowledge is presently available concerning their welfare assessment. The aim of the present study was to investigate some welfare-related parameters of transgenic pigs intended for xenotrasplantation (human decay-accelerating factor (hDAF)) when compared with their conventional (i.e. not transgenic) close relatives (full sibs and half sibs). A total of 14 Large White female transgenic pigs and 10 female non-transgenic (conventional) pigs from four litters were used. All pigs were from the same conventional boar, donor of the semen treated for sperm-mediated gene transfer. During the experiment, BW ranged from 50 to about 80 kg and pigs were weighed at the beginning and at the end of the experiment. Animals were subjected to a set of behavioural tests: a human approach test (HAT), a novel object test (NOT) and an open-door test (ODT). Food preferences were tested through the offer of different foods (banana, apple, carrot, cracker and lemon). During a 4-day period, pigs were diurnally videotaped to study the prevalence of the different behaviours and social interactions (aggressive and non-aggressive interactions). At the end of the trial, cortisol level had been assessed on bristles. No significant differences (P>0.05) were observed between hDAF transgenic and conventional pigs with respect to growth traits, reactivity towards unexpected situations (HAT, NOT, ODT), food preferences, main behavioural traits, social interactions and hair cortisol. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Surgical castration in pig husbandry is criticized for welfare reasons. Thus, it is necessary to evaluate alternative ways of rearing male pigs, such as entire or immunocastrated animals. Immunocastration is a vaccination directed against gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) to suppress the production of sexual hormones. This study aimed at investigating the effects of these two methods of castration in comparison with intact male pigs on blood T-lymphocyte subsets and function, the immunoglobulin (Ig) response to an influenza vaccine and health markers during sexual development. A total of 70 animals were allocated to three experimental groups: entire (E), surgically castrated at 5 to 6 days of age (SC), and immunized against GnRH at 3 and 4 months of age (IC). Blood samples were collected at 3, 4 and 5 months. At slaughter, global health status and body and spleen weights were measured. Results showed that SC male pigs had fewer blood lymphocytes than E pigs at 4 and 5 months (P<0.05), whereas IC pigs did not differ significantly from E pigs. The percentages of CD3+, CD3+CD4+ and CD3+CD8+ lymphocytes were not altered by treatment (P>0.1). Compared with E pigs, the SC pigs had a higher percentage of CD3+CD4+CD8+ cells at 4 months, whereas the IC pigs had a higher percentage at 5 months (P<0.05). Regarding γδT cells, SC pigs had a lower percentage than E pigs at 4 and 5 months (P<0.05), whereas IC pigs did not differ significantly from E pigs at any age. However, there were no consequences on T-lymphocyte proliferation and total IgG or anti-influenza Ig. At slaughter, relative spleen weight was decreased in IC pigs, whereas pneumonia score was decreased in SC pigs relatively to E pigs. Overall, no clear functional consequences of either method on commercial pig immune abilities were demonstrated, but more investigations are required to ascertain this conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a gas turbine cycle is modeled to investigate the effects of important operating parameters like compressor inlet temperature (CIT), turbine inlet temperature (TIT) and pressure ratio (PR) on the overall cycle performance and CO2 emissions. Such effects are also investigated on the exergy destruction and exergy efficiency of the cycle components. Furthermore, multiple polynomial regression models are developed to correlate the response variables (performance characteristics) and predictor variables (operating parameters). The operating parameters are then optimized. According to the results, operating parameters have a significant effect on the cycle performance and CO2 emissions. The largest exergy destruction is found in the combustion chamber with lowest exergy efficiency. The regression models have appeared to be a good estimator of the response variables. The optimal operating parameters for maximum performance have been determined as 288 K for CIT, 1600 K for TIT and 23.2 for PR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unconventional tight oil and gas are the main body of the increase of reserve and production in Ordos Basin. Based on the tight oil reservoir in Ordos Basin, a 7 point pattern well group numerical mechanism model with a multi-stage and multi-cluster horizontal production well in the middle and 6 vertical injection wells on the edge is established. PR3 equation of state model is used in the numerical model. The stimulated reservoir volume of horizontal well is realized by local grid refinement, and the wire-mesh model is used to simulation hydraulic fracture network. Application of the model, the development effect factors of tight oil reservoir are analyzed, which contain development methods (depletion development, water flooding development and CO2 flooding development), reservoir permeability, SRV size, fracture density, fracture conductivity and cluster spacing. The results of this paper can offer suggestions to fractured horizontal well design and tight oil reservoir development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, 3 kinds of coal, 5 kinds of wastes from steel industry were chosen, orthogonal combustion experiments were carried out in a lab-scale drop tube furnace. Burnout rate and NOx release were selected as evaluation indexes to evaluate the catalytic combustion and denitration effect. The catalytic combustion performance was discussed in term of the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of combustion residues. The results showed that NOx content and burnout rate of different coal varied greatly; some additives could change the apparent form of combustion residues, which indicated that the additives played good roles in combustion process. This paper will not only achieve purpose of improving coal burning efficiency and energy saving, but also turning wastes into valuables and protect the environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Patients with type 1 autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) have several immunologic and histologic abnormalities. It is known that depletion of B cells by rituximab is effective for treatment of IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) such as type 1 AIP, suggesting that B cells may be a key player in IgG4-RD. However, the role of regulatory B cells (Bregs) in type 1 AIP is unclear, and the objective of this paper is to clarify the role of Bregs in the pathophysiology of type 1 AIP by analyzing circulating Bregs. Method We recruited 21 patients with type 1 AIP as determined by the International Consensus Diagnostic Criteria for AIP (ICDC). No patients received corticosteroid treatments. For comparison, we recruited 14 patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP), 20 patients with pancreatic cancer, and 25 healthy subjects as controls. We analyzed Bregs as CD19 + CD24 high CD38 high and CD19 + CD24 high CD27 + from peripheral blood by flow cytometry. Results In peripheral blood, CD19 + CD24 high CD38 high Bregs were significantly increased in type 1 AIP patients compared with CP, pancreatic cancer, and healthy controls. Although not significant different, CD19 + CD24 high CD27 + Bregs of type 1 AIP were decreased compared to those of other groups. IL-10 + B cells were not significantly different from type 1 AIP patients and healthy controls. In untreated type 1 AIP patients, the number of CD19 + CD24 high CD38 high Bregs and IgG4 were not correlated. Conclusions Our data suggested that CD19 + CD24 high CD38 high Bregs seemed to increase reactively to suppress the disease activity, and are consistent with the hypothesis that CD19 + CD24 high CD27 + Bregs might be involved in the development of type 1 AIP, although it still remains unclear whether the decrease of CD19 + CD24 high CD27 + cells is cause or effect of AIP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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