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The daily BW gain of stocker steers grazing tall fescue [Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) S.J. Darbysh. = Schedonorus arundinaceus (Schreb.) Dumort.]-based pastures typically declines during summer. To avoid these declines, in part to mitigate the effects of tall fescue toxicosis, it is commonly advised to move cattle to warm-season forage during this period. A 3-yr (2006, 2007, and 2008) grazing study was conducted to evaluate the effect of replacing 25% of the area of a tall fescue/clover (81% endophyte-infected) pasture system with "Ozark" bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] overseeded with clover (Trifolium spp.) to provide summer grazing for stocker steers (TF+BERM). The TF+BERM treatment was compared with a grazing system in which tall fescue/clover (TF) pastures were the only type of forage available for grazing. Our objective was to determine if replacement of 25% of the land area in a fescue system with bermudagrass would increase annual beef production compared with a system based solely on tall fescue. The study was conducted at the Southwest Research and Education Center of the University of Missouri near Mt. Vernon. Each treatment was rotationally stocked with 5 steers (248 ± 19.3 kg) on 1.7 ha. Fertilizer applications were applied at rates recommended for each respective forage species. Total forage production, BW gain per hectare, and season-long ADG of steers was greater (P < 0.06) for TF+BERM than for TF in 2006, but none of these measures differed (P > 0.19) in 2007 or 2008. In vitro true digestibility of pastures was greater (P = 0.01) for TF (84.4%, SEM = 0.64%) compared with TF+BERM (80.6%, SEM = 0.79%), even in summer. The decreased in vitro true digestibility of the bermudagrass pastures likely negated any benefit that animals in TF+BERM had in avoiding the ergot-like alkaloids associated with endophyte-infected tall fescue. Renovating 25% of the pasture system to bermudagrass provided some benefit to the system in years when summertime precipitation was limited (2006) but provided no value in wetter years (2007 and 2008). Although renovating endophyte-infected tall fescue pastures to a warm-season forage is a widely used practice to mitigate tall fescue toxicosis, the benefits of this practice are limited if forage quality of the warm season component is poor.

Objective: This study was designed to assess sequentially the nutrient intake in children with chronic renal insufficiency and its relationship to body size, the level of renal failure, and growth velocity., Methods: The nutrient intake from 401 4-day food records obtained from 120 children with renal insufficiency over a 6-month observation period was analyzed. The height and weight were measured at the beginning and end of the observation period. The glomerular filtration rate was estimated from the height and serum creatinine., Results: The mean caloric intake in these children was 80 +/- 23% (mean +/- SD) of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for age. Fifty-six percent of the food records obtained from these children revealed a caloric intake that was less than 80% of the RDA. Caloric intake expressed as the %RDA for age decreased with increasing age. However, the mean caloric intake when factored by body weight was in the normal range. There was no correlation between caloric intake and height velocity. The mean protein intake in these children was 153 +/- 53% of the RDA. Further, 45% of the food records indicated a protein intake greater than 150% of the RDA. There was no relationship between the degree of renal insufficiency and caloric or protein intake. Calcium, vitamin, and zinc intakes were also low., Conclusions: Children with chronic renal failure consume less calories than their age matched peers, but the majority of these children appear to ingest adequate amounts for their body mass. This reduction in caloric intake occurs early in renal insufficiency. They also ingest inadequate amounts of calcium, zinc, vitamin B6, and folate.

During the control period of the Growth Failure in Children With Renal Diseases Study, investigators at 23 centers were able to observe and characterize growth and to make anthropometric and nutritional measurements in 82 children with mild to moderate renal insufficiency. As a multicenter, controlled clinical trial designed to study the relative efficacy of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and dihydrotachysterol in the treatment of renal osteodystrophy, no prior vitamin D exposure and a creatinine clearance of 25 to 75 ml/min/1.73 m2 were criteria for entrance into the clinical trial. Ages ranged from 18 months to 11 years (mean 5.6 +/- 3.1 years), and distribution by age category was as follows: 38%, 1 to 3 years; 28%, 4 to 6 years; and 34%, 7 to 10 years. There was a 3:1 male/female ratio; 72% of the patients had congenital disease by the International Classification of Diseases (ninth revision). Mean creatinine clearance was 49.5 +/- 20 ml/min/1.73 m2. The C-terminal parathyroid hormone values (1121 +/- 1562 pg/ml) were well above 2 SD of the mean of a normal growing population of similar age. Parathyroid hormone values correlated with degree of renal insufficiency (r = -0.57) and with height by bone age but not with chronologic height or growth velocity. The bone age/height age ratio, a predictor of growth potential in normal children, was low for the entire series of patients (0.88 +/- 0.35) but failed to correlate with growth velocity and was negatively correlated with rising parathyroid hormone levels. Average values for height, weight, triceps skin fold, mid-arm muscle circumference, and body mass index were within 2 SD of the mean of the normal population, although measurements for the 1- to 3-year age group were significantly less than those of the older patients. Total energy intake averaged less than 86% of the recommended dietary allowances; total protein intake was more than 161% of the allowance. Nitrogen balance in 23 patients was positive and correlated most significantly with increasing energy intake (r = 0.6). Growth velocity, calculated from the interval gain during the month control period, averaged +0.3 SD, with the highest growth velocity z scores recorded for those with acquired disease. A growth velocity index, expressed as the slope of the regression between change in height SD and growth velocity z score, was used to describe the growth accomplished in the control period by age category.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)