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New surgical procedures can expose patients to harm and should be carefully evaluated before widespread use. The InSpace balloon (Stryker, USA) is an innovative surgical device used to treat people with rotator cuff tears that cannot be repaired. We aimed to determine the effectiveness of the InSpace balloon for people with irreparable rotator cuff tears.We conducted a double-blind, group-sequential, adaptive randomised controlled trial in 24 hospitals in the UK, comparing arthroscopic debridement of the subacromial space with biceps tenotomy (debridement only group) with the same procedure but including insertion of the InSpace balloon (debridement with device group). Participants had an irreparable rotator cuff tear, which had not resolved with conservative treatment, and they had symptoms warranting surgery. Eligibility was confirmed intraoperatively before randomly assigning (1:1) participants to a treatment group using a remote computer system. Participants and assessors were masked to group assignment. Masking was achieved by using identical incisions for both procedures, blinding the operation note, and a consistent rehabilitation programme was offered regardless of group allocation. The primary outcome was the Oxford Shoulder Score at 12 months. Pre-trial simulations using data from early and late timepoints informed stopping boundaries for two interim analyses. The primary analysis was on a modified intention-to-treat basis, adjusted for the planned interim analysis. The trial was registered with ISRCTN, ISRCTN17825590.Between June 1, 2018, and July 30, 2020, we assessed 385 people for eligibility, of which 317 were eligible. 249 (79%) people consented for inclusion in the study. 117 participants were randomly allocated to a treatment group, 61 participants to the debridement only group and 56 to the debridement with device group. A predefined stopping boundary was met at the first interim analysis and recruitment stopped with 117 participants randomised. 43% of participants were female, 57% were male. We obtained primary outcome data for 114 (97%) participants. The mean Oxford Shoulder Score at 12 months was 34·3 (SD 11·1) in the debridement only group and 30·3 (10·9) in the debridement with device group (mean difference adjusted for adaptive design -4·2 [95% CI -8·2 to -0·26];p=0·037) favouring control. There was no difference in adverse events between the two groups.In an efficient, adaptive trial design, our results favoured the debridement only group. We do not recommend the InSpace balloon for the treatment of irreparable rotator cuff tears.Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation Programme, a Medical Research Council and National Institute for Health and Care Research partnership.

Objectives The objective was to determine the effects of degree of steam flaking of corn (SFC) on performance of finishing cattle fed diets containing wet distillers grains with solubles (WDGS). Materials and Methods Crossbred steers (n = 214: initial BW = 357 ± 26.0 kg) and heifers (n = 121: initial BW = 323 ± 30.9 kg) were randomly assigned to 54 pens and 6 diets containing 0, 15, or 30% WDGS and corn steam flaked to either 321 or 270 g/L bulk density (25 or 21 lb/bu, respectively) in a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement. Results and Discussion There were no interactions between WDGS concentration and SFC bulk density for growth performance (P > 0.48), and growth performance was not influenced by the degree of steam flaking of corn (P > 0.29). Dry matter intake (P Implications and Applications Results suggest optimal performance is achieved in SFC-based finishing diets when WDGS is fed at 15% of DM and that increasing the degree of steam flaking of corn to less than 321 g/L does not improve cattle performance in diets containing WDGS.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: There is a need to evaluate the benefit-risk ratio of current therapies in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients to provide the best quality of care. The primary objective of I-CARE (IBD Cancer and serious infections in Europe) was to assess prospectively safety concerns in IBD, with specific focus on the risk of cancer/lymphoma and serious infections in patients treated with anti-tumor necrosis factor and other biologic monotherapy as well as in combination with immunomodulators.METHODS: I-CARE was designed as a European prospective longitudinal observational multicenter cohort study to include patients with a diagnosis of Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, or IBD unclassified established at least 3 months prior to enrollment.RESULTS: A total of 10,206 patients were enrolled between March 2016 and April 2019, including 6169 (60.4%) patients with Crohn's disease, 3853 (37.8%) with ulcerative colitis, and 184 (1.8%) with a diagnosis of IBD unclassified. Thirty-two percent of patients were receiving azathioprine/thiopurines, 4.6% 6-mercaptopurine, and 3.2% methotrexate at study entry. At inclusion, 47.3% of patients were treated with an anti-tumor necrosis factor agent, 8.8% with vedolizumab, and 3.4% with ustekinumab. Roughly one-quarter of patients (26.8%) underwent prior IBD-related surgery. Sixty-six percent of patients had been previously treated with systemic steroids. Three percent of patients had a medical history of cancer prior to inclusion and 1.1% had a history of colonic, esophageal, or uterine cervix high-grade dysplasia.CONCLUSIONS: I-CARE is an ongoing investigator-initiated observational European prospective cohort study that will provide unique information on the long-term benefits and risks of biological therapies in IBD patients. (EudraCT, Number: 2014-004728-23; ClinicalTrials.gov, Number: NCT02377258).

Objective The objective was to develop an equation to indirectly predict the effect of feeding ExperiorTM (lubabegron; Elanco Animal Health, Greenfield, IN) on ammonia gas emissions (AGE) from cattle in subsequent feedlot studies. Materials and Methods Our approach was to develop a prediction equation [the Elanco Ammonia Gas Emission Prediction Model (EPM)] using data from a 91-d clinical efficacy study in which lubabegron was fed to cattle housed in a cattle pen enclosure system and compare the precision and accuracy of the EPM with the precision and accuracy of a published equation that was developed to predict AGE from open-air feedlots. Results and Discussion The evaluation of the published equation used to predict daily AGE (g/animal) resulted in poor precision (R2 = 0.329) but reasonable accuracy (prediction bias = +14.8%). The developed EPM equation explained 98.7% of the variation in observed log10 of cumulative AGE in the clinical efficacy study. Implications and Applications The EPM explained 58.9 to 84.9% of the variation in cumulative AGE in 2 evaluation data sets, with a prediction bias of +0.13 to +18.6%. These data suggest that the EPM derived from the development data set using the cattle pen enclosure measurement system showed great promise to accurately and precisely predict cumulative AGE in future feedlot studies.

The use of distiller’s grains (DG) in beef cattle finishing diets is a common practice. However, the effects of supplemental fat on performance and nutrient losses of cattle fed diets containing DG are not known. Therefore, we fed 398 crossbred yearling heifers (initial BW = 373.5 kg) for 106 d to determine the effects of dietary fat concentration and sorghum-based wet distiller’s grains with solubles (SWDGS) on performance, carcass characteristics, and nutrient losses of finishing cattle. Treatments included two 92% concentrate, steam-flaked corn (SFC)-based diets with 0% or 3% added fat from yellow grease and 3 SFC-based diets with 15% SWDGS (DM basis) that contained either 0%, 1.5%, or 3% added fat (8 pens per treatment) in a randomized block design. Overall DMI and ADG were 5% to 6% greater (P < 0.01) for heifers fed 15% SWDGS than for those fed 0% SWDGS. Among heifers fed 15% SWDGS, DMI was greatest (P = 0.04; quadratic effect) and ADG tended (P = 0.12; quadratic effect) to be greatest for heifers fed 1.5% fat. The ADG:DMI did not differ between 0% SWDGS with 0% or 3% fat, and was not altered by replacing a portion of SFC with SWDGS (P > 0.36). However, ADG:DMI tended to increase as more fat was added to diets with 15% SWDGS (P = 0.06). Average hot carcass weight (HCW) was 5 kg greater (P = 0.05) when SWDGS was fed, but HCW tended to be greatest for heifers fed 15% SWDGS with 1.5% fat (P = 0.09, quadratic effect). Heifers fed 0% SWDGS with 0% fat tended to have a lower marbling score, less rib fat, lower average yield grade (P < 0.08), and more (P < 0.01) yield grade 1 carcasses than heifers fed 0% SWDGS with 3% fat. Averaged across fat levels, heifers fed 15% SWDGS had more rib fat and a higher yield grade (P < 0.03) than heifers fed 0% SWDGS. Feeding 15% SWDGS did not alter carcass quality grade distribution compared to feeding 0% SWDGS, but 15% SWDGS produced fewer yield grade 3 carcasses (P = 0.03) than 0% SWDGS. The calculated NEg of SWDGS (1.36 Mcal/kg) was 91% of the tabular value for dry rolled corn (1.50 Mcal/kg) and 84% of the tabular value for SFC (1.62 Mcal/kg). Nitrogen intake, and N excretion were greater (P < 0.05) in heifers fed 15% SWDGS than in heifers fed the 0% SWDGS diets, but N loss as a % of N intake was less (P < 0.05). Our results suggest adding 1.5% fat to diets containing 15% SWDGS may improve beef cattle performance; however, feeding logistics need to be considered when pricing wet DG.

Introduction Colonoscopy is the gold standard for investigation of the large bowel. Adequate bowel preparation is vital to an effective procedure. A well-informed, motivated patient, who understands the process to prepare the bowel and will adhere to it, is more likely to have adequate bowel preparation. The aim of this study is to assess whether an educational video for patients undergoing colonoscopy can lead to an improvement in bowel preparation. Methods Participants referred for their first colonoscopy and receiving Moviprep were eligible for recruitment. Those recruited, were randomised 1:1 to access to the educational video or the control group. All participants were also provided with standard written instructions. The educational video was developed in collaboration with Nottingham Trent University graphics department. Primary end point was adequacy of bowel preparation, defined as a Boston Bowel Preparation Scale (BBPS) of 2 or greater in each segment. BBPS was scored at the time of the examination by the endoscopist performing the examination. Endoscopists received training on BBPS via an online video. Results 513 participants were recruited, from 6 centres, with 254 participants randomised to access to the education video. The mean age was 58 (range 18–88). 265 (52%) of whom were female. 54 patients in the control group had inadequate prep, compared with 35 participants in the intervention group (p value Conclusions Many factors affect the quality of bowel preparation. This study demonstrates that an educational video leads to a greater proportion of adequate bowel preparation compared with standard instructions alone. The number needed to treat to prevent one excess inadequate bowel preparation in this study is 14. Widespread adoption of enhanced patient education, such as this educational video, could lead to improved adequacy of bowel preparation.

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a greenhouse gas with a higher global warming potential than carbon dioxide (CO2) or methane (CH4). The objectives of this research were to quantify enteric N2O emissions from beef cattle and determine effects of dietary nitrate (NO3) concentrations. Experiments consisted of one in vitro incubation trial and 2 live animal (LA) trials. During the in vitro trial, gas was collected from 4 forage-based and 5 corn-based diets. During the LA trials, emissions were monitored from steers in respiration chambers. In LA trial 1, 5 measurements of 256 to 720 min were conducted on a single steer within a 48-h period. In LA trial 2, measurements were conducted on 4 steers in the absence of manure. Highest in vitro N2O production was from diets containing added NO3 or alfalfa. In vitro N2O increased with dietary NO3 concentrations (r2 = 0.99), with little correlation to dietary CP (r2 = 0.17). Added NO3 decreased CH4 emissions. Mean N2O emission rates (±SD) from the LA trials were 6.93 ± 2.99 mg of N2O∙kg−1 of DMI in trial 1 and 2.20 ± 0.10 mg of N2O∙kg−1 of DMI in trial 2. Mean enteric N2O emissions accounted for 0.35% (LA trial 1) and 0.12% (LA trial 2) of CO2 equivalents. Enteric N2O emission rates were 6 to 40 times lower than values cited in earlier publications. Enteric N2O emission rates were also 58 to 108 times lower than manure emissions. Therefore, efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from beef cattle should focus on enteric CH4 and manure N2O as opposed to enteric N2O.

Introduction Endoscopic treatment with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is the ablative therapy of choice for patients with flat high-grade dysplasia (HGD) and residual Barrett’s oesophagus (BO) after endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) of visible lesions. The latest BSG guidelines have recommended it for low-grade dysplasia (LGD) as well. We aim to assess safety and effectiveness from the East Midlands Barrett’s RFA database. Methods Analysis of a prospectively collected database was performed. All patients who underwent RFA for confirmed LGD on two separate occasions between February 2011 and June 2018 were included for analysis. RFA was performed with either the balloon or focal device or both, depending on Barrett’s length and preferences of the endoscopist. All patients were maintained on high dose twice daily acid suppression with proton pump inhibitors and H2 antagonists for 2 weeks immediate post RFA. Sessions were performed every 3 months until the BO was endoscopically eradicated. Confirmed remission of BO was defined as the absence of dysplasia (CRD) and intestinal metaplasia (CRIM) in all the biopsies taken from the GOJ and original BO length at follow up endoscopy 3 months after the RFA session. Results A total of 41 patients were included for analysis (88% male), median age 70 years (mean 66.9). Mean number of RFA sessions per patient was 3.2 (2–6). Average duration of treatment was 38.5 weeks (10–84). 10/41 patients are still undergoing treatment, 28/41 completed RFA protocol and the treatment was discontinued in 3 patients due to histological progression (2 cases) or complication (1 case, complex stricture). 90.3% (28/31) of patients achieved CRD and CRIM at first follow up endoscopy. During RFA treatment, histological progression occurred in 6 patients (14.6%): HGD=4 and adenocarcinoma=2. Treatment for HGD was EMR followed by RFA in 3 and RFA alone in 1 patient without visible lesion. The 2 patients with adenocarcinoma required curative surgery. Most common complication requiring intervention was oesophageal stricture in 17.1% (7/41 patients). All successfully managed with endoscopic dilatation but RFA was abandoned in 1 patient. Conclusions RFA for LGD is safe and has a high success rate. However, a higher incidence of post RFA strictures was observed in this study that requires investigating. Progression to HGD or cancer was seen in almost 15% of patients, which highlights the importance of offering treatment to this cohort of Barrett’s patients.

OBJECTIVES: to establish the accuracy of community nurses' predictions of mortality among older people with multiple long-term conditions, to compare these with a mortality rating index and to assess the incremental value of nurses' predictions to the prognostic tool. DESIGN: a prospective cohort study using questionnaires to gather clinical information about patients case managed by community nurses. Nurses estimated likelihood of mortality for each patient on a 5-point rating scale. The dataset was randomly split into derivation and validation cohorts. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate risk equations for the Revised Minimum Dataset Mortality Risk Index (MMRI-R) and nurses' predictions of mortality individually and combined. Measures of discrimination and calibration were calculated and compared within the validation cohort. SETTING: two NHS Trusts in England providing case-management services by nurses for frail older people with multiple long-term conditions. PARTICIPANTS: 867 patients on the caseload of 35 case-management nurses. 433 and 434 patients were assigned to the derivation and validation cohorts, respectively. Patients were followed up for 12 months. RESULTS: 249 patients died (28.72%). In the validation cohort, MMRI-R demonstrated good discrimination (Harrell's c-index 0.71) and nurses' predictions similar discrimination (Harrell's c-index 0.70). There was no evidence of superiority in performance of either method individually (P = 0.83) but the MMRI-R and nurses' predictions together were superior to nurses' predictions alone (P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: patient mortality is associated with higher MMRI-R scores and nurses' predictions of 12-month mortality. The MMRI-R enhanced nurses' predictions and may improve nurses' confidence in initiating anticipatory care interventions.

Continuing our series, developed with Alcon, focusing on how to best ensure comfortable contact lens wear, Andy Cole discusses the way communication skills may be used to elicit the best information upon which the best advice may be based (C76253, one distance learning CET point suitable for optometrists)

Wet distiller’s grains with solubles (WDGS) are a common by-product feedstuff generated by the grain–ethanol industry, and it is used extensively by the cattle feeding industry. Distillers grains are typically high in protein; however, the protein in WDGS has a low ruminal degradability, and thus may result in a deficiency of RDP in the diet even when dietary CP concentrations are high. Assessment of the RDP needs in diets containing WDGS is needed to aid the cattle feeding industry in managing feed costs and potential environmental issues. To that end, we conducted 2 feeding studies to evaluate the supplemental RDP requirements of beef cattle fed steam-flaked corn-based finishing diets. In Exp. 1, 525 yearling steers (initial body weight = 373 ± 13 kg) received treatments in a 2 × 3 + 1 factorial. Dietary factors included WDGS (15 or 30% of DM) and nonprotein N (NPN; 0, 1.5, or 3.0% of DM) from urea (0, 0.52, and 1.06%). The control diet without WDGS contained 3.0% NPN (1.06% urea) and cottonseed meal. Diets were formulated to have equal crude fat concentrations. Overall gain efficiency among steers fed 15% WDGS was greatest for 1.5% NPN and least for 0% NPN (P = 0.07, quadratic), whereas gain efficiency decreased linearly (P < 0.09) as NPN increased in the 30% WDGS diets. Dressing percent was greater (P < 0.01) for the Control diet than for 15 or 30% WDGS. In Exp. 2, 296 steer calves (initial BW = 344 ± 12 kg) were fed 1 of 4 experimental diets that included a Control diet without WDGS (contained 3% NPN from urea, and cottonseed meal) and 15% WDGS diets with either 1.50, 2.25, or 3.00% NPN (0.52, 0.78, and 1.04% urea, respectively, on a DM basis). Overall gain efficiency on either a live or carcass-adjusted basis was not different among treatments (P > 0.15). Dietary NPN concentration did not influence growth performance (P > 0.21). Increasing dietary WDGS concentration resulted in decreasing (P < 0.05) diet digestibility (determined with an internal marker) and increasing (P < 0.05) N volatilization losses (determined by diet and manure N:P ratio); however, the effects of NPN level on digestibility and N losses were somewhat inconsistent across experiments. Results suggest that optimum performance for cattle fed 15% WDGS occurred when the diet contained between 1.5 and 2.25% NPN. However, no supplemental NPN was needed to support optimum performance in diets containing 30% WDGS.

This study was supported by Cancer Research UK, AstraZeneca and Pfizer UK. Introduction: Phase I of the Cancer Research UK Stratified Medicine Programme (SMP1) was designed to roll out molecular pathology testing nationwide at the point of cancer diagnosis, as well as facilitate an infrastructure where surplus cancer tissue could be used for research. It offered a non-trial setting to examine common UK cancer genetics in a real-world context. Methods: A total of 26 sites in England, Wales and Scotland, recruited samples from 7814 patients for genetic examination between 2011 and 2013. Tumour types involved were breast, colorectal, lung, prostate, ovarian cancer and malignant melanoma. Centralised molecular testing of surplus material from resections or biopsies of primary/metastatic tissue was performed, with samples examined for 3-5 genetic alterations deemed to be of key interest in site-specific cancers by the National Cancer Research Institute Clinical Study groups. Results: 10 754 patients (98% of those approached) consented to participate, from which 7814 tumour samples were genetically analysed. In total, 53% had at least one genetic aberration detected. From 1885 patients with lung cancer, KRAS mutation was noted to be highly prevalent in adenocarcinoma (37%). In breast cancer (1873 patients), there was a striking contrast in TP53 mutation incidence between patients with ductal cancer (27.3%) and lobular cancer (3.4%). Vast inter-tumour heterogeneity of colorectal cancer (1550 patients) was observed, including myriad double and triple combinations of genetic aberrations. Significant losses of important clinical information included smoking status in lung cancer and loss of distinction between low-grade and high-grade serous ovarian cancers. Conclusion: Nationwide molecular pathology testing in a non-trial setting is feasible. The experience with SMP1 has been used to inform ongoing CRUK flagship programmes such as the CRUK National Lung MATRIX trial and TRACERx. Publisher PDF

Research examining the nutrition of grazing ruminants can be a rewarding career; however, this type of science possesses great challenges. Grazing research requires the scientist to make many assumptions, deal with great variability across a landscape, and carefully plan and manage unknown effects and finally produce a published experiment that has applications across an extensive region. Probably the most rewarding aspect to researchers in this field is the ability to collaborate with researchers from other disciplines to evaluate the entire system. The knowledge that can be gained from studying a grazing system with collaborating scientists is valuable beyond a quantifiable number. Animal performance is a function of the soil–plant–animal–climate interaction with one factor affecting the other. One area of research that has been demonstrated in recent years has been that plant structure and mass will effect instantaneous intake rate and possibly total DMI. Struggles to predict DMI by grazing livestock have not been gifted with high predictive quality; the low prediction quality has probably resulted from minimal characterization of the sward and its integration in predictive models. Furthermore, grazing management affects the other ecological services provided by a landscape. Ecological services are often thought of as just wildlife habitat, but these services also include carbon sequestration, water infiltration and runoff, nutrient management, and food and fuel production for a growing world population. We know that ruminants are significant emitters of methane, and with the current level of interest in climate change, research examining the effects of grazing management on ecological services can possibly be as valuable to producers as animal performance data alone. The only way producers will adapt sustainable grazing systems is if these systems are as profitable as other opportunities for the same land resource. In the future, producers will need data showing the effects of their production systems on other ecological services. Visionary teams of agricultural scientists need to collect these ecological impact data in the present, because the public will be unwilling to wait decades for them to be collected in the future.

Sequential fractionation coupled with phosphatase hydrolysis allows a greater understanding of the effects of animal manure on the chemical distribution of soil P. Concentrations of specific soil P fractions were determined after long-term (>10 yr) poultry litter application at rates of 4.5, 6.7, 9.0, 11.2, and 13.4 Mg manure ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ to watershed-scale plots (cultivated and grazed–ungrazed pasture) on a calcareous Texas Blackland Vertisol. Soil total extractable P (Pₜ) and inorganic P (Pᵢ) were quantified following sequential extraction with H₂O, NaHCO₃, NaOH, and HCl. Hydrolyzable organic P (Pₑ) and non-hydrolyzable organic P (Pₙₑ) were determined in the extracted fractions following enzymatic hydrolysis. Litter application increased Pₜ regardless of land-use type compared with the control. Concentrations of H₂O-extractable Pᵢ in litter-amended plots increased by 9 to 34% (cultivated) and 7 to 30% (pasture) over the control, indicating substantial risk of soluble P runoff. Labile organic P (Pₒ) extracted with H₂O and NaHCO₃ decreased in the order monoester > nucleic acid > phytate > Pₙₑ. An average of 68% of Pₜ was extractable with HCl. Organic P comprised the majority (95%) of HCl-Pₜ; however, only trace levels of HCl-Pₒ were hydrolyzable, and litter application increased HCl-Pₙₑ up to 217%. Thus, litter application increased levels of both soluble Pᵢ and stable Pₙₑ, but the specific response varied with application rate and land management. This study increased understanding of P chemical distribution with time in litter-amended soil with high clay and CaCO₃ contents under differing land-use scenarios.

Animal agriculture is a significant source of ammonia (NH3). Cattle excrete most ingested nitrogen (N); most urinary N is converted to NH3, volatilized and lost to the atmosphere. Open lot dairies on the southern High Plains are a growing industry and face environmental challenges as well as reporting requirements for NH3 emissions. We quantified NH3 emissions from the open lot and wastewater lagoons of a commercial New Mexico dairy during a nine-day summer campaign. The 3500-cow dairy consisted of open lot, manure-surfaced corrals (22.5 ha area). Lactating cows comprised 80% of the herd. A flush system using recycled wastewater intermittently removed manure from feeding alleys to three lagoons (1.8 ha area). Open path lasers measured atmospheric NH3 concentration, sonic anemometers characterized turbulence, and inverse dispersion analysis was used to quantify emissions. Ammonia fluxes (15-min) averaged 56 and 37 μg m−2 s−1 at the open lot and lagoons, respectively. Ammonia emission rate averaged 1061 kg d−1 at the open lot and 59 kg d−1 at the lagoons; 95% of NH3 was emitted from the open lot. The per capita emission rate of NH3 was 304 g cow−1 d−1 from the open lot (41% of N intake) and 17 g cow−1 d−1 from lagoons (2% of N intake). Daily N input at the dairy was 2139 kg d−1, with 43, 36, 19 and 2% of the N partitioned to NH3 emission, manure/lagoons, milk, and cows, respectively.

The increased use of by-products in finishing diets for cattle leads to diets that contain greater concentrations of crude protein (CP) and metabolizable protein (MP) than required. The hypothesis was that excess dietary CP and MP would increase maintenance energy requirements because of the energy costs of removing excess N as urea in urine. To evaluate the potential efficiency lost, two experiments were performed to determine the effects of feeding excess CP and MP to calves fed a finishing diet at 1 × maintenance energy intake (Exp. 1) and at 2 × maintenance intake (Exp. 2). In each experiment, eight crossbred Angus-based steers were assigned to two dietary treatments in a switchback design with three periods. Treatments were steam-flaked corn-based finishing diets with two dietary protein concentrations, 13.8% CP/9.63% MP (CON) or 19.5% CP/14.14% MP (dry matter basis; ECP), containing corn gluten meal to reflect a diet with excess CP and MP from corn by-products. Each period was 27 d in length with a 19-d dietary adaptation period in outdoor individual pens followed by a 4-d sample collection in one of four open circuit respiration chambers, 2-d fast in outdoor pen, and 2-d fast in one of four respiration chambers. Energy metabolism, diet digestibility, carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) balance, oxygen consumption, and carbon dioxide and methane production were measured. At both levels of intake, digestible energy as a proportion of gross energy (GE) tended to be greater (P < 0.06) in ECP than in CON steers. Metabolizable energy (ME) as a proportion of GE tended to be greater (P = 0.08) in the ECP steers than in the CON steers at 2 × maintenance intake. At 1 × and 2 × maintenance intake, urinary N excretion (g/d) was greater (P < 0.01) in the ECP steers than the CON steers. Heat production as a proportion of ME intake at 1 × maintenance tended (P = 0.06) to be greater for CON than for ECP (90.9% vs. 87.0% for CON and ECP, respectively); however, at 2 × maintenance energy intake, it was not different (63.9% vs. 63.8%, respectively). At 1 × maintenance intake, fasting heat production (FHP) was similar (P = 0.45) for both treatments, whereas at 2 × maintenance intake, FHP tended to be greater (P = 0.09) by 6% in ECP than in CON steers. Maintenance energy requirements estimated from linear and quadratic regression of energy retention on ME intake were 4% to 6% greater for ECP than for CON. Results of these studies suggest that feeding excess CP and MP from a protein source that is high in ruminally undegradable protein and low in protein quality will increase maintenance energy requirements of finishing steers.

Enteric methane (CH) production attributable to beef cattle contributes to global greenhouse gas emissions. Reliably estimating this contribution requires extensive CH emission data from beef cattle under different management conditions worldwide. The objectives were to: 1) predict CH production (g d animal), yield [g (kg dry matter intake; DMI)] and intensity [g (kg average daily gain)] using an intercontinental database (data from Europe, North America, Brazil, Australia and South Korea); 2) assess the impact of geographic region, and of higher- and lower-forage diets. Linear models were developed by incrementally adding covariates. A K-fold cross-validation indicated that a CH production equation using only DMI that was fitted to all available data had a root mean square prediction error (RMSPE; % of observed mean) of 31.2%. Subsets containing data with ≥25% and ≤18% dietary forage contents had an RMSPE of 30.8 and 34.2%, with the all-data CH production equation, whereas these errors decreased to 29.3 and 28.4%, respectively, when using CH prediction equations fitted to these subsets. The RMSPE of the ≥25% forage subset further decreased to 24.7% when using multiple regression. Europe- and North America-specific subsets predicted by the best performing ≥25% forage multiple regression equation had RMSPE of 24.5 and 20.4%, whereas these errors were 24.5 and 20.0% with region-specific equations, respectively. The developed equations had less RMSPE than extant equations evaluated for all data (22.5 vs. 23.2%), for higher-forage (21.2 vs. 23.1%), but not for the lower-forage subsets (28.4 vs. 27.9%). Splitting the dataset by forage content did not improve CH yield or intensity predictions. Predicting beef cattle CH production using energy conversion factors, as applied by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, indicated that adequate forage content-based and region-specific energy conversion factors improve prediction accuracy and are preferred in national or global inventories., Authors gratefully acknowledge project funding from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Federal Appropriations under Project PEN 04539 and Accession number 1000803; the Joint Programming Initiative on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change (FACCE-JPI)’s ‘GLOBAL NETWORK’ project and the ‘Feeding and Nutrition Network’ (http://animalscience.psu.edu/fnn) of the Livestock Research Group within the Global Research Alliance for Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (www.globalresearchalliance.org); the Sesnon Endowed Chair program (UC Davis); the Swiss Federal Office of Agriculture, Berne, Switzerland; AHDB Beef and Lamb, the Scottish Government, Defra and the devolved administrations through the UK Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Inventory Research Platform; French National Research Agency through the FACCE-JPI program (ANR-13-JFAC-0003-01); the Cooperative Research Program for Agriculture Science, (Project No. PJ013448012018), RDA, Republic of Korea; the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Carbon Farming Futures Action on the Ground program; AOTGR2-0400); the financial support of the Reducing Emissions from Livestock Research Program, the National Livestock Methane Program, Meat and Livestock Australia, CSIRO and Ridley AgriProducts Pty, Ltd; the Institute of Science and Technology in Animal Science (INCTCA 465377/2014-9), the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Ireland (AGRI-I project); European Commission through SMEthane (FP7‐SME‐262,270); Beef Cattle Research Council of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association; the Cofund for Monitoring & Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases from Agri- and Silvi-culture (FACCE ERA-GAS)’s project Capturing Effects of Diet on Emissions from Ruminant Systems and the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (AF-EU-18010 & BO-4400159-01).

HighlightsEnteric methane (CH4) from beef cows on pasture was measured over three seasons using three methods.Methods yielded similar results during the summer grazing season but diverged in autumn and winter seasons.Emission averaged 0.34, 0.27, and 0.29 kg CH4 cow-1 during lactation, mid-gestation, and late gestation, respectively.Annualized enteric methane emission rate for a beef cow herd grazing tallgrass prairie was 0.32 kg d-1 cow-1.Abstract. Methane (CH4) is an important greenhouse gas, and about 20% of the carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) greenhouse gases emitted by U.S. agriculture are attributed to enteric CH4 produced by grazing beef cattle. Grazing cattle are mobile point sources of methane and present challenges to quantifying the enteric methane emission rate (MER). In this study, we applied three methods to measure herd-scale and individual-animal MER for a herd of beef cows grazing a native tallgrass prairie: a point source method that used forward-mode dispersion analysis and open-path lasers and cow locations, an open chamber breath analysis system (GreenFeed), and an eddy covariance ratio method that used the ratio of CH4 and CO2 mass fluxes. Three campaigns were conducted during the early season (July), late season (October), and dormant season (February). The point source and GreenFeed methods yielded similar MER (±SD) values during the early season campaign: 0.38 ±0.04 and 0.34 ±0.05 kg d-1 cow-1, respectively. However, the MER values from the two methods diverged in subsequent seasons. The GreenFeed MER decreased through the late and dormant seasons to 0.23 ±0.03 and 0.19 ±0.03 kg d-1 cow-1, respectively. In contrast, the point source MER stayed the same during the late season and increased during the dormant season to 0.41 ±0.07 kg d-1 cow-1. The CH4:CO2 ratio method, which was used only during the dormant season, yielded a MER of 0.29 ±0.05 kg d-1 cow-1. The point source and GreenFeed methods measured different MER (integrated herd-scale versus a subset of individual animals) and likely sampled methane emissions at different times during the day. We conclude that the point source method tended to overestimate emissions, and the GreenFeed method tended to underestimate emissions. Enteric methane emissions from beef cows over the three grazing seasons averaged 0.39 and 0.25 kg d-1 cow-1 as measured by the point source and GreenFeed methods, respectively. An annualized enteric MER for a beef cow herd grazing tallgrass prairie was 0.32 kg d-1 cow-1. Quantifying enteric methane emissions from grazing beef cows remains a challenge because of the mobile, often dispersed behavior of grazing cattle and the dynamic interactions of forage quality, dry matter intake, and changing physiological state of cows during the year. Keywords: Beef cows, Enteric methane, Forage quality, Grazing, Tallgrass prairie.

Ammonia (NH 3 ) emission from beef cattle feedyard manure results in losses of nitrogen (N), which may negatively affect air, soil, and water quality. The magnitude and rate of NH 3 volatilization from feedyards partially depends on the amount of urinary urea excreted and dissociation of ammonium (NH 4 + ) into NH 3 following urea hydrolysis. Zeolite clinoptilolite is a naturally occurring, porous aluminosilicate mineral that can sorb and sequester cations within its negatively charged framework structure. Zeolite has been used to mitigate NH 3 losses and improve fertilizer value of compost, sewage sludge, and manure in livestock barns; however, few studies have evaluated its efficacy on open-lot beef cattle feedyards. Zeolite application to pen surfaces could be a practical and cost-effective means of reducing NH 3 losses. Objectives of this study were to (1) characterize NH 4 + sorption by zeolites with differing physicochemical properties and (2) evaluate zeolite effects on rates and cumulative losses of NH 3 following application of artificial urine to feedyard manure. Batch incubation studies with four commercially available zeolites revealed that NH 4 + sorption by zeolite was rapid (1 to 2 h) with large differences in sorption potential largely related to zeolite pH. Maximum sorption ranged from 28 to 97 cmol NH 4 + -N kg -1 zeolite. Effects of zeolite application rate [0.5% to 10.0% of manure dry matter (DM)] on sorption and desorption characteristics in a manure/artificial urine matrix were highly variable but tended to be proportional to zeolite application rate: as little as 0.5% zeolite increased NH 4 + -N recovery by up to 19%. In flow-through chamber studies, higher rates of zeolite did not reduce cumulative NH 3 emissions, as 1.0% zeolite reduced cumulative NH 3 emission by 42% and 5.0% zeolite reduced N losses by only 18% compared to unamended manure. Surface application of zeolite has potential for mitigating feedyard NH 3 losses, but specific zeolite properties influenced its effectiveness. Further studies are warranted to evaluate effects of repeated zeolite application, co-application of zeolite and urease inhibitors, and cost:benefit ratios of zeolite application at commercial feedyards.

Odor emissions from livestock production have become increasingly important in the past decade. Odors derived from animal feeding operations are caused by odorous VOC emitted from the mixture of feces and urine, as well as feed and silage which may be experiencing microbial fermentation. Distillers grains are a by-product of corn grain fermentation used to produce fuel ethanol, and this industry has grown rapidly throughout the U.S. in past years. Therefore, the use of wet distillers grains with solubles (WDGS) in feedlot cattle diets has also increased. The objective of this research was to determine specific VOC emissions from feces and urine or a mixture of both, from cattle fed steam flaked or dry-rolled corn (DRC)-based diets containing either 0% or 30% WDGS. Flux of dimethyl trisulfide was greater from feces of cattle fed DRC than steam-flaked corn (SFC) diets. No other differences in flux from feces were detected across dietary treatments for phenol, 4-methylphenol, indole, skatole, dimethyl disulfide, and flux of volatile fatty acids (VFA) such as acetic, propionic, isobutyric, butyric, isovaleric, and valeric acids (P > 0.15). Flux of skatole, acetic acid, and valeric acid from urine was greater for cattle fed SFC than DRC diets (P

With increased concern over the effects of livestock production on the environment, a number of new technologies have evolved to help scientists evaluate the environmental footprint of beef cattle. The objective of this review was to provide an overview of some of those techniques. These techniques include methods to measure individual feed intake, enteric methane emissions, ground-level greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions, feedlot and pasture emissions, and identify potential pathogens. The appropriate method to use for measuring emissions will vary depending upon the type of emission, the emission source, and the goals of the research. These methods should also be validated to assure they produce accurate results and achieve the goals of the research project. In addition, we must not forget to properly use existing technologies and methods such as proper feed mixing, feeding management, feed/ingredient sampling, and nutrient analysis.

Ruminant livestock provides meat and dairy products that sustain health and livelihood for much of the world’s population.Grazinglandsthatsupportruminantlivestockprovidenumerousecosystemservices,includingprovision of food, water, and genetic resources; climate and water regulation; support of soil formation; nutrient cycling; and cultural services. In the U.S. southern Great Plains, beef production on pastures, rangelands, and hay is a major economic activity. The region’s climate is characterized by extremes of heat and cold and extremes of drought and flooding. Grazing lands occupy a large portion of the region’s land, significantly affecting carbon, nitrogen, and water budgets. To understand vulnerabilities and enhance resilience of beef production, a multi-institutional Coordinated Agricultural Project (CAP), the “grazing CAP,” was established. Integrative research and extension spanning biophysical, socioeconomic, and agricultural disciplines address management effects on productivity and environmental footprints of production systems. Knowledge and tools being developed will allow farmers and rancherstoevaluaterisksandincreaseresiliencetodynamicconditions.Theknowledgeandtoolsdevelopedwillalso have relevance to grazing lands in semiarid and subhumid regions of the world.

Methane (CH) emissions from enteric fermentation by livestock account for about 2.1% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, with beef and dairy cattle being the most significant sources. A better understanding of CH emissions from beef cattle feedyards can help build more accurate emission inventories, improve predictive models, and meet potential regulatory requirements. Our objective was to quantify CH emissions during winter and summer at a typical beef cattle feedyard on the southern High Plains in Texas. Methane emissions were quantified over 32 d in winter and 44 d in summer using open-path lasers and inverse dispersion analysis. Methane per capita emission rate (PCER) ranged from 71 to 118 g animal d in winter and from 70 to 130 g animal d in summer. Mean CH PCER was similar in January, February, and May (average, 85.0 ± 0.95 g animal d) and increased to 93.4 g animal d during the June-July period. This increase coincided with increased dietary fiber. Methane loss ranged from 9.2 to 11.4 g CH kg dry matter intake, with lower values during winter. Gross energy intake (GEI) ranged from 135.2 to 164.5 MJ animal d, and CH energy loss ranged from 4.5 to 4.9 MJ animal d. Fraction of GEI lost as CH (Y) averaged 2.8% in winter, 3.2% in summer, and 3.0% overall. These values confirm the Y value currently recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for Tier 2 estimates of enteric CH from feedlot fed cattle.

Manure from beef cattle feedyards is a valuable source of nutrients and assists with maintaining soil quality. However, humification and decomposition processes occurring during feedyard manure's on-farm life cycle influence the forms, concentrations, and availability of carbon (C) and nutrients such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Improved understanding of manure organic matter (OM) chemistry will provide better estimates of potential fertilizer value of manure from different feedyard sources (e.g., manure accumulated in pens, stockpiled manure after pen scraping) and in settling basin and retention pond sediments. This will also assist with identifying factors related to nutrient loss and environmental degradation via volatilization of ammonia and nitrous oxide and nitrate leaching. We used Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopies to characterize structural and functional properties of OM and water-extractable OM (WEOM) from different sources (surface manure, manure pack, settling basin, retention pond) on a typical commercial beef feedyard in the Texas Panhandle. Results showed that as beef manure completes its on-farm life cycle, concentrations of dissolved organic C and N decrease up to 98 and 95%, respectively. The UV-vis analysis of WEOM indicated large differences in molecular weight, lignin content, and proportion of humified OM between manures from different sources. The FTIR spectra of OM and WEOM indicate preferential decomposition of fats, lipids, and proteins over aromatic polysaccharides such as lignin. Further work is warranted to evaluate how application of feedyard manure from different sources influences soil metabolic functioning and fertility.

Nitrous oxide (NO) emissions from concentrated animal feeding operations, including cattle feedyards, have become an important research topic. However, there are limitations to current measurement techniques, uncertainty in the magnitude of feedyard NO fluxes, and a lack of effective mitigation methods. The objective of this review was to assess NO emission from cattle feedyards, including comparison of measured and modeled emission rates, discussion of measurement methods, and evaluation of mitigation options. Published annual per capita flux rates for beef cattle feedyards and open-lot dairies were highly variable and ranged from 0.002 to 4.3 kg NO animal yr. On an area basis, published emission rates ranged from 0 to 41 mg NO m h. From these studies and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emission factors, calculated daily per capita NO fluxes averaged 18 ± 10 g NO animal d (range, 0.04-67 g NO animal d). This variation was due to inconsistency in measurement techniques as well as irregularity in NO production and emission attributable to management, animal diet, and environmental conditions. Based on this review, it is clear that the magnitude and dynamics of NO emissions from open-lot cattle systems are not well understood. Further research is required to quantify feedyard NO fluxes and develop cost-effective mitigation methods.

Odor and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions are a concern at animal feeding operations (AFOs). The issue has become more prevalent as human residences move into areas once occupied only by agriculture. Odors near AFOs are generally caused by odorous VOCs emitted from manure, the mixture of feces and urine. Wet distillers grains with solubles (WDGS) are a by-product of the ethanol industry, and WDGS have become a staple in many beef cattle finishing diets. The objective of this research was to determine specific VOC emissions from frozen feces and urine of cattle fed steam-flaked corn (SFC)-based diets containing 0, 15, 30, or 45% WDGS. No differences in flux were detected across dietary treatments for phenol, indole, skatole, or 4-methylphenol (P > 0.23). Dimethyl disulfide and dimethyl trisulfide flux in feces were not different across treatments (P > 0.35) and the flux of volatile fatty acids (VFA) such as acetic, propionic, isobutyric, butyric, isovaleric, and valeric were not different across treatments (P > 0.25). There was a tendency for dimethyl disulfide flux from urine to be greater for cattle consuming an SFC-based diet with 15% WDGS than the other diets (P = 0.10). Furthermore, flux of acetic, propionic, isobutyric, butyric, and isovaleric acid from the urine were not different (P > 0.61) across dietary treatment. There were no significant differences in odor activity value (OAV) across treatments for feces, and only a tendency for dimethyl disulfide in the feces (P = 0.09). Thus, there was no obvious indication that feeding WDGS in conjunction with SFC affects flux of odor or odorous VOC from beef manure. The summed OAV was three times higher in the urine than feces, and a single odorous compound (4-methylphenol) accounted for 97.6%and 67.3% of the OAV in urine and feces, respectively. Therefore, engineering or dietary strategies to reduce odor from beef cattle manure should focus on controlling or reducing 4-methylphenol concentrations in the urine and feces.

Formulating diets conservatively for minimum crude-protein (CP) requirements and overfeeding nitrogen (N) is commonplace in grain finishing rations in USA, Canada and Australia. Overfeeding N is considered to be a low-cost and low-risk (to cattle production and health) strategy and is becoming more commonplace in the US with the use of high-N ethanol by-products in finishing diets. However, loss of N from feedlot manure in the form of volatilised ammonia and nitrous oxide, and nitrate contamination of water are of significant environmental concern. Thus, there is a need to improve N-use efficiency of beef cattle production and reduce losses of N to the environment. The most effective approach is to lower N intake of animals through precision feeding, and the application of the metabolisable protein system, including its recent updates to estimation of N supply and recycling. Precision feeding of protein needs to account for variations in the production system, e.g. grain type, liveweight, maturity, use of hormonal growth promotants and β agonists. Opportunities to reduce total N fed to finishing cattle include oscillating supply of dietary CP and reducing supply of CP to better meet cattle requirements (phase feeding).

Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are major sources of ammonia emitted into the atmosphere. There is considerable literature on ammonia emissions from poultry and swine CAFO, but few comprehensive studies have investigated large, open lot beef cattle feedyards. Ammonia emission rates and emission factors for a 77-ha, 45 000-head commercial beef cattle feedyard on the southern High Plains were quantified using measured profiles of ammonia concentration, wind speed and air temperature, and an inverse dispersion model. Mean summer emission rate was 7420 kg NH 3 d −1 , and winter emission rate was about half that, at 3330 kg NH 3 d −1 . Annual NH 3 –N emission rate was 4430 kg NH 3 –N d −1 , which was 53% of the N fed to cattle. Daily per capita NH 3 –N losses increased by 10–64% after the daily per capita N in feed rations increased by 15–26%. Annual emission factors for the pen area of the feedyard were 19.3 kg NH 3 (head fed) −1 , or 70.2 kg NH 3 Mg −1 biomass produced. Annual emission factors for the retention pond of the feedyard were estimated to be 0.9 kg NH 3 (head fed) −1 , or 3.2 kg NH 3 Mg −1 biomass produced.

This report begins with a guest editorial; by Djordjija B. Petkoski; V. Kasturi, Rangan; and William S. Laufer. The next 4 billion: characterizing Base of the economic pyramid (BoP) markets; by Allen, L. Hammond; William, J. Kramer; Robert S. Katz; Julia, T. Tran; and Courtland, Walker. Creating shared value through basic business strategy; by Niels, Christiansen. The shakti revolution; by Gavin, Neath; and Vijay, Sharma. Social issue-oriented BoP business and Japanese companies; by Mari Kogiso; Mia, Matsuo; and Tokutaro, Hiramoto. Lighting Africa; by Katia, Theriault; Lindsay, Madeira; and Patrick, Avato. Developing the local supply chain for the contract of the century; by Ibrahim Ismayilov, Samir, Taghiyev; Olga, Godunova; and Farzin, Mirmotahari. Patrimonio Hoy; by Israel, Moreno Barcelo. ZMQ enabling bottom-up development; by Subhi, Quraishi. products. Business and malnutrition; by Marc, Van Ameringen; Benrangere, Magarinos; Michael, Jarvis. Bridging gaps in reproductive health care in Egypt through private sector involvement; by Andy, Cole; Mohamed, Afifi; and Reem, Salah. Improving health improves economic well-being; by Christy, L. Wistar. Access to finance and markets as a strategy to address poverty; by Nachiket Mor; and Bindu, Ananth. Bringing Bangladesh into the digital age; by Defta partners group; the Alliance forum foundation; and George, Hara.

Cattle feedyards can impact local environments through emission of ammonia and dust deposited on nearby land. Impacts range from beneficial fertilization of cropland to detrimental effects on sensitive ecosystems. Shortgrass prairie downwind from an adjacent feedyard on the southern High Plains of Texas, USA changed from perennial grasses to annual weeds. It was hypothesized that N enrichment from the feedyard initiated the cascade of negative ecological change. Objectives were to determine the distribution of soil nitrogen and estimate N loading to the pasture. Soil samples were collected from 119 locations across the pasture and soil total N (TN), nitrate-N and ammonium-N (AN) determined in the top 30 cm. Soil TN concentration decreased with distance downwind from the feedyard from 1.6 ± 0.2 g kg−1 at 75 m to 1.2 ± 0.05 g kg−1 at 582 m. Nitrate-N concentration decreased within 200 m of the feedyard and changed little at greater distances. Ammonium-N concentration decreased linearly (P < 0.001) with increasing distance from the feedyard from 7.9 ± 1.7 mg kg−1 within 75 m from the feedyard to 5.8 ± 1.5 mg kg−1 at more than 550 m from the feedyard; however, distance only explained 12% of the variability in AN concentration. Maximum nitrogen loading, from 75 to 106 m from the feedyard, was 49 kg ha−1 year−1 over 34 years and decreased with distance from the feedyard. An estimate of net dry deposition of ammonia indicated that it contributed negligibly to N loading to the pasture. Nitrogen enrichment that potentially shifted vegetation from perennial grasses to annual weeds affected soil N up to 500 m from the feedyard; however, measured organic and inorganic N beyond that returned to typical and expected levels for undisturbed shortgrass prairie.

Concentrated animal feeding operations are major sources of ammonia to the atmosphere. Control methods to reduce emissions include acidifying amendments, urease inhibitors, and absorbents. For beef cattle, decreasing crude protein (CP) in diets may be the most practical and cost-effective method to reduce ammonia emissions. Our objective was to quantify the effect of reducing CP in beef cattle diet on ammonia emissions. Two groups of steers were fed diets with either 11.5 or 13.0% CP and all urine and feces were collected. Manures from the two diet treatments were applied in a replicated laboratory chamber experiment, and ammonia emission was quantified using acid gas washing. In four seasonal field trials, manures from the two diet treatments were applied to two 10-m-diameter, circular, artificial feedyard surfaces, and ammonia emission was quantified using the integrated horizontal flux method. Manure from steers fed 11.5% CP diet had less urine, less urinary N, and a lesser fraction of total N in urine, compared with the 13.0% CP diet. Decreasing crude protein in beef cattle diets from 13 to 11.5% significantly decreased ammonia emission by 44% (p < 0.01) in the closed chamber laboratory experiment, and decreased mean daily ammonia flux by 30% (p = 0.10), 52% (p = 0.08), and 29% (p < 0.01) in summer, autumn, and spring field trials, respectively. No difference was observed in winter. On an annual basis, decreasing crude protein reduced daily ammonia flux by 28%. Reducing crude protein in beef cattle diets may provide the most practical and cost-effective way to reduce ammonia emissions from feedyards.

Ammonia (NH) volatilization from manure in beef cattle feedyards results in loss of agronomically important nitrogen (N) and potentially leads to overfertilization and acidification of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. In addition, NH is involved in the formation of atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM), which can affect human health. Process-based models have been developed to estimate NH emissions from various livestock production systems; however, little work has been conducted to assess their accuracy for large, open-lot beef cattle feedyards. This work describes the extension of an existing process-based model, the Integrated Farm Systems Model (IFSM), to include simulation of N dynamics in this type of system. To evaluate the model, IFSM-simulated daily per capita NH emission rates were compared with emissions data collected from two commercial feedyards in the Texas High Plains from 2007 to 2009. Model predictions were in good agreement with observations and were sensitive to variations in air temperature and dietary crude protein concentration. Predicted mean daily NH emission rates for the two feedyards had 71 to 81% agreement with observations. In addition, IFSM estimates of annual feedyard emissions were within 11 to 24% of observations, whereas a constant emission factor currently in use by the USEPA underestimated feedyard emissions by as much as 79%. The results from this study indicate that IFSM can quantify average feedyard NH emissions, assist with emissions reporting, provide accurate information for legislators and policymakers, investigate methods to mitigate NH losses, and evaluate the effects of specific management practices on farm nutrient balances.

Ruminant livestock provides meat and dairy products that sustain health and livelihood for much of the world's population. Grazing lands that support ruminant livestock provide numerous ecosystem services, including provision of food, water, and genetic resources; climate and water regulation; support of soil formation; nutrient cycling; and cultural services. In the U.S. southern Great Plains, beef production on pastures, rangelands, and hay is a major economic activity. The region's climate is characterized by extremes of heat and cold and extremes of drought and flooding. Grazing lands occupy a large portion of the region's land, significantly affecting carbon, nitrogen, and water budgets. To understand vulnerabilities and enhance resilience of beef production, a multi-institutional Coordinated Agricultural Project (CAP), the "grazing CAP," was established. Integrative research and extension spanning biophysical, socioeconomic, and agricultural disciplines address management effects on productivity and environmental footprints of production systems. Knowledge and tools being developed will allow farmers and ranchers to evaluate risks and increase resilience to dynamic conditions. The knowledge and tools developed will also have relevance to grazing lands in semiarid and subhumid regions of the world.

Illustrates the reproductive health project Takamol which seeks to increase the availability and quality of reproductive health services.

Temperature controls many processes of NH volatilization. For example, urea hydrolysis is an enzymatically catalyzed reaction described by the Arrhenius equation. Diet crude protein (CP) controls NH emission by affecting N excretion. Our objectives were to use the Arrhenius equation to model NH emissions from beef cattle () feedyards and test predictions against observed emissions. Per capita NH emission rate (PCER), air temperature (), and CP were measured for 2 yr at two Texas Panhandle feedyards. Data were fitted to analogs of the Arrhenius equation: PCER = () and PCER = (,CP). The models were applied at a third feedyard to predict NH emissions and compare predicted to measured emissions. Predicted mean NH emissions were within -9 and 2% of observed emissions for the () and (T,CP) models, respectively. Annual emission factors calculated from models underestimated annual NH emission by 11% [() model] or overestimated emission by 8% [(,CP) model]. When from a regional weather station and three classes of CP drove the models, the () model overpredicted annual NH emission of the low CP class by 14% and underpredicted emissions of the optimum and high CP classes by 1 and 39%, respectively. The (,CP) model underpredicted NH emissions by 15, 4, and 23% for low, optimum, and high CP classes, respectively. Ammonia emission was successfully modeled using only, but including CP improved predictions. The empirical () and (,CP) models can successfully model NH emissions in the Texas Panhandle. Researchers are encouraged to test the models in other regions where high-quality NH emissions data are available.

Background The high demand for ethanol in the U.S. has generated large stocks of wet distillers grains (DG), a byproduct from the manufacture of ethanol from corn and sorghum grains. Little is known, however, about the potential influence of dietary DG on fecal microbial community structure. A better understanding of the microbial population in beef cattle feces could be an important monitoring tool to facilitate goals of improving nutrient management, increasing animal growth performance and decreasing odors and/or shedding of pathogens. Five diets consisting of a traditional diet fed to finishing beef cattle in the Southern High Plains of Texas-CON (steam-flaked corn control with 0% DG), and four concentrations of DG in the dietary dry matter; 10 C (10% corn-based DG), 5S (5% sorghum-based DG), 10S (10% sorghum DG), and 15S (15% sorghum DG) were fed to steers at the Texas Tech University Burnett Animal Center. Diets were essentially isonitrogenous with a formulated crude protein value of 13.5%. Results Fecal grab samples were obtained from 20 steers (n = 4 per diet) and the barcoded DNA pyrosequencing method was used to generate 127,530 16S operational taxonomic units (OTUs). A total of 24 phyla were observed, distributed amongst all beef cattle on all diets, revealing considerable animal to animal variation, however only six phyla (core set) were observed in all animals regardless of dietary treatment. The average abundance and range of abundance, respectively of the core phyla were as follows: Firmicutes (61%, 19 to 83%), Bacteroidetes (28%, 11 to 63%), Proteobacteria (3%, 0.34 to 17.5%), Tenericutes (0.15%, 0.0 to 0.35%), Nitrospirae (0.11%, 0.03 to 0.22%), and Fusobacteria (0.086%, 0.017 to 0.38%). Feeding DG-based diets resulted in significant shifts in the fecal microbial community structure compared with the traditional CON. Four low abundance phyla significantly responded to dietary treatments: Synergistetes (p = 0.01), WS3 (p = 0.054), Actinobacteria (p = 0.06), and Spirochaetes (p = 0.06). Conclusions This is, to our knowledge, the first study using this method to survey the fecal microbiome of beef cattle fed various concentrations of wet DG. Comparison of our results with other cattle DNA sequencing studies of beef and dairy cattle feces from a variety of geographical locations and different management practices identifies a core set of three phyla shared across all cattle. These three phyla, in order of relative abundance are; Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria. The presence of large animal-to-animal variation in cattle microbiome was noted in our study as well as by others.

Ammonia emitted from beef cattle feedyards adds excess reactive N to the environment, contributes to degraded air quality as a precursor to secondary particulate matter, and represents a significant loss of N from beef cattle feedyards. We used open path laser spectroscopy and an inverse dispersion model to quantify daily, monthly, seasonal, and annual NH emissions during 2 yr from two commercial cattle feedyards in the Panhandle High Plains of Texas. Annual patterns of NH fluxes correlated with air temperature, with the greatest fluxes (>100 kg ha d) during the summer and the lowest fluxes (

Decision algorithms are developed that use periods of intracranial non-seizure (interictal) EEG to localize epileptogenic networks. Depth and surface recordings are considered from 5 and 6 patients respectively. The proposed algorithms combine spectral and multivariate statistics in a decision-theoretic framework to automatically delineate the seizure onset area. In the case of depth recordings, we apply standard binary classification algorithms, including linear and quadratic discriminative analysis. For the surface recordings, novel decision algorithms are developed, based upon graphical models. The outcomes from the algorithms for both depth and surface recordings are in good agreement with the determination of the seizure focus by clinicians from ictal EEG. In the long term, the proposed approach may lead to shorter hospitalization of intractable-epilepsy patients, since it does not rely on ictal EEG.