Research needs, environmental concerns, and logistical considerations for incorporating livestock grazing into coastal upland habitat management.

Along the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) coast, natural resource managers continually struggle with managing coastal uplands due to front-end costs, prolonged maintenance, and habitat-specific ecological needs. Prescribed fire, mechanical removal, and chemical treatments are common habitat management techniques used to remove invasive species, clear understory, and achieve other management goals. However, rapid development and changing climate exacerbate the difficulty in using these techniques. A potential alternative or complementary technique is using livestock for habitat management (i.e., targeted or controlled grazing). In other regions of the world, using livestock for conservation or restoration of managed lands has shown to be a less intrusive and more financially viable alternative. To better understand the research needs, logistical, and environmental concerns related to using livestock for habitat management in the coastal uplands of the GoM, we developed and distributed a survey to three groups of land users, including natural resource managers, researchers, and livestock producers in the region. Survey results show that over 96% of respondents are interested in using livestock for habitat management, but less than 10% of respondents were aware of any information that could be used to inform grazing practices for coastal upland habitat management along the Gulf of Mexico coast. There were differences among surveyed groups, but generally small-sized cattle breeds and goats were identified as the livestock with the most potential for environmental benefit and ease of containment. General concerns and areas for further investigation were implementation (e.g., which livestock type to use and grazing intensity), logistical considerations (e.g., fencing and rotational frequency), impacts of grazing on water quality, wildlife, vegetation, and livestock nutrition. Survey respondents overwhelmingly (at least 75% of each group) indicated that livestock grazing ideally would not be a standalone management practice and should be used in conjunction with other habitat management techniques such as prescribed burns, mechanical clearing, or chemical treatments. The results of the survey could be used to develop applied research projects and guidance documents that directly address informational needs related to using livestock for habitat management of coastal uplands along the Gulf of Mexico coast.

z+: Neutron cross section separation from wide-angle uniaxial polarization analysis.

We introduce a simple method to extract the nuclear coherent and isotope incoherent, spin incoherent, and magnetic neutron scattering cross section components from powder scattering data measured using a single neutron beam polarization direction and a position-sensitive detector with large out-of-plane coverage. The method draws inspiration from polarized small-angle neutron scattering and contrasts with conventional so-called "xyz" polarization analysis on wide-angle instruments, which requires measurements with three orthogonal polarization directions. The viability of the method is demonstrated on both simulated and experimental data for the classical "spin ice" system Ho2Ti2O7, the latter from the LET direct geometry spectrometer at the ISIS facility. The cross section components can be reproduced with good fidelity by either fitting the out-of-plane angle dependence around a Debye-Scherrer cone or grouping the data by angle and performing a matrix inversion. The limitations of the method and its practical uses are discussed.

Letermovir breakthroughs during the French Named Patient Programme: interest of monitoring blood concentration in clinical practice.

OBJECTIVES: To analyse mechanisms of letermovir breakthrough during compassionate primary and secondary prophylaxis. METHODS: Mechanisms of letermovir breakthrough during compassionate primary and secondary prophylaxis were analysed in four patients from the French Named Patient Programme by the French National Reference Centre for Herpesviruses. RESULTS: Of three absolute resistance cases, two were associated with treatment interruption or low letermovir concentrations in blood. A fourth case of breakthrough was not associated with resistance. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) genotyping confirmed rapid emergence of resistant mutants, within 3 months of treatment initiation. CONCLUSIONS: Measurement of letermovir concentration and genotyping should be recommended for patient follow-up during letermovir therapy.

Rare-earth thin films and superlattices.

This paper reviews neutron and x-ray diffraction studies of the magnetism of rare-earth thin films and superlattices grown using the LaMBE Facility in Oxford. Epitaxial strain is found to change the magnetic ordering and surface effects are shown to alter the critical exponents for phase transitions. The magnetic coherence across spacer layers is found to depend on the band structure of the superlattice as a whole, and the conduction-electron spin-density wave responsible for interlayer magnetic coupling is measured directly.

Effect of subclinical and clinical hypocalcemia and dietary cation-anion difference on rumination activity in periparturient dairy cows.

Rumination involves a complex series of muscle contractions that bring a bolus of ingesta to the mouth for further mastication before it is swallowed again. Healthy cows ruminate 8 to 9 h/d. Hypocalcemia is known to disrupt nerve and muscle function. Our hypothesis was that hypocalcemia in periparturient cows would reduce rumination activity. Twenty-six Holstein cows entering their third lactation or greater were fed a control diet [dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) = +196 mEq/kg of dry matter (DM)] or a low DCAD diet supplemented with anions (DCAD = -9 mEq/kg of DM) prepartum. Periparturient plasma Ca concentration and rumination rate were determined. Four of 12 control cows developed clinical milk fever, necessitating intravenous Ca therapy. Rumination rate decreased in all cows around the time of calving. Rumination rate on the first and second day of lactation was highly correlated with the cow's plasma Ca concentration on the first day of lactation. In one of our statistical models, a normocalcemic cow was defined as a cow whose plasma Ca concentration remained above 2.00 mM. Cows were retrospectively classified as normocalcemic, subclinically hypocalcemic, or clinically hypocalcemic (milk fever). Only 4 cows were considered normocalcemic, and all had been fed the low DCAD diet. Normocalcemic cows spent more time ruminating on the first day after calving than subclinically hypocalcemic cows or cows with milk fever. Cows with milk fever had a lower rumination rate than normocalcemic cows through d 3 of lactation. Rumination activity in cows with milk fever was almost nondetectable in the hours before and after intravenous Ca treatment for an extended period, despite the return of muscle function that allowed the cows to stand and eructate following treatment. Other statistical models using different definitions of normocalcemia gave qualitatively similar results. Diet had a great effect on plasma Ca concentration and rumination rate. Even when cows with clinical milk fever were removed from the control cow data set, cows on the low DCAD diet had significantly greater plasma Ca concentrations in the first 36 h after calving and a higher rumination rate on d 1 of lactation (248 ± 26 min) than control cows (158 ± 32 min).

Targeting 1,25(OH)2D-mediated calcium absorption machinery in proximal colon with calcitriol glycosides and glucuronides.

High intestinal calcium (Ca) absorption efficiency is associated with high peak bone mass in adolescents and reduced bone loss in adulthood. Transepithelial intestinal Ca absorption is mediated by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D, calcitriol) through the vitamin D receptor (VDR). Most research on Ca absorption focuses on the proximal small intestine but evidence shows that large intestine plays a crucial role in whole body Ca homeostasis. We directly assessed and compared Ca absorption capacity at the proximal colon and duodenum using in situ ligated loops (2 mM Ca, 10 min). In C57BL/6 J mice, the proximal colon (26.2 ±â€¯3.7 %) had comparable ability to absorb Ca as the duodenum (30.0 ±â€¯6.7 %). In VDR knockout (KO) mice, Ca absorption efficiency was reduced by 67 % in duodenum and 48 % in proximal colon. These data suggest that large intestine could be targeted to improve Ca absorption and protect bone in at risk-groups (e.g. bariatric patients). Glycoside forms of calcitriol found in Solanum Glaucophyllum (Sg) leaf are biologically inert but can be activated in the colon upon bacterial cleavage of the glycosides. We conducted a study to test whether Sg leaf, as well as a novel, synthetic 1,3-diglucuronide form of calcitriol (1,3-diG) could target the proximal colon and upregulate genes involved in Ca absorption (i.e. Trpv6, S100g). 13-week-old female C57BL6/J mice were fed AIN93 G diet containing increasing levels of one of the two compounds for 2 weeks (delivering 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, or 2 ng calcitriol equivalent per day). Both compounds induced a dose-dependent upregulation of Cyp24a1 and Trpv6 gene expression in the proximal colon. 1,3-diG also induced S100g gene expression in the proximal colon. Duodenal expression of Trpv6 was upregulated at higher doses of 1,3-diG but not Sg leaf. These data suggest that both glycosylated and glucuronidated calcitriol could be used to target the proximal colon but that dosing must be optimized to limit systemic effects that could cause hypercalcemia. Future studies will test the translational potential of these compounds to determine if they can increase Ca absorption at proximal colon and whether this can help protect bone.

Acoustic correlates of vocal effort: External factors and personality traits.

OBJECTIVES: To develop an experimental protocol to study the vocal effort generated by introducing barriers to communication, and its relationship with certain personality traits. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The experimental protocol consisted of an interactive game in which the subject gave an investigator instructions to adopt various body positions (semi-directed communication situation). The Control situation included no constraints on communication. Then a Distance Constraint (increased distance between subject and investigator) and a Time Constraint (generation of performance stress by putting the subject in competition with others) were introduced. The vocal parameters studied comprised vocal intensity and fundamental frequency in the middle of the vowel of 3 target phonemes. Subjects also took the NEO FFI-R personality test. RESULTS: The study included 41 women aged between 18 and 52 years. Vocal intensity and fundamental frequency increased significantly with the introduction of the constraints (P<0.05), intensity passing from 75.5dB to 81.8dB and frequency from 249.4Hz to 335.8Hz. No correlations were found between these changes and results for the various personality traits. CONCLUSIONS: This ecological protocol enables the impact of both physical and emotional obstacles to communication to be studied. No correlations between vocal effort and personality traits emerged. A larger-scale study would be necessary to analyze the continuum between vocal effort and vocal forcing, to improve speech therapy for dysfunctional dysphonia.

Role of defects in determining the magnetic ground state of ytterbium titanate.

Pyrochlore systems are ideally suited to the exploration of geometrical frustration in three dimensions, and their rich phenomenology encompasses topological order and fractional excitations. Classical spin ices provide the first context in which it is possible to control emergent magnetic monopoles, and anisotropic exchange leads to even richer behaviour associated with large quantum fluctuations. Whether the magnetic ground state of Yb2Ti2O7 is a quantum spin liquid or a ferromagnetic phase induced by a Higgs transition appears to be sample dependent. Here we have determined the role of structural defects on the magnetic ground state via the diffuse scattering of neutrons. We find that oxygen vacancies stabilise the spin liquid phase and the stuffing of Ti sites by Yb suppresses it. Samples in which the oxygen vacancies have been eliminated by annealing in oxygen exhibit a transition to a ferromagnetic phase, and this is the true magnetic ground state.

Effect of diets containing sulfate or chloride-based anionic salts, fed to grazing prepartum dairy cows, on concentrations of Ca in plasma, disease incidence and milk yield.

AIMS: To compare the effect of two partial mixed ration diets containing either sulfate or chloride-based anionic salts, fed to grazing prepartum dairy cows, on concentrations of Ca, Mg, P and beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) in plasma, disease incidence and milk yield during the early postpartum period. METHODS: The study was conducted on a seasonal-calving grazing dairy farm located in Benton (MO, USA). In August 2016, two groups of 200 cows were randomly assigned at 30 days before expected parturition to receive either a sulfate or chloride-based anionic diet, to achieve a dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) of -25 mEq/kg DM. Cows were fed partial mixed rations to provide 50% of their DM intake, with 50% provided by grazing fescue pasture. Urine samples were collected from 20 cows from each group once a week for 5 weeks until calving for pH assessment. At parturition, 42 cows per group were selected at random and blood samples collected on Days 1, 2, 3 and 7 postpartum. The study continued until 100 cows per group calved. Health events and cumulative milk yield until 30 days postpartum were recorded. Concentrations of Ca, P, and Mg in plasma at Days 1, 2, 3, and 7, and BHB in plasma at Day 7 postpartum were assessed. RESULTS: Mean urine pH was lower in cows in the chloride than sulfate group (p≤0.06) on four of five sampling occasions. Mean concentrations of Ca in plasma on Day 1 were 2.00 (95% CI=1.94-2.05) and 1.91 (95% CI=1.88-1.97) mmol/L for the chloride and sulfate groups, respectively (p=0.15), and on Day 3 were 2.03 (95% CI=1.97-2.08) and 1.90 (95% CI=1.84-1.96) mmol/L, respectively (p=0.038). Concentrations of Mg, P and BHB in plasma and incidence of diseases postpartum were similar in both groups (p>0.05). There were no cases of clinical hypocalcaemia in either group. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Prepartum cows fed a partial mixed ration with a negative DCAD containing chloride-based anionic salts and free access to a fescue pasture had lower prepartum urine pH, and higher concentrations of total Ca in plasma during the first week postpartum, than cows receiving a partial mixed ration containing sulfate-based anionic salts.

Effect of Impact Mechanism on Head Accelerations in Men's Lacrosse Athletes.

Quantifying head impacts is a vital component to understanding and preventing head trauma in sport. Our objective was to establish the frequency and magnitude of head impact mechanisms in men's lacrosse athletes. Eleven male lacrosse athletes wore xPatch sensors during activity. Video footage of practices and games was analyzed to verify impacts and code them with impact mechanisms. The authors calculated incidence rates (IRs) per 1000 exposures with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and used multivariate analysis of variances to compare the linear (g) and rotational (rad/s2) accelerations between mechanisms. A total of 167 head impacts were successfully verified and coded with a mechanism using video footage during 542 total exposures. The highest IR was head to body (IR = 118.08; 95% CI, 89.15-147.01), and the lowest was head to ball (IR = 3.69; 95% CI, 0-8.80) (incidence rate ratio = 32.00; 95% CI, 67.83-130.73). Analysis indicated that impact mechanism failed to significantly alter the combined dependent variables (multivariate F10,306 = 1.79, P = .06, η2 = .06, 1-ß = 0.83). While head to head, body to head, and stick to head mechanisms are penalty-inducing offenses in men's lacrosse, head to ground, head to ball, and combination impacts have similar head accelerations. If penalties and rules are created to protect players from traumatic head injury, the authors recommend stricter enforcement.

Diffusion mechanism in the sodium-ion battery material sodium cobaltate.

High performance batteries based on the movement of Li ions in Li x CoO2 have made possible a revolution in mobile electronic technology, from laptops to mobile phones. However, the scarcity of Li and the demand for energy storage for renewables has led to intense interest in Na-ion batteries, including structurally-related Na x CoO2. Here we have determined the diffusion mechanism for Na0.8CoO2 using diffuse x-ray scattering, quasi-elastic neutron scattering and ab-initio molecular dynamics simulations, and we find that the sodium ordering provides diffusion pathways and governs the diffusion rate. Above T ~ 290 K the so-called partially disordered stripe superstructure provides channels for quasi-1D diffusion, and melting of the sodium ordering leads to 2D superionic diffusion above T ~ 370 K. We obtain quantitative agreement between our microscopic study of the hopping mechanism and bulk self-diffusion measurements. Our approach can be applied widely to other Na- or Li-ion battery materials.

Hopping Time Scales and the Phonon-Liquid Electron-Crystal Picture in Thermoelectric Copper Selenide.

The suppression of transverse phonons by liquidlike diffusion in superionic conductors has been proposed as a means to dramatically reduce thermal conductivity in thermoelectric materials [H. Lui et al. Nat. Mater. 11, 422 (2012)NMAACR1476-112210.1038/nmat3273]. We have measured the ion transport and lattice dynamics in the original phonon-liquid electron-crystal Cu_{2}Se using neutron spectroscopy. We show that hopping time scales are too slow to significantly affect lattice vibrations and that the transverse phonons persist at all temperatures. Substantial changes to the phonon spectrum occur well below the transition to the superionic phase, and the ultralow thermal conductivity is instead attributed to anharmonicity.

Downregulation of estrogen receptor and modulation of growth of breast cancer cell lines mediated by paracrine stromal cell signals.

PURPOSE: Breast cancers have a poorer prognosis if estrogen receptor expression was lost during recurrence. It is unclear whether this conversion is cell autonomous or whether it can be promoted by the microenvironment during cancer dormancy. We explored the ability of marrow-derived stromal cell lines to arrest co-cultured breast cancer cells and suppress estrogen receptor alpha (ER) expression during arrest, facilitating the emergence of estrogen-independent breast cancer clones. METHODS: Cancer cell growth, ER protein, microRNA, and mRNA levels were measured in breast cancer cell lines exposed to conditioned medium from marrow stromal lines in the presence and absence of estrogen and of signaling pathway modulators. RESULTS: We demonstrate that paracrine signaling from the stromal cell line HS5 downregulated ER in T47D and MCF7 breast cancer cells. This occurred at the mRNA level and also through decreased ER protein stability. Additionally, conditioned medium (CM) from HS5 arrested the breast cancer cells in G0/G1 in part through interleukin-1 (IL1) and inhibited cancer cell growth despite the activation of proliferative pathways (Erk and AKT) by the CM. Similar findings were observed for CM from the hFOB 1.19 osteoblastic cell line but not from two other fibroblastic marrow lines, HS27A and KM101. HS5-CM inhibition of MCF7 proliferation could not be restored by exogenous ER, but was restored by the IL1-antagonist IL1RA. In the presence of IL1RA, HS5-CM activation of AKT and Erk enabled the outgrowth of breast cancer cells with suppressed ER that were fulvestrant-resistant and estrogen-independent. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that marrow-derived stromal cells can destabilize estrogen receptor protein to convert the ER status of growth-arrested ER+ breast cancer cell lines. The balance between stromal pro- and anti-proliferative signals controlled the switch from a dormant phenotype to estrogen-independent cancer cell growth.

Response to antiviral therapy in haematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients with cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation according to the donor CMV serological status.

Pre-emptive antiviral treatment efficiently prevents occurrence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease in allogeneic stem cell transplant recipients. However, successive treatment courses can be necessary. The current study was aimed at determining factors that could influence the response to antiviral treatment, in particular the donor CMV serostatus. A total of 147 consecutive CMV-seropositive recipients (R+) were included and prospectively monitored for 6 months after transplantation. Reactivation of CMV occurred in 111 patients, 61 of 78 with a CMV-positive donor (D+) and in 50 of 69 with a CMV-negative donor (D-) (p 0.45). Baseline viral loads and initial viral doubling times did not differ between D+/R+ and D-/R+. Fifteen D+/R+ and four D-/R+ had self-resolving CMV infections. A total of 92 patients received antiviral treatment and 81 (88%) had a significant decrease in CMV load under therapy. Repeated CMV episodes were observed in 67% of those and were significantly more frequent in D-/R+ than in D+/R+ (p <0001). Half-life of CMV under treatment was significantly longer in D-/R+ than in D+/R+. Treatment failure observed in eight recipients was associated with low leucocyte count at reactivation onset, and was significantly more frequent in D-/R+ (six patients) than in D+/R+ (two patients) (p <0.0001). CMV strains resistant to antivirals were found in two D-/R+. Donor CMV serostatus influenced neither CMV reactivation occurrence nor the kinetics of CMV DNA load in the early phase of CMV replication but had a significant impact on response to antiviral therapy. Virological drug-resistance remained rare.

Effect of oral mineral and energy supplementation on blood mineral concentrations, energetic and inflammatory profile, and milk yield in dairy cows affected with dystocia.

The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of mineral/energy supplementation of dairy cows with dystocia on blood mineral concentrations, energetic and inflammatory profiles, and milk yield. Multiparous Holstein cows with dystocia were randomly assigned into two groups, (1) treated with a mineral/energy supplement (DME, n= 18) and (2) not treated (DNT, n= 22). A group of cows with normal parturition were randomly selected and were left untreated (NNT, n= 25). Cows in DME received an oral drench of 110 g of calcium and 400 g of propionate as calcium propionate plus 110 g potassium chloride and 150 g of magnesium sulfate administered within 6 h of calving and again 3 days post-partum. Compared to cows with a normal parturition, dystocic cows had decreased plasma calcium concentrations, increased plasma haptoglobin, decreased milk yield at 1 day post-partum, and tended to have increased rectal temperatures from 1 to 12 days post-partum. Compared with cows in DNT, those in DME had decreased plasma calcium concentrations and increased plasma magnesium concentrations 2 and 3 days post-partum, and a tendency for an increase in rectal temperature from 1 to 12 days post-partum. Dystocia is detrimental to calcium homeostasis post-partum, but mineral/energy supplementation as undertaken in this study is not recommended for use in cows with dystocia.

Collaboration Spotting for oral medicine.

AIM: The goal of the Collaboration Spotting project is to create an automatic system to collect information about publications and patents related to a given technology, to identify the key players involved, and to highlight collaborations and related technologies. The collected information can be visualized in a web browser as interactive graphical maps showing in an intuitive way the players and their collaborations (Sociogram) and the relations among the technologies (Technogram). We propose to use the system to study technologies related to oral medicine. METHODS: In order to create a sociogram, we create a logical filter based on a set of keywords related to the technology under study. This filter is used to extract a list of publications from the Web of Science™ database. The list is validated by an expert in the technology and sent to CERN where it is inserted in the Collaboration Spotting database. Here, an automatic software system uses the data to generate the final maps. RESULTS: We studied a set of recent technologies related to bone regeneration procedures of oro-maxillo-facial critical size defects, namely the use of porous hydroxyapatite (HA) as a bone substitute alone (bone graft) or as a tridimensional support (scaffold) for insemination and differentiation ex vivo of mesenchymal stem cells. We produced the sociograms for these technologies and the resulting maps are now accessible on-line. CONCLUSION: The Collaboration Spotting system allows the automatic creation of interactive maps to show the current and historical state of research on a specific technology. These maps are an ideal tool both for researchers who want to assess the state-of-the-art in a given technology, and for research organizations who want to evaluate their contribution to the technological development in a given field. We demonstrated that the system can be used in oral medicine as is produced the maps for an initial set of technologies in this field. We now plan to enlarge the set of mapped technologies in order to make the Collaboration Spotting system a useful reference tool for oral medicine research.