Influence of milking frequency on the productivity of dairy cows

Benefits and issues of changing milking frequency from the traditional twice a day are reviewed. Increased efficiency through dairy automation and mechanisation, and the desire to utilise advances in genetic selection, have made milking more frequently than twice a day an attractive option for some farmers. The size of the response to increased milking frequency appeared not to be related to existing milk yield, with the average response to increasing the frequency from 2 to 3 times a day being 3.5–3.8 kg/day. Labour is the single most important cost associated with the decision to increase milking frequency. For this reason, automated milking systems may hold the key to the long-term profitability of challenging cows to produce to their genetic potential. In contrast, reducing milking frequency to once a day has been used to reduce stress on underfed cows or for lifestyle and/or labour considerations. Short-term experiments indicate an average production loss of 21% for once daily relative to twice daily milking. Full lactation experiments suggest greater losses of 35–50%, but there is evidence that cows can adapt to longer milking intervals and this, coupled with increased stocking rate and care to maximise milk removal, may restrict yield losses to less than 10% on a whole-farm basis.

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Strategies to assure optimal trade-offs among competing objectives for genetic improvement of soybean

10.1101/2021.02.19.431938 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Vishnu Ramasubramanian ◽

William Beavis

Keyword(s):

Genomic Selection ◽

Genetic Improvement ◽

Genetic Variance ◽

Breeding Strategies ◽

Short Term ◽

Genetic Gains ◽

Mating Design ◽

Genetic Potential ◽

Breeding Populations

AbstractPlant breeding is a decision making discipline based on understanding project objectives. Genetic improvement projects can have two competing objectives: maximize rate of genetic improvement and minimize loss of useful genetic variance. For commercial plant breeders competition in the marketplace forces greater emphasis on maximizing immediate genetic improvements. In contrast public plant breeders have an opportunity, perhaps an obligation, to place greater emphasis on minimizing loss of useful genetic variance while realizing genetic improvements. Considerable research indicates that short term genetic gains from Genomic Selection (GS) are much greater than Phenotypic Selection (PS), while PS provides better long term genetic gains because PS retains useful genetic diversity during the early cycles of selection. With limited resources must a soybean breeder choose between the two extreme responses provided by GS or PS? Or is it possible to develop novel breeding strategies that will provide a desirable compromise between the competing objectives? To address these questions, we decomposed breeding strategies into decisions about selection methods, mating designs and whether the breeding population should be organized as family islands. For breeding populations organized into islands decisions about possible migration rules among family islands were included. From among 60 possible strategies, genetic improvement is maximized for the first five to ten cycles using GS, a hub network mating design in breeding populations organized as fully connected family islands and migration rules allowing exchange of two lines among islands every other cycle of selection. If the objectives are to maximize both short-term and long-term gains, then the best compromise strategy is similar except a genomic mating design, instead of a hub networked mating design, is used. This strategy also resulted in realizing the greatest proportion of genetic potential of the founder populations. Weighted genomic selection applied to both non-isolated and island populations also resulted in realization of the greatest proportion of genetic potential of the founders, but required more cycles than the best compromise strategy.

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Is physiological glucocorticoid replacement important in children?

Archives of Disease in Childhood ◽

10.1136/archdischild-2015-309538 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 102 (2) ◽

pp. 199-205 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

John Porter ◽

Joanne Blair ◽

Richard J Ross

Keyword(s):

Circadian Rhythm ◽

Adrenal Insufficiency ◽

New Technologies ◽

Poor Quality ◽

Short Term ◽

Once Daily ◽

Low Concentrations ◽

Diabetes And Obesity

Cortisol has a distinct circadian rhythm with low concentrations at night, rising in the early hours of the morning, peaking on waking and declining over the day to low concentrations in the evening. Loss of this circadian rhythm, as seen in jetlag and shift work, is associated with fatigue in the short term and diabetes and obesity in the medium to long term. Patients with adrenal insufficiency on current glucocorticoid replacement with hydrocortisone have unphysiological cortisol concentrations being low on waking and high after each dose of hydrocortisone. Patients with adrenal insufficiency complain of fatigue, a poor quality of life and there is evidence of poor health outcomes including obesity potentially related to glucocorticoid replacement. New technologies are being developed that deliver more physiological glucocorticoid replacement including hydrocortisone by subcutaneous pump, Plenadren, a once-daily modified-release hydrocortisone and Chronocort, a delayed and sustained absorption hydrocortisone formulation that replicates the overnight profile of cortisol. In this review, we summarise the evidence regarding physiological glucocorticoid replacement with a focus on relevance to paediatrics.

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Long-term Effect of Combination Therapy with Mitiglinide and Once Daily Insulin Glargine in Patients who were Successfully Switched from Intensive Insulin Therapy in Short-term Study

Endocrine Journal ◽

10.1507/endocrj.k06-153 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 54 (1) ◽

pp. 163-166 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Naoki KUMASHIRO ◽

Tomoaki YOSHIHARA ◽

Yoshie KANAZAWA ◽

Tomoaki SHIMIZU ◽

Hirotaka WATADA ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Combination Therapy ◽

Insulin Glargine ◽

Intensive Insulin Therapy ◽

Term Effect ◽

Short Term ◽

Term Study ◽

Once Daily ◽

Short Term Study ◽

Long Term Effect

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Achalasia: Treatment Options Revisited

Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology ◽

10.1155/2000/595349 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 14 (5) ◽

pp. 406-409 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Willemijntje A Hoogerwerf ◽

Pankaj J Pasricha

Keyword(s):

Treatment Options ◽

Pneumatic Dilation ◽

Short Term ◽

Laparoscopic Myotomy ◽

Mechanical Disruption ◽

Attractive Option ◽

Long Term Follow Up ◽

Esophageal Sphincter

The aim of all current forms of treatment of achalasia is to enable the patient to eat without disabling symptoms such as dysphagia, regurgitation, coughing or choking. Historically, this has been accomplished by mechanical disruption of the lower esophageal sphincter fibres, either by means of pneumatic dilation (PD) or by open surgical myotomy. The addition of laparoscopic myotomy and botulinum toxin (BTX) injection to the therapeutic armamentarium has triggered a recent series of reviews to determine the optimal therapeutic approach. Both PD and BTX have excellent short term (less than three months) efficacy in the majority of patients. New data have been published that suggest that PD and BTX (with repeat injections) can potentially obtain long term efficacy. PD is still considered the first-line treatment by most physicians; its main disadvantage is risk of perforation. BTX injection is evolving as an excellent, safe option for patients who are considered high risk for more invasive procedures. Laparoscopic myotomy with combined antireflux surgery is an increasingly attractive option in younger patients with achalasia, but long term follow-up studies are required to establish its efficacy and the potential for reflux-related sequelae.

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Conceptual short-term memory (CSTM) supports core claims of Christiansen and Chater

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x15000928 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 39 ◽

Author(s):

Mary C. Potter

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Rapid Serial Visual Presentation ◽

Language Comprehension ◽

Short Term Memory ◽

Visual Presentation ◽

Long Term Memory ◽

Short Term ◽

Term Memory ◽

Use Of Knowledge

AbstractRapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) of words or pictured scenes provides evidence for a large-capacity conceptual short-term memory (CSTM) that momentarily provides rich associated material from long-term memory, permitting rapid chunking (Potter 1993; 2009; 2012). In perception of scenes as well as language comprehension, we make use of knowledge that briefly exceeds the supposed limits of working memory.

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Ultrastructural investigations of MDL 19,660-induced effects on the canine platelet and megakaryocyte

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100159412 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 48 (3) ◽

pp. 374-375

Author(s):

D.E. Loudy ◽

J. Sprinkle-Cavallo ◽

J.T. Yarrington ◽

F.Y. Thompson ◽

J.P. Gibson

Keyword(s):

Antidepressant Drug ◽

Beagle Dogs ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

Short Term ◽

Platelet Counts ◽

Toxicological Studies ◽

Induced Aggregation ◽

Internal Architecture

Previous short term toxicological studies of one to two weeks duration have demonstrated that MDL 19,660 (5-(4-chlorophenyl)-2,4-dihydro-2,4-dimethyl-3Hl, 2,4-triazole-3-thione), an antidepressant drug, causes a dose-related thrombocytopenia in dogs. Platelet counts started to decline after two days of dosing with 30 mg/kg/day and continued to decrease to their lowest levels by 5-7 days. The loss in platelets was primarily of the small discoid subpopulation. In vitro studies have also indicated that MDL 19,660: does not spontaneously aggregate canine platelets and has moderate antiaggregating properties by inhibiting ADP-induced aggregation. The objectives of the present investigation of MDL 19,660 were to evaluate ultrastructurally long term effects on platelet internal architecture and changes in subpopulations of platelets and megakaryocytes.Nine male and nine female beagle dogs were divided equally into three groups and were administered orally 0, 15, or 30 mg/kg/day of MDL 19,660 for three months. Compared to a control platelet range of 353,000- 452,000/μl, a doserelated thrombocytopenia reached a maximum severity of an average of 135,000/μl for the 15 mg/kg/day dogs after two weeks and 81,000/μl for the 30 mg/kg/day dogs after one week.

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Comparison of Auditory, Language, Memory, and Attention Abilities in Children With and Without Listening Difficulties

American Journal of Audiology ◽

10.1044/2020_aja-20-00018 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 29 (4) ◽

pp. 710-727

Author(s):

Beula M. Magimairaj ◽

Naveen K. Nagaraj ◽

Alexander V. Sergeev ◽

Natalie J. Benafield

Keyword(s):

Auditory Processing ◽

Short Term Memory ◽

Group Differences ◽

Long Term Memory ◽

Short Term ◽

Significant Group ◽

Term Memory ◽

Memory And Attention ◽

Speed And Accuracy

Objectives School-age children with and without parent-reported listening difficulties (LiD) were compared on auditory processing, language, memory, and attention abilities. The objective was to extend what is known so far in the literature about children with LiD by using multiple measures and selective novel measures across the above areas. Design Twenty-six children who were reported by their parents as having LiD and 26 age-matched typically developing children completed clinical tests of auditory processing and multiple measures of language, attention, and memory. All children had normal-range pure-tone hearing thresholds bilaterally. Group differences were examined. Results In addition to significantly poorer speech-perception-in-noise scores, children with LiD had reduced speed and accuracy of word retrieval from long-term memory, poorer short-term memory, sentence recall, and inferencing ability. Statistically significant group differences were of moderate effect size; however, standard test scores of children with LiD were not clinically poor. No statistically significant group differences were observed in attention, working memory capacity, vocabulary, and nonverbal IQ. Conclusions Mild signal-to-noise ratio loss, as reflected by the group mean of children with LiD, supported the children's functional listening problems. In addition, children's relative weakness in select areas of language performance, short-term memory, and long-term memory lexical retrieval speed and accuracy added to previous research on evidence-based areas that need to be evaluated in children with LiD who almost always have heterogenous profiles. Importantly, the functional difficulties faced by children with LiD in relation to their test results indicated, to some extent, that commonly used assessments may not be adequately capturing the children's listening challenges. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12808607

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