Overview of common practices in calf raising facilities

In this literature review, we overview some of the common management practices associated with calf rearing in specialized operations of the United States. Given the growing importance of dairy-beef calves entering the beef production of the US, we overview aspects related to housing, nutrition, and health events during the pre- and post-weaning period. Based on data on dairy animals, we hypothesize how early life experiences could impact the feedlot performances of dairy-beef animals. Most of the large calf raising operations, where the majority of dairy-beef animals are raised, are located in the Central Great Plains and West regions of the US. Approximately 80% of calves are individually housed, but the type of housing (e.g., outside hutch, inside a barn) varies based on location of calf-raising facilities. Milk-replacer is fed in more than 80% of operations, while milk (saleable or non-saleable) is fed in approximately 30% of calf raising facilities (some operations fed more than one type of liquid diet). In addition to liquid feed, water and calf starter are offered ad libitum to calves. Adequate starter intake at weaning is crucial for feed transition from pre- to post-weaning period, which occurs at approximately 2 months of age. Then, calves are mainly housed in group pens and transition from calf-starter to total mixed ration (TMR). Health challenges such as scours, and bovine respiratory disease (BRD) can hinder the performance of calves and are major causes of morbidity and mortality in calf ranches. Transportation at a very young age and comingling with animals from other dairies can increase the risk of diseases. Current research efforts are focusing on determining individual factors such as body weight (BW) at arrival or biomarkers of inflammation and stress that can be predictive of disease morbidity, mortality, and performance of calves. Future research should focus on how to utilize this information to optimize management and to develop targeted preventative strategies to reduce incidence of diseases and mortality and improve performance during the pre-weaned period. Also, more research is needed to understand how colostrum management, housing, and nutrition can impact the adult performance of dairy-beef animals.

Education, Occupation, and the Cognitive Performance Distribution of South Korean Older Adults

Earlier research suggests that educational attainment up to early adulthood are crucial for the development of cognitive reserve, while intellectually stimulating activities later in the life course are of limited impact. We sought to explore the effects of educational attainment and occupational factors (occupation type and currently having work) across the distribution of cognitive performance for adults aged 45-65 years in South Korea. We analysed scores from the Korean Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE) provided in the 2006 wave of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging. We used quantile regressions to both investigate relationships across the distribution and to reduce bias for measures of the central tendency as the MMSE is known for its ceiling effects. The quantile function at the lowest conditional decile of MMSE scores suggested that education level was the dominant significant factor for adult performance on the MMSE (lowest MMSE decile, primary education: β = 6.11 points, p < 0.001; secondary education β = 9.56 points, p < 0.001). All occupational factors were non-significant. Further factors with a significant association with the MMSE were hearing loss, the log-transformed household income, and age squared. With the conditional median function, occupational factors became significant in the middle of the distribution but remained much less important than education levels. In summary, educational levels were more important to explain variation in cognitive functioning than occupational factors, echoing studies with Western samples. We discuss the findings with regard to the historically gender unequal educational and occupational opportunities in Korea.

What Makes a Champion? Early Multidisciplinary Practice, Not Early Specialization, Predicts World-Class Performance

What explains the acquisition of exceptional human performance? Does a focus on intensive specialized practice facilitate excellence, or is a multidisciplinary practice background better? We investigated this question in sports. Our meta-analysis involved 51 international study reports with 477 effect sizes from 6,096 athletes, including 772 of the world’s top performers. Predictor variables included starting age, age of reaching defined performance milestones, and amounts of coach-led practice and youth-led play (e.g., pickup games) in the athlete’s respective main sport and in other sports. Analyses revealed that (a) adult world-class athletes engaged in more childhood/adolescent multisport practice, started their main sport later, accumulated less main-sport practice, and initially progressed more slowly than did national-class athletes; (b) higher performing youth athletes started playing their main sport earlier, engaged in more main-sport practice but less other-sports practice, and had faster initial progress than did lower performing youth athletes; and (c) youth-led play in any sport had negligible effects on both youth and adult performance. We illustrate parallels from science: Nobel laureates had multidisciplinary study/working experience and slower early progress than did national-level award winners. The findings suggest that variable, multidisciplinary practice experiences are associated with gradual initial discipline-specific progress but greater sustainability of long-term development of excellence.

Reproductive success is influenced by early development: the covariation of natal body size and reproductive performance in grey seals (Halichoerus grypus)

An individual's size when young may be an important source individual variation in lifetime reproductive performance, as size effects on ontogenetic development can have cascading physiological and behavioral consequences throughout life. Here, we explored how natal size influences subsequent reproductive performance in grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) using mark-recapture and repeated measures reproductive data on a marked sample of 363 females that were measured at roughly 4 weeks of age and recruited to the Sable Island breeding colony. Two reproductive traits were considered: provisioning performance (mass of weaned offspring), modeled using linear mixed effects models; and reproductive frequency (the rate at which a female returns to breed), modeled using mixed-effects multistate mark-recapture models. After accounting for female age, experience, and offspring sex, we found a positive association between natal length and our measures of reproductive performance. Mothers with the longest natal lengths produced pups nearly 8 kg heavier and were 20% more likely to breed in a given year than mothers with the shortest natal lengths. Because correlation in individual body length between natal and adult life stages is weak, this covariation between natal length and future reproductive performance reported here is more likely to be a carry-over effect from advantages granted to growth and self-maintenance as a juvenile that allow for greater adult performance, rather than a physical trait that is maintained throughout life.

Methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase A1298C polymorphisms influence the adult sequelae of chemotherapy in childhood-leukemia survivors

This retrospective correlation study investigated the putative link between methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) A1298C mutations and chemotherapy-related brain function changes in adult childhood-leukemia survivors. To this end, we determined the relationship between the particular MTHFR1298 genotype (AA, AC or CC) of 31 adult childhood-leukemia survivors, and (1) their CSF Tau and phosphorylated Tau (pTau) levels at the time of treatment, (2) their adult performance intelligence quotient (PIQ), and (3) their regional brain connectivity using diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) and resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI). We confirmed that neuropathology markers Tau and pTau significantly increased in CSF of children after intrathecal methotrexate administration. Highest concentrations of these toxicity markers were found during the induction phase of the therapy. Moreover, CSF concentrations of Tau and pTau during treatment were influenced by the children’s particular MTHFR1298 genotype. CSF Tau (but not pTau) levels significantly dropped after folinic acid supplementation. At adult age (on average 13.1 years since the end of their treatment), their particular MTHFR1298 genotype (AA, AC or CC) influenced the changes in PIQ and cortical connectivity that we found to be related to their childhood exposure to chemotherapeutics. In summary, we suggest that homozygous MTHFR1298CC individuals are more vulnerable to the adult sequelae of antifolate chemotherapy.

Context sensitivity and the semantics of count nouns in the evaluation of partial objects by children and adults

Previous research has documented that children count spatiotemporally-distinct partial objects as if they were whole objects. This behavior extends beyond counting to inclusion of partial objects in assessment and comparisons of quantities. Multiple accounts of this performance have been proposed: children and adults differ qualitatively in their conceptual representations, children lack the processing skills to immediately individuate entities in a given domain, or children cannot readily access relevant linguistic alternatives for the target count noun. We advance a new account, appealing to theoretical proposals about underspecification in nominal semantics and the role of the discourse context. Our results demonstrate that there are limits to which children allow partial objects to serve as wholes, and that under certain conditions, adult performance resembles that of children by allowing in partial objects. We propose that children's behavior is in fact licensed by the inherent context dependence of count nouns.