Variation In Body Weight Research Articles

PREDICTION OF LIVE BODY WEIGHTS IN DROMEDARY CAMELS (Camelus dromedarius) FROM MORPHOMETRIC BODY MEASUREMENTS

The study explores the prediction of body weight in dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) using morphometric measurements Fifty-one (51) camels, comprising 24 females and 27 males were used for the study. Data were obtained on individual camels, including; estimated body weight (EBW), heart girth (HG), abdominal girth (AG), body length (BL), rump height (RH), shoulder height (SH), face length (FL), foreleg length (FLL), hind leg length (HLL), tail length (TL), neck length (NL), neck circumference (NC), and head length (HL). Data were subjected to statistical analysis. Results obtained showed no-significant (p>0.05) effect of sex on body weight in females and males. The correlation coefficients highlight strong relationships, particularly in HG and AG, emphasizing their significance in predicting body weight. The results show moderate to low VIF values, suggesting acceptable levels of multicollinearity in the models. Prediction equations are gender-specific, with separate models for females and males. For both sexes, HG and AG emerge as crucial predictors, with additional contributions from SH and FLL in certain models. The coefficient of determination (R2) indicates the proportion of variability in body weight explained by the models. For females, a three-variable model achieves an impressive R2 of 99.1%, while the corresponding male model attains 97.6%. Combining sexes, the models reach R2 values of 98.1% and 98.3%, showcasing the efficacy of the proposed regression equations in predicting body weights in dromedary camels. The study provides valuable insights for camel management, offering a practical tool for estimating body weight based on readily measurable morphometric traits.

Optimizing Anesthetic Practices for Mud Crab: A Comparative Study of Clove Oil, MS-222, Ethanol, and Magnesium Chloride.

Anesthesia serves as an effective method to mitigate the stress response in aquatic animals during aquaculture and product transportation. In this study, we assessed the anesthetic efficacy of clove oil, tricaine methane-sulfonate (MS-222), ethanol, and magnesium chloride by anesthesia duration, recovery time, 24-hour survival rate, and the behavior of mud crabs (Scylla paramamosain). Additionally, the optimal anesthetic concentration for varying body weights of mud crabs was also investigated. The results revealed that clove oil emerged as the optimal anesthetic for mud crabs, with a 24-hour survival rate surpassing those observed in MS-222 and magnesium chloride treatments. Ethanol caused amputation and hyperactivity in mud crabs. Regression analyses between the optimal anesthetic concentration of clove oil and the weight categories of 0.03-27.50 g and 27.50-399.73 g for mud crabs yielded the following equations: y = 0.0036 x3 - 0.1629 x2 + 1.7314 x + 4.085 (R2 = 0.7115) and y = 0.0437 x + 2.9461 (R2 = 0.9549). Clove oil exhibited no significant impact on serum cortisol, glucose, lactate content, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities, or superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in mud crabs across different treatment groups. Anesthesia induced by clove oil in mud crabs resulted in an increase in inhibitory neurotransmitters such as glycine. However, the recovery from anesthesia was associated with elevated levels of the excitatory neurotransmitters L-aspartic acid and glutamate. In conclusion, clove oil proves to be a safe and optimal anesthetic agent for mud crabs, exerting no physiological stress on the species.

Body Mass Index (BMI) Is the Strongest Predictor of Systemic Hypertension and Cardiac Mass in a Cohort of Children.

Hypertension (HTN) is a well-established cardiovascular (CV) risk factor in adults. The presence of HTN in children appears to predict its persistence into adulthood. Early diagnosis of HTN is crucial to reduce CV morbidity before the onset of organ damage. The aim of this study is to investigate cardiac damage in HTN, its risk factors (RFs), and evolution. We conducted a prospective/retrospective study involving children referred to the Childhood Hypertension Outpatient Clinic. This study included clinical and echocardiographic assessments of cardiac morphology and function at three time points: enrollment (T0) and follow-up (T1 and T2). Ninety-two patients (mean age 11.4 ± 3 years) were enrolled. Cardiac eccentric and concentric hypertrophy were present in 17.9% and 9%, respectively, with remodeling in 10.5%. Overweight/obese subjects exhibited significantly higher systolic blood pressure (SBP), frequency of HTN, and body mass index (BMI) at T0 compared with patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). SBP and BMI persisted more during follow-up. Normal-weight vs. overweight/obese patients were significantly more likely to have normal geometry. Positive correlations were found between BMI and left ventricular (LV) mass at T0, BMI and SBP at T0 and T1. Gender, BMI, SBP, and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) significantly predicted LV mass index (LVMI), but only BMI added significance to the prediction. During follow-up, the variation of BMI positively correlated with the variation of SBP, but not with LVMI. In our cohort, body weight is strongly associated with HTN and cardiac mass. Importantly, the variation in body weight has a more significant impact on the consensual variation of cardiac mass than blood pressure (BP) values. A strict intervention on weight control through diet and a healthy lifestyle from early ages might reduce the burden of CV morbidity in later years.

Moving beyond Weight: A Narrative Review of the Dietary and Lifestyle Management for Reducing Cardiometabolic Risk in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS).

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder experienced by women. PCOS is a lifelong condition associated with reproductive, metabolic, and psychological presentations. PCOS is also linked with increased prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors. While an association between body weight and PCOS has been noted, cardiometabolic risk factors are prevalent in individuals with PCOS across body weights. Currently, no consensus exists as to the most appropriate lifestyle strategy for mitigating cardiometabolic risk in PCOS. A large proportion of the literature is focused on weight loss for individuals with PCOS who are overweight or experience obesity, despite PCOS being prevalent across body sizes. The aim of this narrative review is to assess dietary and lifestyle interventions aimed at reducing cardiometabolic risk in individuals with PCOS across body sizes. A total of 51 articles are included in this review. Overall, randomized controlled trials are limited and most studies focus on weight loss, excluding individuals classified within a healthy body weight range. Studies that modified the dietary pattern without an energy deficit saw improvements in cardiometabolic risk. Thus, less restrictive dietary approaches may be effective at reducing cardiometabolic risk in this population. This review also highlights the need for more sustainable lifestyle interventions that meet the needs of individuals with PCOS of varying body weights.

The Effect of Feeding Non-Antioxidant Feed on The Degree of Dysplasia in Formaldehyde-Induced Wistar Rats

Nasopharyngeal dysplasia is a condition of abnormal cellular growth that occurs due to the failure of nasopharyngeal epithelial cells in carrying out cellular adaptation. This condition can occur due to the continuous inhalation of toxic compounds, such as formaldehyde, which has genotoxic and cytotoxic effects that can induce cellular damage. One of the compound activity associated with reducing risk of dysplasia is antioxidant activity. Therefore, it is important to know whether the presence of antioxidant activity affects the occurrence of dysplasia. This study is an experimental study with a post-test only control group design which aims to determine the effect of Non-Antioxidant Feed on the occurrence of nasopharyngeal dysplasia. Testing of the antioxidant activity in feed was carried out using the DPPH assay. There were two groups of experimental animals including the treatment group (fed with Non-Antioxidant Feed) and the control group (fed with SB 11). All animals in each group were induced with 40 ppm formaldehyde by inhalation for 8 weeks and then euthanized using chloroform inhalation for nasopharyngeal tissue extraction. The results of the histopathological examination of the two groups were then statistically tested using the Mann-Whitney U test and obtained a value of P<0.05 (P=0.006), which means that there are effect of feeding Non-Antioxidants Feed on the degree of dysplasia in formaldehyde-induced wistar rats. The results can be associated with the ingredients contained in the feed given, differences in genetic polymorphisms of each subjects, and effect of body weight variations of the rats caused by randomization.

Insights into genetic diversity and phenotypic variations in domestic geese through comprehensive population and pan-genome analysis

BackgroundDomestic goose breeds are descended from either the Swan goose (Anser cygnoides) or the Greylag goose (Anser anser), exhibiting variations in body size, reproductive performance, egg production, feather color, and other phenotypic traits. Constructing a pan-genome facilitates a thorough identification of genetic variations, thereby deepening our comprehension of the molecular mechanisms underlying genetic diversity and phenotypic variability.ResultsTo comprehensively facilitate population genomic and pan-genomic analyses in geese, we embarked on the task of 659 geese whole genome resequencing data and compiling a database of 155 RNA-seq samples. By constructing the pan-genome for geese, we generated non-reference contigs totaling 612 Mb, unveiling a collection of 2,813 novel genes and pinpointing 15,567 core genes, 1,324 softcore genes, 2,734 shell genes, and 878 cloud genes in goose genomes. Furthermore, we detected an 81.97 Mb genomic region showing signs of genome selection, encompassing the TGFBR2 gene correlated with variations in body weight among geese. Genome-wide association studies utilizing single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and presence-absence variation revealed significant genomic associations with various goose meat quality, reproductive, and body composition traits. For instance, a gene encoding the SVEP1 protein was linked to carcass oblique length, and a distinct gene-CDS haplotype of the SVEP1 gene exhibited an association with carcass oblique length. Notably, the pan-genome analysis revealed enrichment of variable genes in the “hair follicle maturation” Gene Ontology term, potentially linked to the selection of feather-related traits in geese. A gene presence-absence variation analysis suggested a reduced frequency of genes associated with “regulation of heart contraction” in domesticated geese compared to their wild counterparts. Our study provided novel insights into gene expression features and functions by integrating gene expression patterns across multiple organs and tissues in geese and analyzing population variation.ConclusionThis accomplishment originates from the discernment of a multitude of selection signals and candidate genes associated with a wide array of traits, thereby markedly enhancing our understanding of the processes underlying domestication and breeding in geese. Moreover, assembling the pan-genome for geese has yielded a comprehensive apprehension of the goose genome, establishing it as an indispensable asset poised to offer innovative viewpoints and make substantial contributions to future geese breeding initiatives.

Early time-restricted carbohydrate consumption vs conventional dieting in type 2 diabetes: a randomised controlled trial

Aims/hypothesisEarly time-restricted carbohydrate consumption (eTRC) is a novel dietary strategy that involves restricting carbohydrate-rich food intake to the morning and early afternoon to align with circadian variations in glucose tolerance. We examined the efficacy, feasibility and safety of eTRC in individuals with type 2 diabetes under free-living conditions.MethodsIn this randomised, parallel-arm, open label, controlled trial, participants with type 2 diabetes and overweight/obesity (age 67.2±7.9 years, 47.8% women, BMI 29.4±3.7 kg/m2, HbA1c 49±5 mmol/mol [6.6±0.5%]) were randomised, using computer-generated random numbers, to a 12 week eTRC diet or a Mediterranean-style control diet with matched energy restriction and macronutrient distribution (50% carbohydrate, 30% fat and 20% protein). The primary outcome was the between-group difference in HbA1c at 12 weeks. Body composition, 14 day flash glucose monitoring and food diary analysis were performed every 4 weeks. Mixed meal tolerance tests with mathematical beta cell function modelling were performed at baseline and after 12 weeks.ResultsTwelve (85.7%) participants in the eTRC arm and 11 (84.6%) participants in the control arm completed the study, achieving similar reductions in body weight and fat mass. The two groups experienced comparable improvements in HbA1c (−3 [−6, −0.3] mmol/mol vs −4 [−6, −2] mmol/mol, corresponding to −0.2 [−0.5, 0]% and −0.3 [−0.5, −0.1]%, respectively, p=0.386), fasting plasma glucose, flash glucose monitoring-derived glucose variability and mixed meal tolerance test-derived glucose tolerance, insulin resistance, insulin clearance and plasma glucagon levels, without changes in model-derived beta cell function parameters, glucagon-like peptide-1, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide and non-esterified fatty acid levels. The two diets similarly reduced liver function markers and triglyceride levels, being neutral on other cardiometabolic and safety variables. In exploratory analyses, diet-induced changes in body weight and glucometabolic variables were not related to the timing of carbohydrate intake.Conclusions/interpretationThe proposed eTRC diet provides a feasible and effective alternative option for glucose and body weight management in individuals with type 2 diabetes, with no additional metabolic benefits compared with conventional dieting.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT05713058FundingThis study was supported by the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) and the Italian Society of Diabetology (SID).Graphical

Biometric Trait Characterization and Multivariate Discriminant Analysis of Traditionally Bred Autochthonous Chickens in Ethiopia

The biometric characterization of autochthonous Ethiopian chickens has not been fully investigated in the study area. In this study, we aimed to conduct biometric trait characterization and multivariate discriminant analysis of traditionally bred autochthonous chickens in Ethiopia and assess the wide range of phenotypic diversity within these populations. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used, and data on biometric traits and body weight were collected from adult chickens. Principal component and correlation analyses were performed to explore the discriminating factors and relationships among traits. All autochthonous chickens showed clear sexual dimorphism, with the Agarfa chickens having the highest biometric traits and body weight. Across the study area, the majority of biometric values showed variation between age group 1 (AG-1) and age group 3 (AG-3). All autochthonous chickens showed a strong correlation between wingspan and back length (p ≤ 0.001). Roosters and hens also showed a strong correlation between the keel and neck length (p ≤ 0.001). Principal component 1 (PC1) and principal component 2 (PC2) explained 56.44%, 55.09%, and 47.86% of the total variation in the original variables for all autochthonous chickens, roosters, and hens, respectively. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed the existence of biometric trait and body weight variations among autochthonous chickens from different districts. Therefore, genetic profiling should be performed to better understand the genetic potential of autochthonous Ethiopian chickens.

Prophylactic Coloprotective Effect of Urtica dioica Leaves against Dextran Sulfate Sodium (DSS)-Induced Ulcerative Colitis in Rats.

Background and Objectives: Urtica dioica, a source of bioactive functional compounds, provides nutritional and gastrointestinal therapeutic benefits. This study attempted to investigate the prophylactic coloprotective action of an aqueous extract of Urtica dioica (AEUD) on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis (UC). Materials and Methods: Phenolic compounds, total sugar, and mineral levels were determined in AEUD. Then, AEUD at different doses (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg, BW, p.o.) and mesalazine (MESA) as a standard treatment (100 mg/kg, BW, p.o.) were given orally for 21 days. Acute colitis was induced by administering drinking water with 5% (w/v) DSS for 7 days. Body weight variation, fecal occult blood, and stool consistency were determined daily. The severity of colitis was graded according to colon length, disease activity index (DAI), histological evaluations, and biochemical alterations. Rats orally administered DSS regularly developed clinical and macroscopic signs of colitis. Results: Due to its richness in phenolic and flavonoid compounds (247.65 ± 2.69 mg EAG/g MS and 34.08 ± 0.53 mg EQt/g MS, respectively), AEUD markedly ameliorated DAI, ulcer scores, colon length shortening, colonic histopathological changes, and hematological and biochemical modifications. Taken together, AEUD treatment notably (p < 0.01) suppressed DSS-induced UC by reducing oxidative stress via lowering MDA/H2O2 production and stimulating the effect of enzyme antioxidants as well as attenuating inflammation by decreasing CRP levels by 79.5% between the DSS and DSS + AEUD-50 groups compared to the MESA group (75.6%). Conclusions: AEUD was sufficient to exert a coloprotective effect that might be influenced by its bioactive compounds' anti-inflammatory and antioxidant capabilities.

Assessing the potential for precision medicine of glucose-lowering drugs in type 2 diabetes mellitus: a meta-regression analysis considering body weight variability from 120 randomized trials

Abstract Background Thus far, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of glucose-lowering drugs reporting on treatment effects on body weight (BW) as cardiovascular risk factor in type 2 diabetes mellitus have not included precision medicine approaches. However, taking into account treatment response heterogeneity, their potential may be analyzed from published data of RCTs using meta-regression analyses. Both treatment response variation and predictors are required conditions for precision medicine to work. Purpose To assess the potential benefits of precision medicine by quantifying the variation of body weight as patient response to treatment, and to identify predictors which could explain this variation. Methods We used four recent systematic reviews on RCTs comparing pharmacological treatment of type 2 diabetes (included but not limited to sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and thiazolidinediones) to placebo. RCTs reporting on BW at baseline and after follow-up to allow for calculation of its logarithmic standard deviation (Log(SD)) in treatment and placebo groups were included. Meta-regression models accounting for treatment means, differing sample sizes, and correlation across treatment from the same trial were used. A separate meta-regression model to evaluate interactions of treatment and individual predictor variables (age, male sex, pre-randomization BW, duration of disease, duration of treatment, year of study and drug class) was applied. Results 120 randomized trials with a total of 43,663 participants were included. The median BW after treatment was 85.2 kg in the placebo groups and 86.2 kg in the therapy groups. A slightly greater treatment response heterogeneity was shown in the therapy groups with a median Log(SD)=2.83 compared to 2.79 from the placebo. After full adjustment in the meta-regression model the difference in BW Log(SD)s was -0.020 (95% CI: -0.063; 0.022) (Figure 1). Scatter plots adjusted for different sample sizes did not show any interaction (i.e. slope divergence) between predictors and the respective treatment (therapy or placebo). Figure 2 demonstrates this using pre-randomization BW as an example. Conclusions We found no major treatment response heterogeneity in RCTs of glucose-lowering drugs reporting on body weight in type 2 diabetes. In addition, none of the considered predictors were able to explain a potential variation in treatment response. The precision medicine approach may thus be of limited value in this setting.

Association between intensity of glycemic control with GLP-1 receptor agonists and risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: a systematic review and meta-regression

Abstract Background Several glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) have shown to reduce major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). However, this reduction has not been consistent among different GLP-1 RAs. We conducted a systematic review and meta-regression analyses to evaluate the association between the intensity of glycemic control achieved byGLP-1 RAs therapy in patients with type 2 DM and the reduction of MACE as well as to identify potential mechanisms involved. Methods Electronic databases (MEDLINE, CENTRAL, SCOPUS) were searched through November 2022. Studies were considered eligible if they were cardiovascular outcomes randomized trials (CVOTs) comparing GLP-1 RAs versus placebo in type 2 DM patients. Trials including non-diabetic patients and GLP-1 RAs refused by European Medicines Agency or US Food and Drug Administration were excluded. The outcome of interest was 3-point MACE (CV death, MI, or stroke). Random-effects meta-analyses and meta-regression evaluated associations between glycemic control withGLP-1 RAs and study outcomes. Secondary meta-regression analyses were performed for body weight and blood pressure (BP) variation. Results Overall, 8 CVOTs were included, with a total of 60080 patients (30694 treated withGLP-1 RAs). GLP-1 RAs were associated with a lower incidence of 3P-MACE (RR 0.876; 95% CI 0.821-0.935, p&amp;lt;0.001). Mean HbA1C reduction was 0.57% in patients treated withGLP-1 RAs vs. placebo. Meta-regression showed that higher reductions of HbA1C levels were associated with lower risk of 3P-MACE (Log RR -0.286 [95% CI-0.512; -0.056], p=0.015), which translates into an estimated relative risk reduction of 25% for each 1% reduction in HbA1C (Figure 1A). There was a non-significant association between glycemic control and each of the 3P-MACE outcomes analysed separately. Body weight reduction was also associated with a lower risk of 3P-MACE (Log RR -0.067 [95% CI-0.134; 0.001], p=0.053), despite not meeting statistical significance (Figure 1B). Systolic BP decrease was not associated with reduced risk of 3P-MACE. Conclusions The better the glycemic control withGLP-1 RAs in type 2 DM patients, the greater the reduction in 3P-MACE. Body weight reduction may also play a potential role.Figure 1

PREDICTION OF BODY WEIGHT OF NIGERIAN NON-DESCRIPT GOATS FROM MORPHOMETRIC TRAITS USING CLASSIFICATION AND REGRESSION TREE MODEL

This study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between body weight and eleven (11) morphometric traits (body weight, body length, height at withers, rump height, chest girth, hind leg, fore leg, head length, ear length, neck length, and tail length) of non-descript goats using classification and regression tree technique. The data were generated from 120 non-descript goats randomly selected from different herds in three LGA areas of Kaduna State, North West Nigeria. Pearson’s moment correlation (r) between body weight and morphometric traits ranged from low to high values (r = 0.21-0.97; P≤0.05, P≤0.01). Based on the importance of the independent variables in predicting the body weight of goats, six body measurements namely; chest girth, body length, rump height, height at withers, head length and neck length were found to be more efficient. Thus, they were the variables entered to obtain the optimal regression tree. Among these six variables, chest circumference was found to be the primary splitting variable; and together with neck length accounted for about 84.20% of the variation in body weight. The regression tree analysis indicated that animals with chest circumference &gt; 60.00cm and neck length &gt;15cm could be expected to have higher body weights. This information could be exploited by livestock producers and researchers for determining the feed amount, drug dose, and market price of an animal, management, selection and genetic improvement of Nigerian non-descript goats.

PSX-15 Precision Beef Dry Matter Intake Estimation on Extensive Rangelands

Abstract Predicting dry matter intake (DMI) for beef cattle on extensive rangelands presents a significant challenge to determining stocking rates. Traditionally, DMI is estimated by taking full body weight (BW) multiplied by a percentage selected based on animal class, production phase, and forage quality, which introduces tremendous levels of accumulated error at the herd level. Animal Unit Months (AUMs) are utilized to simplify the determination of stocking rate (animal units per area per a specific period of time) of pastures. This challenge represents a tremendous opportunity to leverage precision technology to account for individual animal variation in BW and growth, with subsequent impacts on herd-level decisions. Therefore, the objective of this study was to utilize precision livestock technology (PLT) collected data to build a precision system model (PSM) to evaluate the differences in predicted DMI using either initial BW, expected mid-season BW, or PLT measured BW. The PSM model was built utilizing BW data measured using SmartScale (C-Lock Inc.) for 60 days during the summers of 2021 and 2022 on Angus yearling steers (average initial BW 393.71 ± 39.01 and 315.23 ± 53.91 kg, n = 130 and 124, for year 2021 and 2022, respectively) on native pastures at the South Dakota State University Cottonwood Field Station. The PSM evaluated total forage consumption and deterministically estimated hectares of pasture required to meet the herd forage demands relative to available biomass (kg/ha). the PSM estimated 4.49% and 6.94% more DMI at the herd level compared with using initial BW for years 2021 and 22, respectively, and 1.64% less DMI than mid-season BW in 2021. This resulted in an additional 14.03 and 17.95 ha required for years 2021 and 22, respectively, according to PSM estimates compared with initial BW, while animals were understocked by 5 and 0.3 ha for 2021 and 2022, respectively, using mid-season BW. Individuals expressed a divergent growth rate, resulting in greater misalignment between static and PSM predicted DMI as the grazing period progressed (Menendez et al., 2023), indicating greater opportunities for targeted grazing management in long grazing periods. Therefore, applying precision data provides more precise DMI estimates and demonstrates the advantages and disadvantages of herd-level estimates. The use of PSM helps to identify high-leverage precision tools to minimize a performance gap like overgrazing extensive rangeland systems and demonstrates the critical need to develop robust data-collection and processing steps to leverage continuously collected PLT data.

PSXIV-12 Evaluation of an Ensiled, Self-Fed Diet for Backgrounding Beef Cattle

Abstract Self-feeding of ensiled forages consists in allowing the animals to feed from the silo face through a physical barrier. Energy, protein, and mineral supplements are offered separately in free-choice portable feeders. Compared with offering a total mixed ration, the self-feeding system could result in differences in ensiled forage and supplement intake and may increase animal performance variability. Ensiling a complete diet may contribute to overcome these drawbacks. This study compared the performance of calves that consumed an ensiled backgrounding diet from a silo-bag face (self-feeding, SF) with that of calves fed a diet mixed and delivered daily in a feed bunk (TMR). A single forage sweet sorghum crop was harvested and bagged to be used in the TMR treatment, or harvested and added a dry supplement (45% finely-ground corn grain, 50% extruded soybean meal, and 5% vitamin-mineral premix without ionophore) during bagging, using an adjustable-discharge hopper mounted above the bagger’s packing rotor, to be used in the SF treatment. Regardless of treatment, the diet consisted of 61% forage sorghum and 39% dry supplement (DM basis; 9.9 and 11.6% CP, 42.3 and 43.8% NDF, and 9.8 and 9.5% starch for TMR and SF diets, respectively). Bagged feeds were allowed to ensile for 50 d before experiment began. Two hundred fifty-two, non-implanted Angus calves (224 ± 4.6 kg) were blocked by body weight (BW) and coat color resulting in 6 blocks and 1 pen/block per treatment with 12 or 30 animals per TMR or SF pen, respectively; more animals were required in the SF pens to maintain feed fresh and reduce spoilage, though BW was measured on 12 calves. Pens assigned to SF treatment were each equipped with a silo bag blocked off with an iron fence. The TMR animals were fed ad libitum once a day. In SF pens, feed was carved from the silo-bag face manually twice daily using a pitchfork onto a pile on the fence’s bag side. Cattle were fed for 70 d and held off feed and water for 16 h to record initial (day 1) and final BW (day 70). Data were analyzed as a randomized complete block design. Rate of BW gain, DMI, and DMI relative to BW were greater (P &amp;lt; 0.01; Table 1) for SF calves compared with TMR, resulting in greater (P = 0.03) final BW but similar (P = 0.36) ADG:DMI. Coefficient of variation (CV) of final BW and ADG and the increase in CV of BW did not differ (P ≥ 0.93) between treatments. Similar feed efficiency and animal performance variability were achieved by feeding an ensiled ration offered in a self-feeding system or a traditional TMR. The former might represent a simple and feasible feeding alternative for small-size beef cattle operations.

320 Effects of Sorting Strategy on Within-Pen Variation and Profitability

Abstract Decreasing variation in a pen of feedlot cattle reduces overfeeding, increases carcass quality and uniformity, and improves economic returns. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of sorting by body weight (BW) or expected days on feed (DOF) on pen performance and profitability. Ninety-six Angus-cross steers (initial BW = 360 ± 28 kg) were randomly assigned to sorting by BW or DOF determined using the Davis Growth Model and initial body measurements for BW, hip height, back fat thickness (BF), and ribeye area. Steers within BW and DOF sort groups were randomly assigned to one of two replicates. Within replicate, BW groups were divided into light and heavy pens (initial BW = 323 and 366 kg, respectively), and DOF groups were divided into short and long pens (DOF = 119 and 160 d, respectively), for a total of 8 pens with 12 steers in each pen. Pen feeding was managed using the slick bunk method and time of marketing was determined based on observation of an average pen BF of 1.1 cm. Steers were harvested at a commercial abattoir and individual carcass characteristics were recorded. Profit was calculated as carcass value minus feed costs. For comparison of sorting treatments, pen was the experimental unit, and treatment means and variances were compared using a t-test and F-test, respectively. Steers were harvested in three groups: both heavy-BW sort pens and both short-DOF sort pens were harvested after 84 d, both long-DOF sort pens and one light-BW sort pen were harvested after 104 d, and the final light-BW sort pen was harvested after 116 d on the finishing ration. There were no differences in mean initial BW (P = 0.95) or initial percent empty body fat (EBF; P = 0.28), but variation in initial BW was reduced (P &amp;lt; 0.01) for the BW sort group. Final mean BW did not differ between sort groups (P = 0.54), but variance in final BW and hot carcass weight was less (P &amp;lt; 0.01) for the group sorted by BW. Final percent EBF also did not differ between groups (P = 0.41), but percent EBF variance was 2.4 %-units for DOF and 2.9 %-units for BW sorted pens, although differences were not statistically significant. There were no differences in average daily gain or feed conversion rate between sort groups. Variation in yield grade, BF, and marbling score were numerically reduced for the DOF group; however, differences were not statistically significant (P &amp;gt; 0.10). Average profit per steer was $ 321.42 and $ 235.05 for DOF and BW sorted groups, respectively. Sorting by DOF increased profitability by 26% by increasing harvest BW, improving uniformity, and decreasing overweight carcasses.

PSXIV-16 Evaluation of Water Intake Equations with an Emphasis on Physiological Status and Evaluation of Current Relevance Behind Environmental Parameters

Abstract Water requirements for beef cattle are often computed according to body weight (BW) and environmental variables. Inherent variation in environmental conditions within geographical locations, in addition to a cascade of physiological changes triggered as consequence of such variability are somewhat fomented by multicollinearity amongst these variables. This conundrum generates instability of current predictive models in reaching optimization equilibrium inflating its overall predictability and robustness. The goals herein involved the identification of physiologically relevant parameters and the generation of robust, data-driven, individualistic models through high frequency data loggers. Further, we evaluate re-parametrized and current proposed equations (e.g.: Hicks et al., 1988 and Arias and Mader, 2011) for the prediction of water intake for beef cattle at different life stages and physiological conditions. The dataset utilized consisted of more than 30,000 observations, including longitudinal data on lactating animals (n = 23), grass finished steers (n = 12), grain finished steers (n = 21), and grain finished implanted steers (n = 9), steers backgrounded on a low (n = 20) or moderate (n = 20) plane of nutrition bulls under negative (n = 13), maintenance (n = 13) and positive energy balance (n = 13). Individual monitoring systems allowed for the daily collection of BW, water and feed intake, and ingestive behavior. Additionally, an on-site data-logging weather station (1-min intervals) collected relative humidity, temperature, wind speed, wind direction, solar radiation, and precipitation. All reported statistics were generated on out-of-bag randomly split portions of the dataset. For identification of relevant predictive parameters of water intake, several feature selection and penalization techniques were examined. When comparing our equations to current, the errors generated for water intake predictions using physiological classification and on-site environmental variables, explained 50% more of the variation in predicting water intake (r2 = 0.38 vs r2 = 0.22-0.27). When evaluating the errors of prediction (root mean squared error, RMSE and mean absolute error, MAE), significant decreases of up to three-fold were observed on the equations generated herein (RMSE = 9.05 vs 28.8 to 35.31, MAE = 7.04 vs 26.9 to 33.9). Accurate monitoring of individual parameters such as feed intake were better predictors of water intake than environmental parameters when evaluating re-parametrization of models. Further, inclusion of a physiological stage (categorical variable) was more significant than any of the other environmental predictors. Overall, the results discussed highlight the importance of appropriately accounting for the water requirements of beef cattle and how far-off current assumptions are. Further, it raises concern on current equations that use environmental monitoring equations and techniques that attempt to describe nutrient requirements of the animals, and potentially brings the approach to requirements rather than environment.

279 Impact of Increasing Additions of Choline Chloride on Broiler Chicken Body Weight Variability

Abstract Previously, we observed a linear improvement in feed conversion and no difference in body weight (BW) in broiler chickens fed increasing additions of choline chloride in a diet with reduced digestible methionine (dMet) reared under summer environmental conditions. Poor uniformity in broiler carcass weights can negatively impact processing yields and profitability. The objective was to evaluate the impacts of increasing choline concentration on BW variation of broilers from the previous study. Yield Plus × Ross 708 male broilers (n = 2,232) were reared for 41 d on used litter in floor pens (n = 31 birds per 2.3 m2 pen). Birds were fed 1 of 6 corn and soybean meal-based, reduced dMet diets containing 0, 400, 800, 1,200, 1,600, or 2,000 mg added choline chloride per kg of feed (n = 12 pens per treatment). Diets were provided in 3 phases: starter from d 0 to 15 with 0.42% dMet, grower from d 16 to 28 with 0.42% dMet, and finisher from d 29 to 41 with 0.37% dMet. Rearing temperatures began at 34.4 °C, were reduced over 21 d to 26.7 °C and maintained there until d 41. Individual weights were collected at 15, 28, and 41 d. Broilers (n = 10 per pen based on proximity to pen median BW) were processed on d 43. The distance of each bird from both mean and median of the pen, added choline treatment, and whole flock BW over time was calculated. Uniformity was reported comparing within a pen to the pen, treatment, and flock averages. Intra-pen CV was calculated using pen mean and median weights. Data were analyzed as a 1-way ANOVA using SAS PROC GLIMMIX with added choline as main effect. Means were separated at P ≤ 0.05 with tendencies declared at 0.05 &amp;lt; P ≤ 0.10 using the PDIFF option, and orthogonal contrasts were evaluated. Supplementing the diet with choline increased individual bird distance from the treatment and flock average BW from d 15 to 41 (P ≤ 0.0244). Intra-treatment and flock uniformity showed a quadratic response to increasing additions of choline at d 41 (P ≤ 0.0214) as did the CV within pens at d 41 (P = 0.0455). Variability of carcass part weights of birds selected for processing was not impacted by choline addition. While supplementing dMet-deficient diets with choline chloride can improve broiler feed efficiency without impacting BW, it may alter variation among individual birds depending on the concentration in the diet. These results indicate that there is variation in how individual birds respond to choline chloride additions and highlight the importance of analyzing variation as part of comprehensive feed additive evaluation to deepen the understanding of its impacts.

PSXI-22 Different Initial Body Weight and Dietary Supplementation of Tryptophan, Threonine, and Methionine on Feeding Behavior Index of Growing Pigs Under a Sanitary Challenge

Abstract Sanitary challenges (SC) can affect growth and revenue of pig production. The reduction in growth performance result from a decrease in daily feed intake (DFI). Besides, feeding behavior patterns may be also affected for pigs under SC. The extent of this impact might depend on the initial body weight (BW) of pigs. Additionally, supplementing tryptophan (Trp), threonine (Thr), and methionine (Met) above NRC requirements may attenuate inflammation and modulates DFI under SC. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate initial BW variation and SC effect on feeding behavior of growing pigs fed supplemented diet with Trp, Thr, and Met at 100 or 120% of NRC recommended levels. Eighty gilts were categorized into two groups according to initial BW; light (23±0.8 kg) and heavy (29±1.0 kg). Both BW groups were group-housed for 14 days trial in a good or poor SC. Pigs within SC poor were orally inoculated with 2×109 CFU of Salmonella typhimurium, and fresh manure from a pig farm was spread on the floor. In contrast, pigs within SC good were not inoculated, nor was manure spread. Two diets (D) were provided within each SC: control (CN) or supplemented (AA+) diet with Trp, Thr, and Met:Lysine at 120% of NRC recommended levels. Pigs were individually fed through automatic feeders. Indexes of irregularity of feed intake (IIFI), meal duration (MD), and total intake (TI) were calculated based on real-time information registered by the feeders. For each pig, a monotonically increasing step function using relative cumulative DFI and relative time (after 14 days) was obtained, and linear regression models were fitted. The areas between the step function and the regression line were summed to obtain the IIFI. The means were compared using the MIXED procedure of SAS. There was an interaction for SCxD for TI, MD, and IIFI (P &amp;lt; 0.10, Table 1). Pigs within good SC fed AA+ had lower TI and shorter MD than CN diet (P &amp;lt; 0.05), however, pigs within poor SC fed CN or AA+ diet had no differences in TI and MD. Pigs within good SC fed AA+ had greater IIFI than CN diet, whereas pigs within poor SC fed CN had decreased IIFI than AA+ diet (P &amp;lt; 0.05). Furthermore, BW influenced TI, and MD, as heavy pigs had a greater TI and MD than the light pigs (P = 0.01), with no changes in IIFI (P &amp;gt; 0.10). Pigs in poor SC had a greater IIFI meaning they had fewer longer meals and greater DFI compared with pigs in good SC. Increasing Trp, Thr, and Met ratio influenced the pigs feeding behavior likely due to changes in TI. Additionally, the IIFI may be a tool to detect on set SC due to salmonella infection.

Value of lung ultrasound in detection of volume overload in children chronic kidney disease on regular hemodialysis: prospective cohort study

BackgroundSeveral methods have emerged to predict the occurrence of early volume overload (VO) in pediatric patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing regular hemodialysis (HD). Nevertheless, achieving an accurate assessment remains challenging. Consequently, this study aimed to identify VO in pediatric HD patients using lung ultrasound (LUS). Additionally, the study sought to investigate the relationship between various clinical parameters employed to detect VO and the ultrasonographic B-line score.MethodsThis prospective observational cohort study was conducted on 30 pediatric patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing a maintenance HD program for 4 months. The clinical evaluation of the fluid status of pediatric patients involved using LUS pre-, intra, and post-HD. The study included the dry weight (DW) and non-DW groups; within these groups, the B-line scores were evaluated pre-, intra, and post-HD sessions. Tabulations were conducted to document the variations in body weight and B-line scores during pre-, intra-, and post-dialytic periods.ResultsThe results of the LUSs performed on the 30 pediatric patients pre-, intra, and post-HD revealed that the B-line scores significantly reduced post-HD in all pediatric patients with more significant reduction in non-dry weight group (p < 0.001). There was a positive relation between the total number of B-lines pre-HD and inter-dialytic weight gain, pre-dialytic blood pressure, and clinical fluid score (r = 0.811, p < 0.01; r = 0.59, p < 0.001; and r = 0.75, p < 0.001, respectively) and also post-dialysis. Eventually, dialytic weight loss exhibited a significant direct positive correlation to B-line score reduction (r = 0.891, p < 0.01).ConclusionsLUS is an innovative, simple noninvasive bedside method that provides real-time evaluation of fluid volume alterations in pediatric HD patients with chronic conditions. LUS shows excellent potential as a viable approach for assessing DW and non-dry weight in pediatric HD patients.

Study on Formulation, Standardization of Herbal Suspension Containing &lt;i&gt;Musa granatum&lt;/i&gt; and its Efficacy against Carrageenan Induced Prostatitis in Rodent Model

Prostatis prevalence more in aged males and amidst disputes of severe therapeutic measures, both physicians and patients resort to alternative and non-traditional measures. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of Musa paradisiaca (lyophilized juice) and Punica granatum (peel powder) suspension by carrageenan-induced method for prostatitis in Sprague Dawley rats. Suspension of Musa paradisiaca (lyophilized juice) and Punica granatum (peel powder) were prepared in equal proportion with high dose (400 mg/kg) and low dose (200 mg/kg) after carrageenan induction for one week. The body weight variation, urine volume analysis, white blood cell count in blood, net weight of the prostate gland and histopathological analysis were the parameters assessed. Punica granatum shows a significant increase in body weight, Prostate gland weight and white blood cell count and a decrease in urine volume in the prostatitis-induced control group animals. In Musa paradisiaca, a decrease in body weight, an increase in the prostate gland, white blood cell count and weight in urine volume was observed. The histopathological report evidence that the presence of leukocytes infiltration, papillary fronds were present and an increase in epithelial height was observed in the carrageenan-induced control group. It has been concluded that the low dose suspension of Musa granatum in 200 mg/kg has given a significantly better amelioration effect than compared to other intervention groups.