Six-day Periods Research Articles

Exploring 'Wether' Grazing Patterns Differed in Native or Introduced Pastures in the Monaro Region of Australia.

Monitoring livestock allows insights to graziers on valuable information such as spatial distribution, foraging patterns, and animal behavior, which can significantly improve the management of livestock for optimal production. This study aimed to understand what potential variables are significant for predicting where sheep spent the most time in native (NP) and improved (IP) paddocks. Wethers (castrated male sheep) were tracked using Global Positioning System (GPS) collars on 15 sheep in the IP and 15 in the NP, respectively, on a property located in the Monaro region of Southern New South Wales, Australia. Trials were performed over four six-day periods in April, July, and November of 2014 and March in 2015. Data were analyzed to understand various trends that may have occurred during different seasons, using random forest models (RFMs). Of the factors investigated, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was significant (p < 0.01) and highly important for wethers in the IP, but not the NP, suggesting that quality of pasture was key for wethers in the IP. Elevation, temperature, and near distance to trees were important and significant for predicting residency of wethers in the IP, as well as the NP. The result of this study highlights the ability of predictive models to provide insights on behavior-based modelling of GPS data and further enhance current knowledge about location-based choices of sheep on paddocks.

Optimizing Patient-Specific Medication Regimen Policies Using Wearable Sensors in Parkinson’s Disease

Effective treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a continual challenge for healthcare providers, and providers can benefit from leveraging emerging technologies to supplement traditional clinic care. We develop a data-driven reinforcement learning (RL) framework to optimize PD medication regimens through wearable sensors. We leverage a data set of n = 26 PD patients who wore wrist-mounted movement trackers for two separate six-day periods. Using these data, we first build and validate a simulation model of how individual patients’ movement symptoms respond to medication administration. We then pair this simulation model with an on-policy RL algorithm that recommends optimal medication types, timing, and dosages during the day while incorporating human-in-the-loop considerations on medication administration. The results show that the RL-prescribed medication regimens outperform physicians’ medication regimens, despite physicians having access to the same data as the RL agent. To validate our results, we assess our wearable-based RL medication regimens using n = 399 PD patients from the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative data set. We show that the wearable-based RL medication regimens would lead to significant symptom improvement for these patients, even more so than training RL policies directly from this data set. In doing so, we show that RL models from even small data sets of wearable data can offer novel, generalizable clinical insights and medication strategies, which may outperform those derived from larger data sets without wearable data. This paper was accepted by Carri Chan, healthcare management. Funding: This research is partially supported by the Science Alliance, University of Tennessee and by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program, Oak Ridge National Laboratory managed by UT-Battelle, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy. Data used in this article were obtained from the Parkinson Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) database, which is sponsored by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF). Supplemental Material: The data files and online appendix are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4747 .

Long-term oral drenching of crude glycerol to primiparous dairy cows in early lactation

The objective of this experiment was to study the long-term effects of supplemental oral drenching of crude glycerol (CG) on feed intake, milk yield and composition, plasma metabolites and energy balance indices of primiparous dairy cows in early lactation. Fourteen primiparous Holstein dairy cows were paired according to body weight (BW) and body condition score (BCS) at calving, and allocated at random to either a treatment or a control group. Both groups were fed a basal diet, containing 11.4MJkg−1 DM metabolisable energy and 103g/kg DM metabolisable protein, twice a day. Silage (ad libitum) and a pelleted concentrate mixture with mineral mix were fed separately during the three six-day periods from days 4 to 21 post partum. An oral drench of 500ml of CG mixed with lukewarm water was fed supplementally before the morning feedings to the treatment groups, while the control group were given no oral drench. Blood samples were collected on two consecutive days at the end of each six-day period before administration of glycerol. Results showed that long-term administration of CG increased silage intake (P<0.001), and total dry matter intakes (DMI; P=0.023). Oral drenching with glycerol increased milk yields (P<0.01), and milk lactose content (P<0.001). Supplemental glycerol had no effect on estimates for milk energy, milk constituent ratios or milk acetone content. No differences in BCS changes or on concentrations of plasma glucose, insulin, and β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) were found between the two groups. Dairy cows given oral glycerol had lower concentrations of plasma urea (P=0.005) during the post partum period. There was a treatment and time interaction effect on the non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) concentration (P=0.048), although this was complex, and the only period of significant differences was in the first six-day period, when NEFA concentration was higher (P=0.025) in the control group. The data indicate that prolonged oral drenching of supplemental CG in the early lactation period improves total DMI, and therefore has a positive effect on milk yield of primiparous dairy cows in this period.

Patterns of heat response and adaptation on summer pasture: A comparison of heat-sensitive (Angus) and -tolerant (Romosinuano) cattle

Heat stress in Bos taurus cattle is a problem that affects many regions of the world. Numerous studies have focused on heat stress in feedlots or environmental chambers; but few have looked at undisturbed cattle on pasture. The present study followed two Bos taurus cattle breeds throughout a mid-Missouri summer to determine thermoregulatory responses to fluctuating summer air temperature (Ta), as well as differences in adaptation to heat. Heat-sensitive Angus steers (ANG; n=22; 480±7.15kgBW), and heat-tolerant Romosinuano steers (RO; n=11; 352±6kgBW) were monitored on 12 day from June through August of 2009 in an endophyte free tall fescue pasture. Data were grouped into two, six-day periods representing peak (Period 1) and late (Period 2) summer for determination of adaptation. Respiration rate (RR) was measured via flank counting and telemetric temperature transmitters in the rumen of each animal monitored core temperature (Trum). Romosinuano sustained a lower (P<0.05) RR and Trum compared to ANG during both periods. Linear relationships for RR and Trum, compared against Ta for both Periods were determined. Slopes of RR to Ta from Period 1 to Period 2 decreased (P<0.05) from 2.63 to 1.08bpm/°C and 2.25 to 0.49bpm/°C for ANG and RO, respectively. Slopes of Trum to Ta also decreased (P<0.05) from Periods 1 to 2 from 0.12 to 0.02°C Trum/°C Ta for ANG; however, RO showed no differences between periods. Although Romosinuano have a lower respiration rate and ruminal temperature than Angus, they share a similar pattern of respiration rate adaptation from early to late summer periods.

Coherence and transituational generality in coping: The unity and the diversity

We investigated the transituational coherence of coping strategy use by collecting coping data on multiple occasions, and assessing the effects of aggregation over varying numbers of occasions. Study 1 examined the effects of aggregating daily coping reports over three- and six-day periods. Study 2 extended the results of Study 1 by assessing the extent to which aggregation increased the correlation between a dispositional coping measure and daily coping reports. Both studies strongly supported the hypothesis that aggregation would enhance the consistency of coping preferences, suggesting some degree of coherence within the domain of coping strategy used. Aggregated coping reports correlated with each other at significantly higher levels (ranging from 0.46 to 0.77 in Study 1 and from 0.65 to 0.95 in Study 2), than unaggregated coping reports (ranging from −0.12 to 0.30 in Study 1 and from 0.12 to 0.53 in Study 2). Study 2 also showed that aggregated daily reports were better predictors of subsequent coping than scores derived from a standard dispositional coping survey.

Bioavailability of intranasal butorphanol administered from a single-dose sprayer

The bioavailability and tolerability of single doses of intranasal butorphanol tartrate using a single-dose, metered sprayer were studied. In this open-label, randomized, three-way crossover study, 24 healthy volunteers received three treatments: (1) 2 mg of i.v. butorphanol (treatment A), (2) 2 mg of intranasal butorphanol (treatment B), and (3) 1 mg of intranasal butorphanol (treatment C). The three treatments received by each subject were separated by six-day washout periods. Venous blood samples (10 mL each) were obtained from an indwelling catheter at 0 (predose), 5, 10, 15,20,30, and 45 minutes and 1,2,3,4,6,8, 12, and 16 hours after butorphanol administration. Pharmacokinetic parameters were determined using standard noncompartmental methods with log-linear least-squares regression analysis to determine the elimination-rate constants. Intranasal butorphanol 1 and 2 mg administered using unit dose sprayers had a mean bioavailability of approximately 80%, which is higher than the percentage reported with the commercially available multidose product (61-69%). The absorption of intranasal butorphanol was rapid, with a median time to reach maximum concentration of 20 minutes (range, 10-60 minutes). Elimination profiles were comparable among all treatments. There were no clinically significant changes in the results of physical examinations, nasal evaluations, or laboratory tests related to butorphanol treatment. Most adverse effects reported were mild to moderate and as expected for this drug. Single-dose intranasal butorphanol was rapidly absorbed and had high absolute bioavailability in healthy volunteers.

Finite-time normal mode disturbances and error growth during Southern Hemisphere blocking

The structural organization of initially random errors evolving in a barotropic tangent linear model, with time-dependent basic states taken from analyses, is examined for cases of block development, maturation and decay in the Southern Hemisphere atmosphere during April, November, and December 1989. The statistics of 100 evolved errors are studied for six-day periods and compared with the growth and structures of fast growing normal modes and finite-time normal modes (FTNMs). The amplification factors of most initially random errors are slightly less than those of the fastest growing FTNM for the same time interval. During their evolution, the standard deviations of the error fields become concentrated in the regions of rapid dynamical development, particularly associated with developing and decaying blocks. We have calculated probability distributions and the mean and standard deviations of pattern correlations between each of the 100 evolved error fields and the five fastest growing FTNMs for the same time interval. The mean of the largest pattern correlation, taken over the five fastest growing FTNMs, increases with increasing time interval to a value close to 0.6 or larger after six days. FTNM 1 generally, but not always, gives the largest mean pattern correlation with error fields. Corresponding pattern correlations with the fast growing normal modes of the instantaneous basic state flow are significant but lower than with FTNMs. Mean pattern correlations with fast growing FTNMs increase further when the time interval is increased beyond six days.

Intestinal effects of sulfate in drinking water on normal human subjects.

Uncontrolled observations implicate sulfate in drinking water at concentrations exceeding 500-700 mg/liter as a cause of diarrhea, but controlled studies have not been reported. We conducted a controlled study in normal adults to determine the effect of various drinking water sodium sulfate concentrations on bowel function. Ten healthy subjects were given a constant diet and fluid intake. Fluid consisted of 36 ml/kg/day of drinking water of various known sulfate concentrations and 500 ml of other fluid. In a dose-ranging study, four subjects received drinking water with sulfate concentrations of 0, 400, 600, 800, 1000, and 1200 mg/liters for six consecutive two-day periods. In a single-dose study, six other subjects received water with sulfate concentrations of 0 and 1200 mg/liter for two consecutive six-day periods. Stool mass, frequency, and consistency and mouth-to-anus appearance time of colored markers were measured. In the dose-ranging study, the only significant linear trend was decreasing mouth-to-anus appearance time with increasing sulfate concentrations. In the single-dose study, 1200 mg/liter sulfate caused a significant but clinically mild increase in mean stool mass per six-day pool from 621 g to 922 g (P = 0.03). When all 10 subjects were used to compare effects of 0 mg/liter and 1200 mg/liter sulfate, significant differences in stool consistency (P = 0.02) and transit time (P = 0.03) were observed. None of the subjects reported diarrhea or passed more than three stools per day. In 10 normal adult subjects, sulfate in drinking water at a concentration of 1200 mg/liter, which is higher than reported to occur in US municipal water sources, caused a measurable but clinically insignificant increase in stool mass and decrease in stool consistency and appearance time, but no change in stool frequency and no complaint of diarrhea.

A simulation model for managing perennial grass pastures. Part II—a simulated systems analysis of grazing management

A model for managing perennial grass pastures was used to simulate a grazing experiment on common bermudagrass pastures at Booneville, Arkansas. The experiment used sixteen years' weather data from this location. The management variables included number of fields, rotation period, and simulated grazing rate. The grazing season was from 1 June to 22 September each year, and simulated performance data were obtained for successive six-day periods throughout the grazing season. The attributes of performance data included: daily harvest rate, digestible dry matter and cell content nitrogen harvested, potential tissue production, reserve carbohydrates at the end of the year and the ratio of forage on offer to the simulated grazing rate. Analyses of these simulated performance data provided an inference base to support a recommendation concerning the management variables. The recommendation is as follows: a four-field system, a nine-day rotation period and 84 kg/ha/day simulated grazing rate. The results along with other simulated grazing scenarios will be used to plan field experiments at Booneville, Arkansas.

Protein Quality and Digestibility of Sorghum in Preschool Children: Balance Studies and Plasma Free Amino Acids

The protein quality and digestibility of two high lysine (2.9–3.0 g/100 g protein) and two conventional varieties (lysine content 2.1–2.2 g/100 g protein) of whole grain sorghum milled as flour were assessed through balance studies in 13 children 6–30 months of age. Sorghum protein provided 6.4 or 8.0% of dietary energy. Control diets contained 6.4% kcal protein as casein. Children consumed 100–150 kcal/kg body weight/day. Sorghum consumption was associated with weight loss or poor weight gain. We found no difference by variety in apparent nitrogen absorption or retention. Mean absorption and retention of nitrogen (±SD) from 26 six-day sorghum dietary periods were 46 ± 17% and 14 ± 10% of intake, respectively (corresponding preceding casein control values: 81 ± 5% and 38 ± 3%). Stool weight and energy losses during sorghum periods averaged 2.5 to 3 times control values. Plasma amino acids were determined in eleven children after 16 days of sorghum consumption. Fasting concentration of total amino acids (TAA) was similar to values previously obtained with wheat protein at similar levels of intake. Total concentration of essential amino acids (TEAA) was low as were concentrations of lysine (Lys) and threonine (Thr). Analysis of postprandial changes of the Lys/TEAA and Thr/TEAA molar ratios confirmed that Lys was the first limiting amino acids.sorghum grain infant nutrition protein quality

Metabolic balance of aluminum studied in six men.

The metabolism of aluminum was followed in patients who were receiving strictly controlled diets, either unaltered or supplemented with aluminum-containing antacids. Aluminum was determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry with a graphite furnace. All food, water, and medications were analyzed, as were aliquots of urine and stool collected throughout six-day periods. Patients were usually studied for five consecutive six-day periods on the same diet and aluminum intake. This study included six patients who were studied for seven to 21 such six-day periods. During control periods, when the patients were receiving less than 5 mg of aluminum per day, the balance was usually slightly negative, but when the diet was supplemented with antacids to contain 1--3 g of aluminum per day, an average positive balance of 23 to 313 mg of aluminum per day was observed for the total time on the same intake. Consecutive six-day periods while a subject was receiving antacids might show either positive or negative balances, but the average retention for 18--84 days on antacids was always positive. Thus the potential effects of the storage of aluminum in the tissues must be considered in the chronic administration of antacids.

839 INTEGUMENTARY LOSS OF CALCIUM

The amount of integumentary calcium loss has been generally considered very small and therefore, has rarely been included in calcium metabolic studies. During our study of calcium and protein metabolism, two conditions of integumentary calcium loss were measured. The first, collected over a six-day period represented dermal loss by an ambulatory but rather sedentary man. The second was collected over a 40 minute period of strenous exercise. The daily loss of 16 subjects in 52 determination of six-day periods each was 8.7 ± 1.9 mg/m2/day. The amount was not influenced by calcium intake (0.1 to 2.3 g/day). In contrast to urinary calcium excretion, which is directly related to protein intake, there was no significant change by varing protein intake (1 to 96 g nitrogen/day). No compensatory relationship between urinary and integumentary calcium excretion was noted. During strenous exercise calcium loss increased to to 25 mg (11 to 45 mg) in 40 minutes. There was no compensatory decrease in urinary excretion on the day of strenous exercise. It was also noted that this calcium loss was not affected by general calcium balance. The amount of integumentary loss may become even greater than the urinary calcium excretion. We conclude that integumentary calcium loss probably should be considered in calcium metabolic studies.

Diurnal variation of respiratory function independent of air quality: experience with an environmentally controlled exposure chamber for human subjects.

Specific airway conductance was determined every four hours, around the clock, on six normal subjects who were confined to an environmentally controlled chamber for two six-day study periods. In the first study period the subjects breathed clean filtered air the first three days and ambient air the last three days. In the second study the order was reversed: ambient air was breathed the first three days, and clean filtered air the last three days. Temperature, relative humidity, and the sleep-awake cycle were rigidly controlled during both study periods. No meaningful difference between the level or variance of respiratory function was observed between the clean and ambient phases of study. Significant cyclic diurnal variations were observed in all subjects in both studies, with lowest conductance values at 0400 and highest values observed at 1200. A similar diurnal pattern was observed in functional residual capacity being lowest at 2400 and highest at 0800.

The relationship between live-weight and herbage intake in grazing cattle

Six dry cows, six in-calf heifers and six yearling calves grazed in groups of six, arranged either in single age groups or mixed age groups; the arrangements alternated, and each was repeated three times in a continuous grazing sequence with six-day periods. All the animals grazed together for a preliminary period of seven days. Under each arrangement the cattle grazed on a mature sward for two periods, and on an aftermath for one period. Access to fresh and grazed herbage was restricted by electric fences which were moved daily, but the amount of fresh herbage offered was well in excess of appetite at all times.Records of live-weight, herbage intake, grazing behaviour and social dominance ranking were obtained for all individuals. There was a close relationship between live-weight (LW) and herbage organic matter intake (OMI) in each grazing period, and the regression equations for the six periods were very similar. The best-fit exponent of LW for the pooled results was 0·61±0·038; this was significantly different from 0·73 and 1·0. The exponent increased to 0·71±0·045 when the cow data were excluded. The inclusion of weight change as a third variable was only of value in the mature sward.The calves ate significantly more, and the cows tended to eat more, when grazing in mixed age groups. These differences could not be explained by differences in the time spent grazing.There were high simple correlations between LW and OMI, between social dominance rank and OMI, and between LW and rank, particularly in the mixed age groups. When variations in LW were excluded, dominance rank had little influence on OMI in the mixed age groups, but the independent effects of LW and social rank on OMI were of approximately equal importance in the single age groups.

Indices of Pituitary and Thyroid Gland Function in Growing Calves

Summary A procedure for the concurrent estimation of thyroxine secretion rates (TSR's) and thyroid-stimulating hormone secretion rates (TSH-SR's) is described. Basically, the procedure consists of obtaining a six-day release of thyroidal-I 131 under the influence of a goitrogen which is administered throughout the experiment. Then thyroxine is injected in increasing levels until thyroidal-I 131 release is blocked. This TSR level of thyroxine is continued and TSH is administered for six-day periods until a release rate equivalent to the normal is produced. This level is considered the TSH-SR. Utilizing this technique, seven growing calves had a mean TSR of 0.214mg thyroxine/100lb body weight during both spring and the following fall. The TSH-SR was decreased from a mean of 829m μ , during spring to 764m μ TSH/100lb body weight during fall, which was not a statistically significant reduction in TSH-SR with increasing temperature. The blood half-life of TSH-I 131 and thyroxine-I 131 was determined during the late fall to early winter. The mean half-life of TSH-I 131 was 72.59min and of thyroxine-I 131 was 44.85 hr. It was concluded that TSR, TSH-SR, and half-life of thyroxine are valid indices for measuring pituitary-thyroid function, as they were significantly correlated. However, half-life of TSH-I 131 was not correlated to the other indices used and is, therefore, presented with reservations which are discussed.

An ALGOL 60 Translator for the X1

The objective of this experiment was to study the long-term effects of supplemental oral drenching of crude glycerol (CG) on feed intake, milk yield and composition, plasma metabolites and energy balance indices of primiparous dairy cows in early lactation. Fourteen primiparous Holstein dairy cows were paired according to body weight (BW) and body condition score (BCS) at calving, and allocated at random to either a treatment or a control group. Both groups were fed a basal diet, containing 11.4 MJ kg−1 DM metabolisable energy and 103 g/kg DM metabolisable protein, twice a day. Silage (ad libitum) and a pelleted concentrate mixture with mineral mix were fed separately during the three six-day periods from days 4 to 21 post partum. An oral drench of 500 ml of CG mixed with lukewarm water was fed supplementally before the morning feedings to the treatment groups, while the control group were given no oral drench. Blood samples were collected on two consecutive days at the end of each six-day period before administration of glycerol. Results showed that long-term administration of CG increased silage intake (P<0.001), and total dry matter intakes (DMI; P=0.023). Oral drenching with glycerol increased milk yields (P<0.01), and milk lactose content (P<0.001). Supplemental glycerol had no effect on estimates for milk energy, milk constituent ratios or milk acetone content. No differences in BCS changes or on concentrations of plasma glucose, insulin, and β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) were found between the two groups. Dairy cows given oral glycerol had lower concentrations of plasma urea (P=0.005) during the post partum period. There was a treatment and time interaction effect on the non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) concentration (P=0.048), although this was complex, and the only period of significant differences was in the first six-day period, when NEFA concentration was higher (P=0.025) in the control group. The data indicate that prolonged oral drenching of supplemental CG in the early lactation period improves total DMI, and therefore has a positive effect on milk yield of primiparous dairy cows in this period.

The Loss of Calcium, Phosphorus, Iron, and Nitrogen in Hair from the Scalp of Women

Twelve women, 18 through 22 years of age, and one woman, 54 years of age, collected hair from the scalp. Combings for four six-day periods, shampoo losses during 28 days, and hair cuttings from three trimmings were collected by the young women. Collections over longer periods of time were made by the older woman. The mean annual loss of hair, after washing and drying at 90-95° C, was 70.73 g/person/year for the young women; the range was from 41.36 to 105.96 g. The older woman lost 49.18 g. The loss of hair reported here was minimum because a little undoubtedly escaped through the hair net worn during the combing-collection periods. The value does not include hair lost from other parts of the body. The mean content per 100 g of hair for each of 12 young women was 127 ± 74.4 mg of calcium, 13.6 ± 2.02 mg of phosphorus, 1.80 ± 0.572 mg of iron, and 15.7 ± 0.65 g of nitrogen. The mean annual loss for each young woman was 90 mg of calcium, 9.7 mg of phosphorus, 1.22 mg of iron and 11.1 g of nitrogen. The annual losses of the older woman were within the range for the others. The figures here reported for the annual loss of nutrients by way of the hair may be too small because some nutrients, especially calcium, may be lost from hair during shampooing. The type of preparation used for shampooing may affect the loss of minerals: a certain soap removed less calcium than a certain commercial shampoo, when hair was washed once in each, and one commercial shampoo had the effect of either adding iron to hair or causing the retention of more iron than soap and certain other commercial shampoos.