National Beef Quality Audit-2022: Transportation, mobility, live cattle, and hide assessments to determine producer-related defects that affect animal welfare and the value of market cows and bulls at processing facilities

The National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA)-2022 serves as a benchmark of the current market cow and bull sectors of the U.S. beef industry and allows comparison to previous audits as a method of monitoring industry progress. From September 2021 through May 2022, livestock trailers (n = 125), live animals (n = 5,430), and post-slaughter hide-on animals (n = 6,674) were surveyed at 20 commercial beef processing facilities across the U.S. Cattle were transported in a variety of trailer types for an average distance of 490.6 km and a mean transport time of 6.3 h. During transit, cattle averaged 2.3 m2 of trailer space per animal indicating sufficient space was provided according to industry guidelines. Of all trailers surveyed, 55.3% transported cattle from an auction barn to a processing facility. When surveyed, 63.6% of all truck drivers reported to be Beef Quality Assurance certified. The majority (77.0%) of cattle were sound when evaluated for mobility. Mean body condition scores (9-point scale) for beef cows and bulls were 3.8 and 4.4, respectively, whereas mean body condition scores (5-point scale) for dairy cows and bulls were 2.3 and 2.6, respectively. Of the cattle surveyed, 45.1% had no visible live animal defects, and 37.9% had only a single defect. Of defects present in cows, 64.6% were attributed to an udder problem. Full udders were observed in 47.5% of all cows. Nearly all cattle were free of visible abscesses and knots (97.9% and 98.2%, respectively). No horns were observed in 89.4% of all cattle surveyed. Beef cattle were predominantly black-hided (68.9% and 67.4% of cows and bulls, respectively). Holstein was the predominant dairy animal observed and accounted for 85.7% of the cows and 98.0% of the bulls. Only 3.1% of all animals had no form of identification. Findings from the NBQA-2022 show improvements within the industry and identify areas that require continued education and research to improve market cow and bull welfare and beef quality.

Effects of maternal dietary fatty acids during mid-gestation on growth, glucose metabolism, carcass characteristics, and meat quality of lamb progeny that were fed differing levels of dry matter of intake

This experiment evaluated growth, glucose metabolism, carcass characteristics, and meat quality of market lambs that were offered ad libitum or restricted (85% of ad libitum) feed intake following two different maternal fatty acid (FA) supplementations while in-utero. Ewes received either a diet supplemented with polyunsaturated FA or saturated/monounsaturated FA during mid- to late-gestation. Following weaning, progeny wethers were fed either ad libitum or a restricted level of feed intake. Ewe FA supplementation did not affect (P ≥ 0.11) growth, meat quality, nor plasma glucose or insulin concentrations of the progeny. Carcass body fat and yield grade of the progeny were affected (P = 0.01) by maternal FA supplementation and restricted feed intake. In summary, maternal FA supplementation did not affect progeny growth, while feed restriction during finishing did not affect meat quality. The interaction between maternal FA supplementation and finishing strategy for body fat accretion indicates that metabolism and the supply of FA during gestation may warrant further investigation.

The effects of age, sex, and hot carcass weight on cooked lamb flavor and off-flavor in four muscle cuts

The present study used 48 lambs originating from three different locations in the Western United States (16 lambs per location; 8 ewes and 8 wethers per location). Each consisting of similar breed composition (Suffolk cross) that were selected to represent weight by age at harvest treatments: light weight carcasses at 5 mo (LW5, 31.81 ± 1.88 kg), light weight carcasses at 12 mo (LW12, 35.09 ± 4.45 kg), heavy weight carcasses at 12 mo (HW12, 57.89 ± 4.70 kg) with different carcass weight compositions. Older heavy weight lambs (HW12) had greater (P ≤ 0.01) hot carcass weight, ribeye area, backfat and body wall thickness, and yield grade compared with light weight lamb carcasses (LW5 and LW12). The longissimus thoracis longissimus thoracis (LT) from older lamb carcasses (LW12 and HW12) had a greater (P ≤ 0.01) total lipid percentage compared with younger lamb carcasses (LW5). Across harvest weight and age treatments, wether carcasses had greater (P ≤ 0.05) total lipid percentage compared with ewe carcasses. Slice shear force values were greater (P ≤ 0.01) for both the LT and semimembranosus from older lambs (LW12 and HW12) compared with LW5 lambs, with no differences between ewes and wethers. Lamb flavor intensity was greater (P ≤ 0.05) for the LT of LW12 lambs and tended (P = 0.08) to be greater for HW12 lambs, compared with the LT from LW5 lambs. The off-flavor intensity of the LT was greater (P ≤ 0.01) for older lambs (LW12 and HW12) compared with LW5 lambs. Interestingly, the lamb flavor and off-flavor intensity scores of the ground shoulder exhibited a treatment × sex interaction. Lamb flavor intensity of LW12 lamb was greater (P ≤ 0.05) from ewes compared with wethers, whereas wethers had a greater (P ≤ 0.05) lamb flavor intensity compared with ewes for HW12 lambs, and LW12 ewe lambs had a greater (P ≤ 0.05) off-flavor intensity compared with all other treatment × sex treatment combinations. Overall, lambs in the present study possessed a mild lamb flavor, typically with greater lamb flavor and off-flavor intensities for older animals; while slice shear force and LT lipid percentage increased as animal age increased at the time of harvest.

Lean on Your Land Grant: One University's Approach to Address the Food Supply Chain Workforce during the COVID-19 Pandemic

During the spring 2020 COVID-19 outbreak, faculty and staff within Ohio State University's College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences came together from multiple disciplines to support essential agricultural workers. Concerted leadership from administration provided a framework for this interaction to occur while faculty worked off-campus to address the many issues identified by the agricultural community, the industry sector, and other state agencies. During the onset period, much of our work was reactive; our efforts to address worker safety and health involved three primary areas within: 1) production agricultural workers, 2) produce growers and direct marketing enterprises, and 3) meat supply chain workers. Communication to target audiences relied upon our ability to convert face-to-face programming into virtual webinars, social media, and digital publications. A Food System Task Force mobilized specialists to address emerging issues, with one specific topic related to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). As we continue to face new seasons in agriculture production, and pockets of COVID-19 outbreaks within our state, we will continue to address the dynamic needs of our food supply systems. There are implications for how we will teach the agricultural workforce within a virtual platform, including the evaluation of the effectiveness of those training programs. There are renewed opportunities to integrate health and safety content into other Extension teams who conventionally focused on production practices and farm management topics. Several research themes emerged during subgroup dialog to pursue new knowledge in workers' cultural attitude and barriers, PPE design, PPE access, and overall attitude toward COVID-19 health practices.

Salmonella in beef and produce from honduras

Salmonella continues to cause a considerable number of foodborne illnesses worldwide. The sources of outbreaks include contaminated meat and produce. The purpose of this study was to establish an initial investigation of the burden of Salmonella in produce and beef from Honduras by sampling retail markets and abattoirs. Retail produce samples (cantaloupes, cilantro, cucumbers, leafy greens, peppers, and tomatoes; n = 573) were purchased in three major cities of Honduras, and retail whole-muscle beef (n = 555) samples were also purchased in four major cities. Additionally, both hide and beef carcass (n = 141) samples were collected from two Honduran abattoirs. Whole-muscle beef samples were obtained using a sponge hydrated with buffered peptone water, and 10 ml of the buffered peptone water rinsate of each produce sample was collected with a dry sponge and placed in a bag to be transported back to the United States. Salmonella was detected using a commercially available, closeplatform PCR system, and positive samples were subjected to culture on selective media to obtain isolates. Overall, the prevalence of Salmonella-positive samples, based on PCR detection in Honduras (n = 555) retail beef was 10.1% (95% confidence interval = 7.8, 12.9), whereas 7.8% (n = 141) of beef carcass and hides samples were positive in both beef plants. The overall Salmonella prevalence for all produce samples (n = 573) collected was 2.1% (95% confidence interval = 1.2, 3.6). The most common serotypes identified in Honduras were Salmonella Typhimurium followed by Derby. These results provide an indication of Salmonella contamination of beef and produce in Honduras. Developing a Salmonella baseline for Latin America through an initial investigation like the one presented here contributes to a broader global understanding of the potential exposure through food, thus providing insight into the needs for control strategies.

Substantial within-animal diversity of Salmonella isolates from lymph nodes, feces, and hides of cattle at slaughter

Lymph nodes (mandibular, mesenteric, mediastinal, and subiliac; n = 68) and fecal (n = 68) and hide (n = 35) samples were collected from beef carcasses harvested in an abattoir in Mexico. Samples were analyzed for Salmonella, and presumptive colonies were subjected to latex agglutination. Of the isolates recovered, a subset of 91 was characterized by serotyping, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and antimicrobial susceptibility phenotyping. Salmonella was isolated from 100% (hide), 94.1% (feces), 91.2% (mesenteric), 76.5% (subiliac), 55.9% (mandibular), and 7.4% (mediastinal) of samples. From the 87 typeable isolates, eight Salmonella enterica serotypes, including Kentucky (32.2%), Anatum (29.9%), Reading (17.2%), Meleagridis (12.6%), Cerro (4.6%), Muenster (1.1%), Give (1.1%), and Mbandaka (1.1%), were identified. S. Meleagridis was more likely (P = 0.03) to be recovered from lymph nodes than from feces or hides, whereas S. Kentucky was more likely (P = 0.02) to be recovered from feces and hides than from lymph nodes. The majority (59.3%) of the Salmonella isolates were pansusceptible; however, multidrug resistance was observed in 13.2% of isolates. Typing by PFGE revealed that Salmonella strains generally clustered by serotype, but some serotypes (Anatum, Kentucky, Meleagridis, and Reading) were comprised of multiple PFGE subtypes. Indistinguishable PFGE subtypes and, therefore, serotypes were isolated from multiple sample types, and multiple PFGE subtypes were commonly observed within an animal. Given the overrepresentation of some serotypes within lymph nodes, we hypothesize that certain Salmonella strains may be better at entering the bovine host than other Salmonella strains or that some may be better adapted for survival within lymph nodes. Our data provide insight into the ecology of Salmonella within cohorts of cattle and offer direction for intervention opportunities.

National Beef Quality Audit-2005: survey of targeted cattle and carcass characteristics related to quality, quantity, and value of fed steers and heifers

The National Beef Quality Audit-2005 assessed the current status of quality and consistency of US fed steers and heifers. Hide colors or breed type were black (56.3%), red (18.6%), Holstein (7.9%), gray (6.0%), yellow (4.9%), brown (3.0%), white (2.3%), and brindle (1.0%). Identification method and frequency were lot visual tags (63.2%), individual visual tags (38.7%), metal-clip tags (11.8%), electronic tags (3.5%), bar-coded tags (0.3%), by other means (2.5%), and without identification (9.7%). Brand frequencies were no (61.3%), 1 (35.1%), and 2 or more (3.6%), and brands were located on the butt (26.5%), side (7.4%), and shoulder (1.2%). There were 22.3% of cattle without horns, and the majority of those with horns (52.2%) were between 2.54 and 12.7 cm in length. Percentages of animals with mud or manure on specific body locations were none (25.8%), legs (61.4%), belly (55.9%), side (22.6%), and top-line (10.0%). Permanent incisor number and occurrence were zero (82.2%), 1 (5.2%), 2 (9.9%), 3 (0.4%), 4 (1.2%), 5 (0.1%), 6 (0.3%), 7 (0.0%), and 8 (0.7%). Most carcasses (64.8%) were not bruised, 25.8% had one bruise, and 9.4% had multiple bruises. Bruise location and incidence were round (10.6%), loin (32.6%), rib (19.5%), chuck (27.0%), and brisket, flank, and plate (10.3%). Condemnation item and incidence were liver (24.7%), lungs (11.5%), tripe (11.6%), heads (6.0%), tongues (9.7%), and carcasses (0.0%). Carcass evaluation revealed these traits and frequencies: steer (63.7%), heifer (36.2%), bullock (0.05%), and cow (0.04%) sex classes; dark-cutters (1.9%); A (97.1%), B (1.7%), and C or older (1.2%) overall maturities; and native (90.9%), dairy-type (8.3%), and Bos indicus (0.8%) estimated breed types. Mean USDA yield grade (YG) traits were USDA YG (2.9), HCW (359.9 kg), adjusted fat thickness (1.3 cm), LM area (86.4 cm(2)), and KPH (2.3%). The USDA YG were YG 1 (16.5%), YG 2 (36.3%), YG 3 (33.1%), YG 4 (11.8%), and YG 5 (2.3%). Mean USDA quality grade traits were USDA quality grade (Select(90)), marbling score (Small(32)), overall maturity (A(64)), lean maturity (A(57)), and skeletal maturity (A(68)). Marbling score distribution was Slightly Abundant or greater (2.7%), Moderate (4.3%), Modest (14.4%), Small (34.5%), Slight (41.2%), and Traces or less (2.9%). This information helps the beef industry measure progress and provides a benchmark for future educational and research activities.

Folding simulations of a three-dimensional protein model with a nonspecific hydrophobic energy function

We show that a nonspecific hydrophobic energy function can produce protein-like folding behavior of a three-dimensional protein model of 40 monomers in the cubic lattice when the native conformation is chosen judiciously. We confirm that monomer inside/outside segregation is a powerful criterion for the selection of appropriate structures, an idea that was recently proposed with basis on a general theoretical analysis and simulations of much simpler two-dimensional models.

[Symptoms, complications and hemodynamic changes related to dobutamine stress echocardiography]

PURPOSE

This study focuses on the safety and hemodynamic effects of dobutamine stress echocardiography.

METHODS

Seven hundred and thirty five consecutive patients underwent dobutamine stress echocardiography for the evaluation of coronary artery disease and or cardiomyopathy. Dobutamine was administered intravenously at incremental doses of 5, 10, 20, 30 micrograms/kg/min, at 3 min intervals. The maximal dose was 40 or 50 micrograms/kg/min.

RESULTS

Dobutamine significantly (p < 0.0005) increased the heart rate (from 72 +/- 12 bpm to 117 +/- 23 bpm), systolic blood pressure (from 133 +/- 21 to 157 +/- 29 mmHg) and the rate-pressure product (from 9.635 +/- 2.100 to 18.400 +/- 4.050, p < 0.0001) from baseline to peak infusion rate, respectively. There was a significant increase in heart rate (p < 0.05) at each infusion step, except for the 50 micrograms/kg/min dose, when the heart became stable. There were no deaths myocardial infarctions, or episodes of sustained ventricular tachycardia. Common non cardiac side effects included nausea, anxiety, headache, tremors and urgency in 55 (7.4%) of the patients. Angina pectoris occurred in 10 (1.4%) of the patients. The most common arrhythmias were usually mild.

CONCLUSION

Dobutamine stress echocardiography is safe, and well tolerated. In this study complications such as myocardial infarction, death, ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation did not occur. There was no additional increase in heart rate with doses greater than 40 micrograms/kg/min. The advantage of stress echocardiography protocol with peak doses of 50 micrograms/kg/min is questionable.

Dengue epidemics on the Pacific Coast of Mexico

Dengue epidemics in three Mexican cities were investigated with retrospective surveys and virus isolations from acute cases. These epidemics were part of the continuing extension of dengue in Mexico since 1978 after 15 years without transmission. Serotype 1 dengue infection predominated in all epidemics, but in one city, type 2 strains were also isolated. The following findings were consistent in all three cities: 1) illness history provided evidence of presence of infection months before the epidemic became evident, 2) there was a very sharp and progressive increase of dengue illness attack rates by age, 3) there were no interpretable relationships between illness and the presence of different types of breeding sights in the home, 4) socioeconomic status was strongly negatively related to illness, and 5) geographical factors not related to the other measured variables had a strong effect on illness rates reflecting the focality of transmission. In addition, there was evidence of a strong protective effect against illness by the use of mosquito netting or the presence of screens on houses, but these relationships were not universal to all three cities.