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The paper examines behavioral experiments of guessing game for different-sized groups in electricity markets. The subjects simultaneously took decisions, while being part of a group, and as part of a subgroup. The three-factor design (with two blocking factors) shows that subjects choose different numbers for a large group and a subgroup. The numbers in the subgroups are less (and closer to equilibrium) than the numbers in large groups. Subjects make more rational decisions, being in larger groups.

An {\em $m\times n$ row-column factorial design} is an arrangement of the elements of a factorial design into a rectangular array. Such an array is used in experimental design, where the rows and columns can act as blocking factors. If for each row/column and vector position, each element has the same regularity, then all main effects can be estimated without confounding by the row and column blocking factors. Formally, for any integer $q$, let $[q]=\{0,1,\dots ,q-1\}$. The $q^k$ (full) factorial design with replication $\alpha$ is the multi-set consisting of $\alpha$ occurrences of each element of $[q]^k$; we denote this by $\alpha\times [q]^k$. A {\em regular $m\times n$ row-column factorial design} is an arrangement of the the elements of $\alpha \times [q]^k$ into an $m\times n$ array (which we say is of {\em type} $I_k(m,n;q)$) such that for each row (column) and fixed vector position $i\in [q]$, each element of $[q]$ occurs $n/q$ times (respectively, $m/q$ times). Let $m\leq n$. We show that an array of type $I_k(m,n;q)$ exists if and only if (a) $q|m$ and $q|n$; (b) $q^k|mn$; (c) $(k,q,m,n)\neq (2,6,6,6)$ and (d) if $(k,q,m)=(2,2,2)$ then $4$ divides $n$. This extends the work of Godolphin (2019), who showed the above is true for the case $q=2$ when $m$ and $n$ are powers of $2$. In the case $k=2$, the above implies necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a pair of mutually orthogonal frequency rectangles (or $F$-rectangles) whenever each symbol occurs the same number of times in a given row or column.

Preeclampsia (PE) is characterized by new-onset hypertension in association with elevated natural killer (NK) cells and inflammatory cytokines, which are likely culprits for decreased fetal weight during PE pregnancies. As progesterone increases during normal pregnancy, it stimulates progesterone-induced blocking factor (PIBF). PIBF has been shown to decrease inflammation and cytolytic NK cells, both of which are increased during PE. We hypothesized that PIBF reduces inflammation as a mechanism to improve hypertension in the preclinical reduced uterine perfusion pressure (RUPP) rat model of PE. PIBF (2.0 µg/mL) was administered intraperitoneally on gestational day 15 to either RUPP or normal pregnant (NP) rats. On day 18, carotid catheters were inserted. Mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) and samples were collected on day 19. MAP in NP rats ( n = 11) was 100 ± 2 mmHg and 105 ± 3 mmHg in NP + PIBF rats ( n = 8) and 122 ± 1 mmHg in RUPP rats ( n = 10), which improved to 110 ± 2 mmHg in RUPP + PIBF rats ( n = 11), P < 0.05. Pup weight was 2.4 ± 0.1 g in NP, 2.5 ± 0.1 g in NP + PIBF, 1.9 ± 0.1 g in RUPP, and improved to 2.1 ± 0.1 g in RUPP + PIBF rats. Circulating and placental cytolytic NK cells, IL-17, and IL-6 were significantly reduced while IL-4 and T helper (TH) 2 cells were significantly increased in RUPP rats after PIBF administration. Importantly, vasoactive pathways preproendothelin-1, nitric oxide, and soluble fms-Like tyrosine Kinase-1 (sFlt-1) were normalized in RUPP + PIBF rats compared with RUPP rats, P < 0.05. Our findings suggest that PIBF normalized IL-4/TH2 cells, which was associated with improved inflammation, fetal growth restriction, and blood pressure in the RUPP rat model of PE.

Analyze the effect of paternal immunotherapy treatment (PIT) in primary and secondary unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (URSA) and unexplained infertility (UI).A retrospective study analyzed a two-year follow-up between the generation of MLR-Bfs after PIT treatment (or controls first consultation) and a live birth. Recruited patients included primary URSA with two or more miscarriages at12 weeks gestation, secondary URSA with previous live birth before two or more miscarriages, and UI with inability to conceive after 2 years of regular unprotected intercourse or in vitro fertilizations (IVF). PIT treated were compared with untreated controls.Primary URSA: live birth was 241/416 (58%) versus 64/282 (23%) controls (p .0001). Up to age 35, success was 158/217 (73%) and 37/144 (26%) controls (p .0001). With 3 or more previous URSA, success was 90/135 (67%) versus 17/79 (22%) controls (p .0001). Between ages 36 and 40, success was 69/147(47%) versus 22/98 (22%) controls (p .0003), with 3 or more previous URSA live birth was 45/95 (47%) versus 6/46 (13%) controls (p .0001). In UI, live birth was 99/298 (33%) versus 54/263 (21%) in controls (p .0009) that increased under age 35 to 53/116 (46%) in treated versus 26/101 (26%) controls (p .0056). In PIT treated, IVF success required a median of 1 (1.37 ± 0.67) versus a median of 3 IVF procedures (2.75 ± 0.84) in controls.PIT is a successful treatment for primary and secondary URSA, and UI. PIT reduced the number of IVF required for achieving pregnancy.

Summary Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary amino acid density and exogenous protease inclusion on growth performance and amino acid digestibility in poultry. In experiment 1, Cobb 500 broiler chicks (n = 480) were fed to 21 d of age. Treatments were arranged as a 2 × 4 factorial design with main effects of commercial protease (with or without) and amino acid density which corresponded to approximately 95, 97.5, 100, or 102.5% of breeder recommendations for digestible Lys. In experiment 2, hybrid turkey poults (n = 780) were fed diets formulated to provide low or adequate amino acid density (approximately 91 and 100% of the NRC-recommended requirement for digestible Lys, respectively) with each diet being fed with or without an exogenous protease. Poults received experimental diets from day 1 to 42 of age. Growth performance metrics were calculated from pen weights and feed consumption recorded throughout each experiment, and digestibility data were obtained from analysis of ileal contents. Data were analyzed using SAS 9.4 with pen as the experimental unit and pen location as the blocking factor. Results of these experiments demonstrated broilers fed 1.12 and 1.21% digestible Lys diets with added protease had a 2-point improvement in feed conversion ratio (FCR) compared with chicks fed these diets without protease. Increasing amino acid density improved FCR in broilers and poults and improved BW, ADG, and ADFI in poults. There was no evidence that added protease had an effect on BW, ADG, or ADFI in broilers or poults. Finally, ileal amino acid digestibility was not affected by amino acid density or protease inclusion for either 20-day-old broiler chicks or 42-day-old turkey poults.

Initial screening experiments often leave some problems unresolved, adding follow-up runs is needed to clarify the initial results. In this paper, a technique is developed to add additional experimental runs to an initial supersaturated design. The added runs are generated with respect to the Bayesian D s -optimality criterion and the procedure can incorporate the model information from the initial design. After analysis of the initial experiment with several methods, factors are classified into three groups: primary, secondary, and potential according to the times that they have been identified. The focus is on those secondary factors since they have been identified several times but not so many that experimenters are sure that they are active, the proposed Bayesian D s -optimal augmented design would minimize the error variances of the parameter estimators of secondary factors. In addition, a blocking factor will be involved to describe the mean shift between two stages. Simulation results show that the method performs very well in certain settings.

A total of 1,890 growing-finishing pigs (PIC; 359 × 1,050; initially 27.1 kg) were used in a 124-d growth trial to compare the effects of high-protein distillers dried grains (HPDDG; 39% crude protein [CP]) or conventional distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS; 29% CP) on growth performance and carcass characteristics. Treatments were arranged in a 2 × 2 + 1 factorial with main effects of distillers dried grains source (conventional DDGS or HPDDG) and level (15% or 30%). A corn–soybean meal-based diet served as the control and allowed linear and quadratic level effects to be determined within each distillers dried grains (DDG) source. All diets were formulated on an equal standardized ileal digestible (SID) Lys-basis with diets containing HPDDG having less soybean meal than diets with conventional DDGS. Pens were assigned to treatments in a randomized complete block design with initial weight as the blocking factor. There were 27 pigs per pen and 14 pens per treatment. Overall, increasing conventional DDGS decreased (linear, P < 0.04) final body weight (BW), whereas increasing HPDDG tended to decrease (linear, P = 0.065) final BW. The decreased final BW was a result of decreased (linear, P < 0.01) ADG in the grower phase of the study as either DDG source increased. However, there were no differences observed in the finisher phase or overall ADG between pigs fed either DDG source or either inclusion level. Pigs fed HPDDG had decreased (P < 0.001) ADFI and increased (P < 0.001) G:F compared with those fed conventional DDGS. For carcass traits, increasing either conventional DDGS or HPDDG decreased carcass yield and HCW (linear, P < 0.02); however, there were no differences between pigs fed HPDDG or conventional DDGS. Iodine value (IV) increased (linear, P < 0.02) with increasing DDG and was greater (P < 0.001) in pigs fed HPDDG than conventional DDGS. In summary, pigs fed HPDDG had no evidence of difference in overall ADG compared to pigs fed conventional DDGS, but had greater overall G:F. Carcass fat IV was also greater in pigs fed HPDDG compared with pigs fed conventional DDGS. These differences were probably due to the difference in oil content.

The prediction of springback angle for ultra-thin metallic sheets becomes extremely difficult with the existence of size effects. In this study, size effects on the springback behavior of CuZn20 foils are investigated by experiments and analytical methods. The experimental results reveal that the springback angle first decreases gradually and then increases markedly with the decrease of foil thickness, which cannot be analyzed by current theoretical models. Then, an analytical model based on the Taylor-based nonlocal theory of plasticity is developed, in which the drastic increases of both the proportion of surface grains and the strain gradient are taken into account. Moreover, the influence of strain gradient is modified by the grain-boundary blocking factor. The calculation results show that the springback angle of foils is determined by the intrinsic competition between the decrement angle caused by surface grains and the increment angle caused by the strain gradient. Besides, the relative error of predicted springback angle by the model is less than 15%, which means that the developed model is very useful for improving the quality of micro sheet parts with high accuracy of springback prediction.

Preeclampsia (PE) is a leading cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity in the U.S. While the pathogenesis remains unclear, PE is characterized by new onset hypertension associated with progesterone deficiency, elevated cytolytic natural killer cells (cNK), inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction. Progesterone is essential in the initiation and maintenance of pregnancy. We have shown that progesterone supplementation regulates endothelial function and suppresses endothelin-1 (ET-1) and stimulates nitric oxide (NO) in response to placental ischemia during pregnancy. In addition, progesterone signals the synthesis and release of progesterone induced blocking factor (PIBF) from lymphocytes in order to regulate the proinflammatory balance of early pregnancy. However the role of PIBF in PE pathology is not well examined. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that inhibition of PIBF causes inflammation and increases markers of endothelial dysfunction and hypertension during pregnancy. Rabbit anti-PIBF IgG (0.25, low dose-LD or 0.50 mg/mL, high dose-HD) was administered intraperitoneal on gestation day (GD) 15 to normal pregnant Sprague Dawley (NP) rats, on GD 18 carotid catheters were inserted and on GD 19 blood pressure (MAP) and samples were collected. MAP in NP rats (n=7) was 99 + 3 mmHg, which increased to 116 + 2 in NP+ anti-PIBF LD (n =10) and 113 + 4 mmHg in NP+ anti-PIBF HD (n=6), p+ 8 pg/mL in NP rats and increased to 84 + 21 pg/mL in NP+ Anti-PIBF HD (n=4), p+ 11 in NP rats (n=4), which decreased to 36 + 4 in NP+ Anti-PIBF HD however, cytolytic NK cells were 0.6 + 0.2 in NP which were increased to 3.0 + 1 in NP+ Anti-PIBF HD, p+ 11 μM in NP rats (n=5), which significantly decreased to 21 + 1 μM in NP+ Anti-PIBF (n=6) HD, p

Preeclampsia (PE) is characterized by new onset hypertension in association with placental ischemia, reduced fetal weight, elevated soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) and placental mitochondrial (mt) dysfunction and oxidative stress (ROS). Infusion of sFlt-1 causes hypertension and other characteristics of PE in pregnant rodents. However a role for sFlt-1 in causing mt dysfunction and ROS is unknown. Progesterone induced blocking factor (PIBF), is a product of progesterone signaling which lowers inflammatory processes. We have shown that PIBF lowers blood pressure in a rat models of PE. This study was designed not only examine the role of mt ROS in sFlt-1 induced hypertension during pregnancy but to also examine the effect of PIBF to improve mt function and hypertension in response to elevated sFlt-1 during pregnancy. sFlt-1 was infused into normal pregnant (NP) Sprague-Dawley rats (3.7 μg·kg –1 ·day –1 for 6 days, gestation days (GD) 13-19 ) in the presence or absence of PIBF (2.0 μg/mL) administered intraperitoneal on GD 15 to sFlt-1 induced hypertensive pregnant rats. Mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), placental and endothelial mt ROS and function were measured on GD 19. Infusion of sFlt-1 into NP rats increased MAP to 112 + 2 (n=11) compared with control NP rats 98 + 2 mmHg (n=15, p+ 1 mmHg in the presence of sFlt-1(n=5, p+ 6 in NP (n=4), 429 + 32 in NP+ sFlt-1(n=3) and reduced to 234 + 15 in NP+ sFlt-1+ PIBF (n=3). State 3 respiration, which is indicative of ATP production, was reduced in placentas of sFlt-1 infused rats versus NP, but was improved with PIBF. Moreover, sera from NP+sFlt-1 treated with PIBF attenuated endothelial cell mtROS ( 29 + 8 % gate) compared with sera from NP+sFlt-1 (54 + 15 % gate (n=4)). Our study indicates a role of sFlt-1 induced hypertension during pregnancy to reduce placental and endothelial cell mt function. Importantly, supplementation of PIBF improved mt function and ROS which was associated with improved blood pressure in sFlt-1 induced hypertensive pregnant rats indicating the efficacy of improved progesterone signaling as a potential therapeutic for PE.

This experiment determined the effects of die thickness and conditioning temperature on pelleting and starch characteristics in diets containing conventional or Enogen Feed corn (Syngenta Seeds, LLC). Treatments were arranged as a 2 × 2 × 3 factorial of corn type [conventional (CON) and Enogen Feed corn [EFC]), die thickness [5.6 and 8 length:diameter (L:D)], and conditioning temperature (74, 79, and 85 °C). Diets were steam conditioned (Wenger twin staff preconditioner, Model 150) and pelleted (CPM, Model 1012-2) with a 4- × 22.2-mm (L:D 5.6) or 4- × 31.8-mm (L:D 8) pellet die. Conditioner retention time was set at 30 s and production rate was set at 15 kg/min. All treatments were represented within three replicate days. Pellets were composited and analyzed for gelatinized starch and pellet durability index (PDI). Conditioning temperature, hot pellet temperature, production rate, and pellet mill energy consumption were recorded throughout each processing run. Data were analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure in SAS (v. 9.4, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC) with pelleting run as the experimental unit and day as the blocking factor. Pelleting with a larger die L:D improved PDI (P = 0.01) and increased (P = 0.02) pellet mill energy consumption. Increasing conditioning temperature from 74 to 85 °C increased (linear, P < 0.03) PDI and tended to decrease energy consumption (quadratic, P = 0.07). There was a corn × conditioning temperature interaction (P = 0.01) for gelatinized starch in conditioned mash. Enogen Feed corn diets steam conditioned at 85 °C had the greatest quantity of gelatinized starch. Cooked starch in conditioned mash and pellets was greater (P < 0.01) for EFC diets compared to CON diets and increased (linear, P < 0.01) with increasing conditioning temperature in conditioned mash. Similarly, starch gelatinization was greater (P < 0.01) in pelleted EFC diets compared to CON diets and was increased (linear, P = 0.05) by increasing conditioning temperature from 74 to 85 °C. In conclusion, increasing die L:D and increasing conditioning temperature improved PDI. Starch gelatinization was increased when diets were pelleted at the highest conditioning temperature of 85 °C, and EFC diets resulted in greater starch gelatinization than conventional corn.

Background Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of increasing amounts of soybean meal (SBM) in swine diets and estimate the energy value of SBM. Methods A total of 2233 pigs (PIC 337 × 1050, Hendersonville, TN) and 3796 pigs (PIC 359 × C40), initially 11.0 kg and 17.6 kg body weight (BW), were used in Exp. 1 and 2, respectively. In Exp. 1, pigs were placed in 92 pens each containing 20 to 27 pigs. In Exp. 2, pigs were placed in 84 pens each containing 37 to 43 pigs. Treatments were assigned in a randomized complete block design with BW as the blocking factor. Dietary treatments consisted of 21%, 27%, 33%, or 39% SBM in Exp. 1 and 17.5%, 22%, 26.5%, 31%, 35.5%, or 40% SBM in Exp. 2, obtained by changing the inclusion rate of feed-grade amino acids and corn grain. For Exp. 1, representative samples of corn grain, SBM, and distillers dried grains with solubles were analyzed for total AA content prior to diet formulation. For Exp. 2, diets were formulated using NRC (2012) nutrient loadings. Treatment diets were fed for 21 and 22 d (Exp. 1 and 2) and there were 23 replicates in Exp. 1 and 14 replicates in Exp. 2. Pigs were weighed and feed disappearance measured weekly to calculate average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), gain-to-feed ratio (G:F), and caloric efficiency (CE). Data were analyzed with block as a random effect and treatment as a fixed effect, and contrasts were constructed to test the linear and quadratic effects of increasing SBM. Results In Exp. 1, there was a tendency (linear, P = 0.092) for a decrease in ADFI as SBM increased. There was a tendency (P = 0.090) for a quadratic response for ADG, with a decrease in ADG observed with 39% SBM inclusion. Pigs fed diets with increasing SBM had a tendency (quadratic, P = 0.069) for an increase in G:F up to 33% SBM and an improvement (linear, P = 0.001; quadratic, P = 0.063) in CE with increasing SBM. Using CE to estimate the energy of SBM relative to corn, a value of 105.4% of corn energy or 2816 kcal/kg NE was determined using all data points. When removing the CE value of the 39% SBM treatment due to the quadratic tendency, SBM was estimated to have 121.1% of corn energy or 3236 kcal/kg NE. In Exp. 2, there was a decrease (linear, P = 0.001) in ADFI. Pigs fed increasing SBM had a tendency (linear, P = 0.065) for reduced ADG but an improvement (linear, P = 0.001) in G:F and CE as SBM increased. The energy value of SBM was estimated as 124.7% of corn energy or 3332 kcal/kg NE. Conclusions The results suggest that feeding increasing levels of SBM improves G:F and CE. The energy value of SBM was estimated to be between 105% and 125% of corn, which is much greater than the NRC (2012) would indicate.

Four experiments were conducted to determine the effects of increasing soybean meal (SBM) level in diets with or without 25% distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) on growth performance of nursery pigs raised in university or commercial facilities. Treatments were arranged in a 2 × 3 factorial with main effects of SBM (27.5%, 32.5%, or 37.5% of the diet) and DDGS (0% or 25% of the diet). A total of 296, 2,502, 4,118, and 711 pigs with initial body weight (BW) of 10.6, 11.7, 12.5, and 12.3 kg were used in Exp. 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. There were 10, 16, 13, and 12 replicates per treatment in Exp. 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. After weaning, pigs were fed common diets for approximately 21 d. Then, pens of pigs were assigned to treatments in a randomized complete block design with BW as the blocking factor and experimental diets were fed for 21 d. Pigs were weighed and feed disappearance measured to calculate average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), gain-to-feed ratio (G:F), and caloric efficiency (CE). Data were analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS with block as a random effect and treatment as a fixed effect. Single degree-of-freedom contrasts were constructed to test the linear and quadratic effects of increasing SBM and their interactions with DDGS. Pigs used in all experiments did not undergo major health challenges during the experimental period and due to the low number of mortality and cull events, statistical analysis was not performed on these variables. The average cull rate was 0.7%, 0.5%, 0.2%, and 0%, and the mortality rate was 0.7%, 0.3%, 0.4%, and 0% in Exp. 1–4, respectively. There were interactions (P ≤ 0.039) between SBM and DDGS for G:F and CE in Exp. 2 and for ADG and ADFI in Exp. 3. These were mostly driven by increasing SBM negatively affecting performance in a greater magnitude when diets contained DDGS compared to diets without DDGS. The main effects of DDGS and SBM were more consistently observed across experiments. Pigs fed diets with 25% DDGS had decreased (P ≤ 0.001) ADG and ADFI in all experiments, as well as poorer (P ≤ 0.028) G:F and CE except for Exp. 3. Feeding increasing amounts of SBM generally did not result in any major impact in ADG but consistently improved (linear, P ≤ 0.078) G:F and CE across experiments.

Progesterone-induced blocking factor (PIBF), which plays an important role in maintaining healthy pregnancies, has shown great promise as a prognostic biomarker for threatened miscarriage. To better characterise the physiological trends of progesterone and PIBF, we analysed serum progesterone and PIBF concentrations in healthy non-pregnant and pregnant women across trimesters. We saw increasing concentrations of progesterone and PIBF in pregnant women with advancing trimesters. The serum progesterone and PIBF percentiles across gestational age in healthy pregnancies can be used as a guide for the formulation of reference ranges. We also demonstrated a significant positive correlation between progesterone and PIBF levels. This study demonstrates increasing progesterone and PIBF concentrations in later trimesters and underscores the importance of progesterone and PIBF in healthy pregnancies. Characterisation of progesterone and PIBF across gestational age in healthy pregnant women may help to prognosticate pregnancy viability and support further research into the importance of progesterone and PIBF in the maintenance of healthy pregnancies. Ministry of Health (MOH) National Medical Research Council (NMRC) Published version The authors would like to acknowledge the Singapore Government’s Ministry of Health Industry Alignment Fund (Grant number: NMRC/MOHIAFCat1/0045/2016) for funding this research work. The authors would like to thank KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital for the institutional support received during this study. Special thanks go out to Ms. Trish Koon Hui Ping, Ms. Erica Nuriyah Fadziulah, and Ms. Doris Ong Mah Lay who provided invaluable administrative support and coordination in this study. The authors would also like to express their gratitude towards all study participants for their time and assistance.

Histidine may be the sixth limiting amino acid (AA) in practical nursery diets supplemented with high amounts of feed-grade AA. Therefore, 2 experiments were conducted to determine the standardized ileal digestible (SID) His:Lys ratio requirement estimate for growth performance of 7- to 11-kg nursery pigs. A total of 360 and 350 pigs (DNA 241 × 600, Columbus, NE; initially 7.1 ± 0.31 and 6.6 ± 0.36 kg) were used in Exp. 1 and 2, respectively. There were 5 pigs per pen with 12 replicates per treatment in Exp. 1 and 10 replicates per treatment in Exp. 2. After weaning, pigs were fed a common pelleted diet for 10 d in Exp. 1 and 7 d in Exp. 2. Then, pens were assigned to treatments in a randomized complete block design with body weight (BW) as the blocking factor. Dietary treatments consisted of SID His:Lys ratios of 24%, 28%, 32%, 36%, 40%, and 44% in Exp. 1 and 24%, 28%, 30%, 32%, 34%, 36%, and 42% in Exp. 2. Experimental diets were fed in pellet form for 10 or 14 d in Exp. 1 and 2, followed by a common mash diet for 15 or 14 d, respectively. Data were analyzed using the GLIMMIX and NLMIXED procedures of SAS, fitting data with heterogeneous variance when needed. The competing statistical models utilized were quadratic polynomial, broken-line linear (BLL), and broken-line quadratic. In Exp. 1, increasing SID His:Lys ratio increased (quadratic, P = 0.001) ADG, ADFI, G:F, and day 10 BW. In Exp. 2, ADG, G:F, and day 14 BW increased (quadratic, P = 0.001), and ADFI increased linearly (P = 0.001) with increasing SID His:Lys ratio. The best-fitting model for all response variables analyzed was the BLL. In Exp. 1, requirement estimates were 29.7%, 29.1%, and 29.8% SID His:Lys ratio for ADG, ADFI, and G:F, respectively. In Exp. 2, the SID His:Lys ratio requirement estimates were 31.0% for ADG and 28.6% for G:F. These results suggest that the SID His requirement estimate for growth performance is no more than 31% of Lys and that the NRC (2012) SID His requirement of 34% of Lys may be overestimated for 7- to 11-kg pigs.

The role of progesterone-induced blocking factor (PIBF)-mediated Th1/Th2 balance in delivery outcomes of in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) has not been fully elucidated. In this study, 73 infertile women with successful IVF-ET were enrolled (16 fetal arrests and 57 live births). PIBF and IL-4 levels were significantly lower in the fetal arrest group than in the live birth group (p 0.05). TNF-α level and Th1/Th2 ratios were significantly higher in the fetal arrest group than in the live birth group (p 0.05). High TNF-α level and Th1/Th2 ratios were risk factors for fetal arrest, whereas increased PIBF and IL-4 levels were protective factors (P 0.05). Increased TNF-α/IL-4 exhibited relatively strong predictive value for fetal arrest (AUC, 0.855; sensitivity, 93.8%; specificity, 71.9%). In summary, the PIBF-mediated Th1/Th2 balance is closely correlated with delivery outcomes of IVF-ET. TNF-α/IL-4 may be a predictive marker of fetal arrest.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of dietary inclusion of narasin or zinc bacitracin on the growth performance and carcass characteristics of finishing pigs sent for slaughter using a 3-phase marketing strategy. The study used 2,219 crossbred pigs in a randomized complete block design (blocking factor = start date) with 3 dietary treatments: 1) Control (no feed additive), 2) 15 mg/kg narasin (Skycis, Elanco Animal Health, Greenfield, IN), and 3) 28 mg/kg zinc bacitracin (Albac, Zoetis, Parsippany, NJ). Pigs were housed in single-sex pens of 25 pigs in a commercial wean-to-finish facility and there were 30 pen-replicates of each dietary treatment. All pigs were weighed as a group (i.e., pen) on d 0 (start of experimental feeding period), 77, 91, and 105 (end) of study. Pigs had ad libitum access to feed and water throughout the study period; all feed additions to the feeder were recorded. Pigs were sent for slaughter according to the following marketing strategy: 1) after 77 d on study, the heaviest 20% of each pen was sent for slaughter (Phase 1), 2) after 91 d on study, the next heaviest 48% of each pen were sent for slaughter (Phase 2), and 3) after 105 d on study, the remaining 32% of each pen was sent for slaughter (Phase 3). Pigs within each pen were selected for slaughter by visual appraisal of weight and shipped to a commercial slaughter facility where standard carcass measurements (HCW, LM depth, and backfat depth) were measured. Feeding narasin increased (P < 0.05) final live BW (1.3 kg) and overall ADG (1.1%) compared to the other treatments, which were similar (P > 0.05). Dietary treatment did not impact (P > 0.05) overall G:F. Feeding narasin increased (P < 0.05) HCW (1.4 kg) and carcass yield (0.3% units) compared to the other dietary treatments, which were similar (P > 0.05) for these traits. Overall, these results demonstrate that narasin-fed pigs had improved overall growth rate, HCW, and carcass yield compared to controls or pigs fed zinc bacitracin.

Two experiments were conducted to determine energy (Exp. 1) and P (Exp. 2) utilization in poultry meal (PM) for broiler chickens. A total of 192 birds were allotted to 3 experimental diets in a randomized complete block design with BW as a blocking factor on d 15 and 16 post hatching in Exp. 1 and 2, respectively. Each diet was fed to 8 replicate cages with 8 birds per cage in both experiments. Initial BW of birds in Exp. 1 and 2 were 438 ± 76.9 g and 543 ± 50.2 g, respectively. Three corn-soybean meal-based diets were prepared to contain 0, 80, or 160 g/kg in Exp. 1 and 0, 50, or 100 g/kg in Exp. 2. In Exp. 1, the addition of PM to the reference diet linearly decreased (P < 0.01) the apparent ileal digestibility of DM and gross energy (GE), as well as the apparent total tract utilization (ATTU) of DM, GE, and N in diets; but did not affect the ileal digestible energy, ME, and MEn of diets. The ileal digestible energy, ME, and MEn of PM estimated by the regression method were 4,002, 3,756, and 3,430 kcal/kg DM, respectively, representing 58 to 68% of the GE in PM. In Exp. 2, graded concentration of PM in the reference diet linearly decreased (P < 0.05) ATTU of DM but linearly increased (P < 0.01) ATTU of P and quadratically increased ATTU of Ca in diets. The true ileal digestibility and true total tract utilization of P in PM estimated by the regression method were 77.5 and 79.0%, respectively. In conclusion, these results showed that inclusion of poultry meal in the diets of broiler chickens reduced the digestibility of GE but increased the utilization of P. The regression-estimated energy values and P digestibility of PM in the current studies may be used in diet formulation.

A search of the literature and abstracts from national oncology meetings was conducted to determine what types of human cancers have been reported to show some type of palliative benefit from treatment with progesterone (P) receptor antagonists. Though the original concept was to try P receptor antagonists for cancers known to be associated with the classic nuclear P receptor, recent data suggest that the real beneficial target is a membrane P receptor that helps produce a unique immunomodulatory protein called the progesterone induced blocking factor (PIBF) that inhibits natural killer (NK) cells and cytotoxic T cells in the tumor microenvironment and thus may allow cancer cells to metastasize. The following human cancers known to be associated with the classic nuclear receptor that have responded to either the P receptor modulator mifepristone or onapristone, include breast, uterine, ovarian, and prostate cancer. Human cancers not associated with the classic nuclear P receptor that have demonstrated significant palliative benefits and/or increased longevity following P receptor modulator therapy include colon, thymic cell epithelial cancer, transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis, leiomyosarcoma, pancreatic carcinoma, malignant fibrous histiocytoma, glioblastoma multiforme grade IV, renal cell carcinoma, fibrous osteosarcoma, small cell lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (including those negative for tumor markers, or those positive for PD-1, or positive for the EGFR mutation). The wide variety of very advanced cancers that have responded to the P receptor modulators as evidenced by extension of a better quality of life despite the fact that they had progressed despite standard chemo or immunotherapy, is consistent with the concept that PIBF may be a protein needed by a large variety of cancers to advance or metastasize, and thus may provide a unique target to treat with P receptor modulators, and thus provide significant palliative benefit. In contrast to most anti-cancer agents, P receptor antagonists are extremely well tolerated, and are without serious risk of complications. Larger series are needed to determine the true beneficial effect of this type of therapy. Positive beneficial effects in case reports, at least provide the basis for selection of which cancers to evaluate in a larger series. Citation Format: Jerome H. Check, Diane Check, Carrie Wilson. Evidence that a wide variety of cancers may use the progesterone induced blocking factor protein to escape immune surveillance as evidenced by significant palliation following treatment with progesterone receptor antagonists in advanced metastatic treatment resistant cancers [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 605.

Actual medical and social problem of modern obstetrics is threatening abortion. In its treatment, analogues of progesterone are used. Activation of progesterone receptors induces the production of anti-abortive protein-progesterone-induced blocking factor (PIBF). The dynamics of PIBF in 28 patients with the diagnosis of threatening abortion was analyzed. Women were treated by natural micronized progesterone depending on the features of the clinical course and single nucleotide polymorphism of the progesterone receptor gene rs590688. The quantitative content of PIBF in urine in pregnant women with threatening abortion was determined, namely, the increase in the content of this factor is associated with the prolongation of pregnancy. At the time of initiation of therapy, the concentration of PIBP was 28.8±1.5 (95% CI 26.7-29.2) ng/ml, and on the 7th day of therapy its concentration was 29.4±0.1 (95% CI 29.2-29.5) ng/ml. The increase in PIBF has reached a degree of statistical significance (T-W=15.0, p Исследование прогестерон индуцированного блокирующего фактора при лечении женщин с угрожающим абортом с учетом полиморфизма гена рецептора прогестерона. КривопустовА.С.Актуальной медико-социальной проблемой современного акушерства является угрожающий аборт. В его лечении используются аналоги прогестерона. Активизация рецепторов прогестерона индуцирует выработку антиабортивного протеина - прогестерон индуцированного блокирующего фактора (ПИБФ). Проанали­зирована динамика ПИБФ у 28 пациенток с диагнозом угрожающего аборта. Женщинам проводилась терапия препаратом натурального микронизированного прогестерона в зависимости от особенностей клинического течения и однонуклеотидного полиморфизма гена рецептора прогестерона rs590688. Определяли коли­чественное содержание ПИБФ в моче у беременных с угрожающим абортом, именно рост содержания данного фактора ассоциируется с пролонгацией беременности. На момент начала терапии концентрация ПИБФ составляла 28,8±1,5 (95% ДИ 26,7-29,2)нг/мл, а на 7-й день терапии его концентрация составила 29,4±0,1 (95% ДИ 29,2-29,5) нг/мл. Увеличение уровня ПИБФ достигло степени статистической значимости (T-W=15,0; p

The article researches the essence of the term «provision of pensions». The author finds out the imperfection of conceptual and categorical apparatus of certain issues leading to the conflict between the interpretations and is the blocking factor for the pension system. The paper reveals that there is no single interpretation of the term «investment», but the suggested definitions are grouped according to the following approaches: investment as input, costs and the definition of investment at the micro and macro levels. A large number of authors define investment as investing in anything for profit. It was found out that the category of «financial leasing» is multifaceted and multifold, but considering it in the context of nonbank financial institutions, it should be noted its significant characteristic, which is a financial service.

Marine energy technologies can contribute to meeting sustainability challenges, but they are still immature and dependent on public support. This paper employs the Technological Innovation Systems (TIS) framework to analyze the development and diffusion of Swedish marine energy up until 2014. While there were promising device developers, relevant industrial capabilities, and world-class research, the system suffered from weaknesses in several important innovation processes. Finally, the analysis identifies the lack of informed political direction as a critical blocking factor and highlights its connection to domestic market potential.