Effects of management system, ewe breed, sex, and legume grazing on cooking and sensory characteristics and shear force of lamb meat were estimated from data collected on animals produced in three management systems. System 1 lambs were born in late fall and fed to slaughter on a concentrate diet. System 2 lambs were born in January and February and grazed pure stands of alfalfa or ladino clover after weaning. System 3 lambs were born in March and April and remained with their dams on native bluegrass-white clover pasture throughout the grazing season. Lambs were progeny of either 1/2-Suffolk, 1/2-Rambouillet ewes or 1/2-Suffolk, 1/4-Finnsheep, 1/4-Rambouillet or Dorset ewes and were sired by Suffolk rams. Lambs were slaughtered at 50 (females) to 55 kg (males). One-half of the males in System 1 were left intact; all males in Systems 2 and 3 were castrated. Mean age at slaughter was 156, 204, and 234 d for lambs in Systems 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Cooked weight of loin chops averaged 68.5% of uncooked weight and did not differ among systems. Shear force was greatest for System 1 lambs and least for System 3 lambs in yr 1, but systems did not differ in shear performance in yr 2. System differences in tenderness favored System 3 lambs. Although mean flavor intensity was least for System 2 lambs, the frequency of high-intensity, potentially objectionable flavors was highest for these lambs and especially for those grazing alfalfa. In general, however, sensory characteristics did not differ greatly among production systems, and correlation analysis revealed little potential to use carcass traits to predict meat characteristics.

BackgroundC-reactive protein levels (CRP) may be reduced with long-term administration of ubiquinol (CoQ10) in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease but the impact of a short-term period of administration in patients undergoing elective vascular surgery is uncertain.MethodsA double-blind randomized controlled trial was implemented to determine whether preoperative administration of CoQ10 could reduce cardiac biomarker elevations. Patients were randomly assigned to CoQ10 (400 mg per day) versus Placebo for 3 days prior to surgery. BNP, troponin and CRP were obtained pre and post-surgery. The primary endpoint was peak BNP and secondary endpoints were length of stay and readmission.ResultsOne hundred and twenty-three patients were randomly assigned to CoQ10 (N=62) or Placebo (N=61) for 3 days pre-surgery. At 24 hours post-surgery, the group receiving CoQ10 had lower BNP levels with no intergroup differences in CRP. Within 1-year post-discharge, thirty-six (29%) were readmitted and preoperative risk for readmission (HR: 95% CI) included diabetes mellitus (3.60: 1.46-8.91), active smoking (3.55: 1.43-8.78) and CRP (1.35: 1.04-1.76). C-index for all three variables predicting readmission was 0.727. ConclusionsShort-term administration of CoQ10 reduced perioperative BNP but not CRP levels. CRP, along with diabetes and active smoking were independent predictors of readmission and should be targeted as a means of reducing subsequent rehospitalizations following elective vascular procedures.Trial Registrationclinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT03956017