Effects of season, genotype and rearing system on some meat quality traits for broilers raised in semi-intensive systems.

We compared fast-growing and slow-growing broilers raised in extensive indoor, free-range, and traditional free-range systems in terms of meat quality in spring and summer. Five different semi-intensive broiler production applications (fast- in extensive indoor, slow- in extensive indoor, fast- in free-range, slow- in free-range and slow- in traditional free-range) were used according to EU standards. Extensive indoor and free-range birds were slaughtered at 57 days of age and traditional free-range chickens at 82 days. The higher (P < 0.05) skin yellowness (b*) values found in spring compared to summer may have been due to better pasture conditions in spring. The pH24 value of breast meat during the summer period was higher (P < 0.05) than that in spring, but lightness (L*) was similar. Thawing and cooking losses were higher (P < 0.05) in breast meat samples from the summer experiment. The season affected (P < 0.05) all sensory attributes of breast meat; spring samples were appreciated more in terms of all the features discussed. Regarding the skin b* value, the highest average value was detected for slow chickens in the slow- in free-range and traditional free-range groups, most likely because slow chickens spent more time grazing. Fast- showed higher pH24 values than slow- (P < 0.05) in extensive indoor and free-range groups. We did not observe differences in pH24 due to grazing in fast-, but grazing slow- showed lower pH24 values than their indoor counterparts. Further, in the extensive indoor system, both genotypes were similar in terms of breast meat L* and b*, whereas slow- in the free-range system showed higher (P < 0.05) averages than fast-. Based on our results, the traditional grazing system has a positive impact on meat sensory features.

Effects of season, genotype, and rearing system on broiler chickens raised in different semi-intensive systems: performance, mortality, and slaughter results.

This study aimed to determine the effects of chicken genotype (fast-growing and slow-growing), various semi-intensive production systems (extensive indoor, free-range, and traditional free-range), and season (spring and summer) on animal performance, mortality, growth curve, and slaughter results under semi-environmentally controlled conditions in a subtropical region. Production systems were applied in conformity with the EU standards. While the summer experiment improved performance during brooding (1st-28th days), hot conditions led to a decline in performance during the growing period. In addition, negative effects were determined for all parameters of Gompertz growth curve in summer (P < 0.05, for all). In spring, fast-growing showed 36% higher final live weights than slow-growing, and this difference decreased in summer (16% for extensive indoor and 25% for free-range) (P < 0.05, for all). Fast-growing in extensive indoor and free-range displayed similar weight gains in the growing period, whereas grazing ones consumed less feed (P < 0.05) and thus showed better (P < 0.05) feed conversion. The same situation was true for slow-growing in spring. The mortality was approximately 1% in all groups in spring, while it was 17.36 and 18.06% for fast-growing in extensive indoor and free-range and 1.39, 2.78, and 4.29 for slow-growing in extensive indoor, free-range, and traditional free-range in summer. It is advantageous to choose fast-growing if short-term (56 days) fattening especially under optimum conditions is to be preferred. If the growing period coincides with summer, slow-growing should definitely be preferred and the fattening period should be extended to 82 days. Grazing improved feed conversion (P < 0.05) by reducing cereal-based diet consumption in both genotypes but did not affect carcass yield. However, grazing had a positive effect on fleshing.

Monoplane 3D-2D registration of cerebral angiograms based on multi-objective stratified optimization.

Registration of 3D pre-interventional to 2D intra-interventional medical images has an increasingly important role in surgical planning, navigation and treatment, because it enables the physician to co-locate depth information given by pre-interventional 3D images with the live information in intra-interventional 2D images such as x-ray. Most tasks during image-guided interventions are carried out under a monoplane x-ray, which is a highly ill-posed problem for state-of-the-art 3D to 2D registration methods. To address the problem of rigid 3D-2D monoplane registration we propose a novel multi-objective stratified parameter optimization, wherein a small set of high-magnitude intensity gradients are matched between the 3D and 2D images. The stratified parameter optimization matches rotation templates to depth templates, first sampled from projected 3D gradients and second from the 2D image gradients, so as to recover 3D rigid-body rotations and out-of-plane translation. The objective for matching was the gradient magnitude correlation coefficient, which is invariant to in-plane translation. The in-plane translations are then found by locating the maximum of the gradient phase correlation between the best matching pair of rotation and depth templates. On twenty pairs of 3D and 2D images of ten patients undergoing cerebral endovascular image-guided intervention the 3D to monoplane 2D registration experiments were setup with a rather high range of initial mean target registration error from 0 to 100 mm. The proposed method effectively reduced the registration error to below 2 mm, which was further refined by a fast iterative method and resulted in a high final registration accuracy (0.40 mm) and high success rate ([Formula: see text]96%). Taking into account a fast execution time below 10 s, the observed performance of the proposed method shows a high potential for application into clinical image-guidance systems.

Effects of thermal manipulations during embryogenesis of broiler chickens on developmental stability, hatchability and chick quality.

Stress based on high temperature and humidity reduces the production performance of fast-growing broilers and causes high mortality. Temperatures higher than optimum have been applied to broilers in the embryonic period in order to overcome thermal stress. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of exposure to two long-term high-thermal environments on the developmental stability of embryonic growth, hatchability and chick quality. For this purpose, 600 broiler eggs were incubated. Treatments consisted of eggs incubated at 37.8°C at 55% relative humidity throughout (control), heated to 39.6°C at 60% relative humidity for 6 h daily from 0 to 8th day, and heated to 39.6°C at 60% relative humidity for 6 h daily from the 10 to 18th day. Embryo weights and lengths of face, wing, femur, tibia and metatarsus were measured daily between the 10th and 21st day of the experiment. Daily relative asymmetry values of bilateral traits were estimated. The hatchability, the weight of the 1-day-old chicks and chick quality were determined. In conclusion, no negative effects of the treatments of the long-term high-thermal environment in the early and late stages of incubation for epigenetic adaptation were determined on the embryo morphology, development stability and weight of the chick. Moreover, regressed hatchability of embryos that were exposed to a long-term high-thermal environment was detected. Especially between the 10 and 18th day, the thermal manipulation considerably reduced the quality of the chicks. Acclimation treatments of high temperature on the eggs from cross-breeding flocks should not be made long term; instead, short-term treatments should be made by determining the stage that generates epigenetic adaptation.

Egg shell quality in Japanese quail: characteristics, heritabilities and genetic and phenotypic relationships.

The objective of the present study was to estimate heritabilities as well as genetic and phenotypic correlations for egg weight, specific gravity, shape index, shell ratio, egg shell strength, egg length, egg width and shell weight in Japanese quail eggs. External egg quality traits were measured on 5864 eggs of 934 female quails from a dam line selected for two generations. Within the Bayesian framework, using Gibbs Sampling algorithm, a multivariate animal model was applied to estimate heritabilities and genetic correlations for external egg quality traits. The heritability estimates for external egg quality traits were moderate to high and ranged from 0.29 to 0.81. The heritability estimates for egg and shell weight of 0.81 and 0.76 were fairly high. The genetic and phenotypic correlations between egg shell strength with specific gravity, shell ratio and shell weight ranging from 0.55 to 0.79 were relatively high. It can be concluded that it is possible to determine egg shell quality using the egg specific gravity values utilizing its high heritability and fairly high positive correlation with most of the egg shell quality traits. As a result, egg specific gravity may be the choice of selection criterion rather than other external egg traits for genetic improvement of egg shell quality in Japanese quails.

Carotid artery disease development after traumatic injury inflicted by a Ram's Horn.

A 36-year-old man presented for treatment of headache, paresthesis, and weakness of his right arm and leg. Examination revealed an atherosclerotic plaque in the left common carotid artery, lying to the left internal carotid artery and resulting in 99% stenosis. The plaque was removed successfully by carotid endarterectomy. Pathological examination of the tissue confirmed the diagnosis of an atherosclerotic plaque. Detailed investigation of risk factors led to the conclusion that the stenosis of the carotid artery was due to blunt trauma caused by an injury that had occurred 30 years previously when the patient was gored by a ram's horn.

Resveratrol attenuates inflammation and stricture formation in experimental caustic esophageal burns.

The purpose of medical treatment in the caustic esophageal burns (CEB) is to decrease inflammatory reaction and to prevent stricture formation. Resveratrol has anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic properties. The aim of this study is to investigate potential therapeutic effects of resveratrol in experimental CEB. We divided 42 male Wistar albino rats into five groups: a control group, caustic groups 4 and 28 (esophageal burns were created), and resveratrol groups 4 and 28 (esophageal burns were created and resveratrol was administered). We used 25% NaOH to form CEB following the method of Gehanno and Guedon as modified by Liu and Richardson. Animals were killed on the 4th and 28th days for biochemical and histopathological examinations. We found that the mean malondialdehyde and nitric oxide assays of the caustic groups were significantly higher than that of the resveratrol groups (P < 0.05). On the other hand, glutathione assay of the resveratrol groups was significantly higher than that of the caustic groups (P < 0.05). Histologically, edema, inflammation and necrosis were found to be significantly lower in the resveratrol 4 group compared with the caustic 4 group (P < 0.05). Submucosal and muscular collagen accumulation were found significantly lower in the resveratrol 28 group compared with the caustic 28 group (P < 0.05). We conclude that resveratrol decreased both the inflammatory reaction and the stricture formation in experimental CEB.

PercuTwist: a new alternative to Griggs and Ciaglia's techniques.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Tracheostomy is one of the most common procedures in intensive care units worldwide. In this study we aimed to compare three different tracheostomy techniques with respect to duration of procedure and complications. METHODS: One hundred and thirty patients requiring endotracheal intubation for more than 10 days due to acute respiratory distress syndrome, infections or cerebrovascular events were consecutively selected to undergo the percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy technique (PDT n = 44), the guide-wire dilating forceps technique group (GWDF n = 41) or the PercuTwist technique (n = 45). The time taken to perform the procedure (skin incision to successful placement of tracheostomy tube) and complications were recorded. RESULTS: The operating times were found to be 9.9 +/- 1.1, 6.2 +/-1.4 and 5.4 +/- 1.2 min in PDT, GWDF and PercuTwist groups, respectively. The duration of the procedure was significantly shorter in the PercuTwist group as compared to the percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (P < 0.01) and guide-wire dilating forceps (P < 0.05) groups. During postoperative bronchoscopy, eight cases of longitudinal tracheal abrasion (four in the PDT group, two in the GWDF group and two in the PercuTwist group), two cases of posterior tracheal wall injury (one in PDT and one in GWDF) and one case of tracheal ring rupture in the PDT group were seen. CONCLUSIONS: Percutaneous tracheostomy techniques have their own advantages and complications. PercuTwist, a new controlled rotating dilatation method, was associated with minimal complications, appears to be easy to perform and a practical alternative to percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy and guide-wire dilating forceps techniques.

Stress distribution associated with loaded acrylic-metal-cement crowns by using finite element method.

The axisymmetrical finite element method (FEM) was used to compare stress distribution in a maxillary second premolar restored tooth. The three models were evaluated by crowning the tooth with Au-Pd alloy, Ni-Cr alloy and Ti alloy with acrylic. A longitudinal static force, 200 N in magnitude at an angle of 45 degrees was applied on the occlusal margin of each model. The tooth was assumed isotropic, homogenous and elastic. This numerical study was carried out using axisymmetric finite element models and calculation programmes were prepared by the authors using FORTRAN 77. Comparison of stress distributions was made in four regions of apex, cole, dentin-metal interface and metal-acrylic interface. The highest stress values were obtained when NiCr alloy with acrylic was used.

An investigation of temperature and stress distribution on a restored maxillary second premolar tooth using a three-dimensional finite element method.

This paper presents the stress analysis of the maxillary second premolar tooth under thermal loading as a result of hot/cold liquid in the mouth using the three-dimensional (3D) finite element method (FEM). The tooth was considered to be in a restored state with composite resin and amalgam on glass-ionomer as the base material. In the first step of the study, the temperature changes as a result of hot/cold liquid in the mouth were calculated. The thermal stress distributions owing to the temperature changes were then obtained. All calculation programs were prepared by the authors using FORTRAN 77. The tooth was assumed to be isotropic, homogeneous, elastic and unsymmetric. The distribution of temperature and stress were plotted for some critical points.

An investigation of the stress values on a tooth restored by amalgam.

The study was carried out in two stages: (1) MOD amalgam cavities were prepared on maxillary second premolars and three strain gauges were attached to the palatal surface of each tooth. The teeth were filled using amalgam with and without base material (glass-ionomer). Stresses occurred during the hardening phase and also through mastication and were measured by strain-gauge rosettes. (2) The stresses which occurred at the same points were calculated by the finite element method and compared with the values obtained experimentally. The highest stress values were observed when no base material was used.

Analysis of a restored maxillary second premolar tooth by using three-dimensional finite element method.

In the first part of this study some physical properties of restorative materials, amalgam, glass-ionomer and composite resin were measured experimentally. In the second part a numerical study was carried out, for which the maxillary second premolar tooth was used. The tooth model was restored with composite resin and amalgam on glass-ionomer, which was used as the base material. The stress distribution investigated was the resultant of the stresses which come from the mastication force and those resulting from the contraction and expansion of restorative materials. All calculations were carried out using the finite element method and programs were written using FORTRAN 77. A load of 450 N, at an angle of 45 degrees to the longitudinal axis was applied on the occlusal margin of the tooth. The tooth was assumed isotropic, homogenous, elastic and unsymmetrical. The distribution of compressive, tensile and shear stresses were plotted for the whole tooth structure.

Side effects of tamoxifen in oophorectomized rats.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to evaluate the direct effect of tamoxifen citrate (TAM) on the endometrium, liver, breast tissue and the lipid profile in oophorectomized (OX) rats. STUDY DESIGN: An experimental animal study. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty-one mature rats (33 OX) were randomly divided into four groups and received either TAM (0.4 or 0.8 mg/kg p.o.) therapy or placebo over 60 days as follows: (1) sham; (2) OX + TAM (0.4 mg/kg); (3) OX + TAM (0.8 mg/kg); (4) OX. All histological changes in the endometrium, liver and breast tissue were evaluated under the light microscope by comparing the TAM-treated groups with the OX and sham-operated groups. Blood total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were also analyzed. RESULTS: TAM-treated rats showed a significant reduction in body weight, blood cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, but the wet uterine weight was not affected. Estrogenic effects of TAM were not detected with either dosage on the endometrium. TAM-treated groups showed atrophic breast tissue. No histopathological changes were detected in the liver with TAM treatment. CONCLUSION: The data suggests that TAM may not act as an estrogen receptor agonist with the given dosage on the endometrium in OX rats. Two different doses of TAM do not cause histological changes in liver over 60 days of treatment.

Fracture toughness determination of composite resin and dentin/composite resin adhesive interfaces by laboratory testing and finite element models.

OBJECTIVES: The reliability and validity of the adhesive bond toughness of dentin/composite resin interfaces were studied from the standpoint of fracture mechanics. METHODS: The fracture toughness (KIC) and fracture energy (JIC) values of two different composite resins (Brilliant Dentin and P50) were determined by using single edge notch (SEN) specimens loaded in three point bending and the results were analyzed by the t-test method (p < 0.1). The fracture loads of dentin/composite resin interface with different initial crack lengths were obtained experimentally. The adhesive fracture energy (J(adh)), residual fracture energy (J(res)) and effective (total) fracture energy (J(eff)) for the symmetrical bimaterial (SBM) joint specimen for dentin/composite resin interfaces were calculated and the applied fracture energy (J(appl)) values under the mastication force were obtained for the axisymmetric tooth models. All numerical calculations were carried out by the finite element method and software programs were prepared according to fortran 77. RESULTS: The fracture toughness and energy values obtained experimentally for Brilliant Dentin were found to be higher than those for P50. It was seen that, calculated J values (J(adh) and J(res)++) changed with the crack length; but the effective fracture energy (J(eff)++) was independent of the crack length, as expected. The applied fracture energy (J(appl)) and effective fracture energy (J(eff)) are considerably smaller than the experimentally determined JIC values of composite resins. SIGNIFICANCE: The bonded interface tends to produce microscopic flaws which could act as critical stress risers promoting interfacial failures. The initiation and propagation of such flaws under the mastication forces can be followed by fracture toughness (KIC) or fracture energy (JIC) in linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM).

Protective effect of ACE inhibitors on ischemia-reperfusion-induced arrhythmias in rats: is this effect related to the free radical scavenging action of these drugs?

The antiarrhythmic effects of captopril, a sulphydryl-containing angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, were compared with those of the nonsulphydryl-containing ACE inhibitor lisinopril and the sulphydryl-containing agent glutathione in an in vivo rat model of coronary artery ligation. To produce arrhythmia, the left main coronary artery was occluded for 7 min, followed by 7 min of reperfusion. Captopril (3 mg kg-1) and lisinopril (0.1, 0.3 or 1 mg kg-1) caused marked decreases in mean arterial blood pressure (BP) and heart rate, whereas glutathione (5 mg kg-1) had no effect on them. The incidence of ventricular tachycardia (VT) on ischemia and reperfusion was significantly reduced by captopril and lisinopril. Captopril and 1 mg kg-1 lisinopril also significantly decreased the number of VEB during occlusion and the duration of VT on reperfusion, respectively. These drugs also attenuated the incidence of reversible ventricular fibrillation (VF) and the number of ventricular ectopic beats (VEB) during reperfusion. However, glutathione only reduced the incidence of VT on reperfusion, significantly. These results suggest that, in this experimental model, ACE inhibitors limit the arrhythmias following ischemia-reperfusion and free radical scavenging action of these drugs does not have a major contributory role in their protective effect.

The role of prostaglandin synthesis stimulation in the protective effect of captopril on ischaemia-reperfusion arrhythmias in rats in vivo.

Attenuation of ischaemia-reperfusion induced arrhythmias by several angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, such as captopril, has been demonstrated. The role of prostaglandin synthesis stimulation in this protective effect of ACE inhibition was evaluated in an in vivo rat model. To produce arrhythmia, the left main coronary artery was occluded for 7 min, followed by 7 min of reperfusion. Captopril (3 mg kg-1) and a prostaglandin synthesis inhibitor, indomethacin (2 mg kg-1) alone or together were administered by intravenous (i.v.) injection 10 min before occlusion. Captopril reduced the incidence of ventricular tachycardia (VT) and the number of ventricular ectopic beats (VEB) on ischaemia and reperfusion as well as the incidence of reversible ventricular fibrillation (VF) on reperfusion. These protective effects of captopril against ischaemia-reperfusion-induced arrhythmias were prevented by indomethacin. Captopril also caused a sustained decrease of preocclusion values in the arterial blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR), whereas in the presence of indomethacin, captopril had no significant effect on either HR or arterial BP values except the heart rate value just before occlusion. Indomethacin alone did not affect either the severity of arrhythmias or the haemodynamic parameters. These results suggest that, in this experimental model, the protective effects of ACE inhibitors on the arrhythmias following ischaemia-reperfusion are mediated by the stimulation of prostaglandin synthesis and the haemodynamic effects of these drugs may have a contributory role in their protective effect.

Effects of captopril on ischaemia-reperfusion-induced arrhythmias in an in vivo rat model.

The antiarrhythmic effects of captopril, an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, were investigated in an in vivo rat model of coronary artery ligation. Captopril (0.3-3 mg kg-1) or saline were administered by intravenously 10 min before coronary ischaemia. The left main coronary artery was then occluded for 7 min, followed by 7 min of reperfusion. Captopril caused a marked decrease in mean arterial blood pressure which was transient at 0.3 and 1 mg kg-1, and at doses of 1 and 3 mg kg-1, it produced marked bradycardia. The incidence of ventricular tachycardia (VT) on ischaemia was significantly reduced the captopril at a dose of 3 mg kg-1 only and on reperfusion at doses of 1 and 3 mg kg-1. At the same doses, captopril significantly reduced the mean duration of ventricular fibrillation (VF) on reperfusion. The incidence of mortality resulting from reperfusion-induced irreversible VF in the control group decreased from 42.9% to 14.3% (NS), 21.4% (NS) and 7.7% (P < 0.05) in captopril at 0.3, 1 and 3 mg kg-1, respectively. Our results indicate that captopril appears to limit the arrhythmias following reperfusion and this may be due in part to the antiischemic effect associated with bradycardia and vasodepression.