Effect of heating system using a geothermal heat pump on the production performance and housing environment of broiler chickens.

A geothermal heat pump (GHP) is a potential heat source for the economic heating of broiler houses with optimum production performance. An investigation was conducted to evaluate the effect of a heating system using a GHP on production performance and housing environment of broiler chickens. A comparative analysis was also performed between the GHP system and a conventional heating system that used diesel for fuel. In total, 34,000 one-day-old straight run broiler chicks were assigned to 2 broiler houses with 5 replicates in each (3,400 birds/replicate pen) for 35 d. Oxygen(,) CO(2), and NH(3) concentrations in the broiler house, energy consumption and cost of heating, and production performance of broilers were evaluated. Results showed that the final BW gain significantly (P < 0.05) increased when chicks were reared in the GHP broiler house compared with that of chicks reared in the conventional broiler house (1.73 vs. 1.62 kg/bird). The heating system did not affect the mortality of chicks during the first 4 wk of the experimental period, but the mortality markedly increased in the conventional broiler house during the last wk of the experiment. Oxygen content in the broiler house during the experimental period was not affected by the heating system, but the CO(2) and NH(3) contents significantly increased (P < 0.05) in the conventional broiler house compared with those in the GHP house. Fuel consumption was significantly reduced (P < 0.05) and electricity consumption significantly increased (P < 0.05) in the GHP house compared with the consumption in the conventional house during the experiment. The total energy cost of heating the GHP house was significantly lower (P < 0.05) compared with that of the conventional house. It is concluded that a GHP system could increase the production performance of broiler chicks due to increased inside air quality of the broiler house. The GHP system had lower CO(2) and NH(3) emissions with lower energy cost than the conventional heating system for broiler chickens.

Effect of Flammulina velutipes on spent-hen breast meat tenderization.

An experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of powdered vegetable dip sauces to improve the tenderness of spent-hen breast meat. Our overall purpose was to find lower-priced materials for the tenderization of spent-hen breast meat. The spent-hen breast meat was dipped into vegetable powder for 24 h at 4°C, and then the samples were analyzed. In the results for vegetable-powder treated samples, those treated with papain and pineapple had higher (P ≤ 0.05) myofibrillar fragmentation indices compared with those of the other samples. The kiwi-, pineapple-, and Flammulina velutipes-powder (winter mushroom) treated samples had new peptides of about 32 kDa and degradation to 30 kDa. Also, the Flammulina velutipes-powder treated samples showed new peptides of 15 kDa. These data imply that Flammulina velutipes is superior for common use than papain or pineapple for the tenderization of spent-hen meat.

Clinical and laboratory assessment of distal peripheral nerves in Gulf War veterans and spouses.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of symptoms suggesting distal symmetric polyneuropathy (DSP) was reported to be higher among deployed veterans (DV) to the Persian Gulf in 1990-1991 than to control non-deployed veterans (NDV). The authors therefore compared the prevalence of DSP by direct examination of DV and their spouses to control NDV and spouses. METHODS: The authors performed standardized neurologic examinations on 1,061 DV and 1,128 NDV selected from a cohort of veterans who previously participated in a national mail and telephone survey. Presence of DSP was evaluated by history, physical examination, and standardized electrophysiologic assessment of motor and sensory nerves. Similar examinations were performed without electrophysiologic tests in 484 DV spouses and 533 NDV spouses. Statistical analyses were performed with appropriate adjustments for the stratified sampling scheme. RESULTS: No differences between adjusted population prevalence of DSP in DV and NDV were found by electrophysiology (3.7% vs 6.3%, p = 0.07), by neurologic examination (3.1% vs 2.6%, p = 0.60), or by the methods combined (6.3% vs 7.3%, p = 0.47). Excluding veterans with non-military service related diseases that may cause DSP did not alter outcomes. DV potentially exposed to neurotoxins from the Khamisiyah ammunition depot explosion did not significantly differ in DSP prevalence compared to non-exposed DV. The prevalence of DSP in DV spouses did not differ from NDV spouses (2.7% vs 3.2%, p = 0.64). CONCLUSIONS: Neither veterans deployed during the Gulf War era nor their spouses had a higher prevalence of DSP compared to NDV and spouses.

Illnesses among United States veterans of the Gulf War: a population-based survey of 30,000 veterans.

Despite numerous studies on veterans of the 1990 to 1991 Gulf War, the fundamental questions of how healthy they are and how their health compares with that of their military peers who were not deployed to the Gulf have not been fully answered. We conducted a health survey in which the health outcomes of a population-based sample of 15,000 Gulf veterans representing various military branches and unit components (regular, reserve, National Guard) were compared with those of 15,000 non-Gulf veterans who were randomly sampled to mirror the number in the same military strata in the Gulf veteran group. In comparison with their peers, Gulf veterans had a higher prevalence of functional impairment, health care utilization, symptoms, and medical conditions and a higher rate of low general health perceptions. A longitudinal follow-up of the health of these veterans will be needed to detect changes in health status and to detect diseases with a long latency period.

Vital status ascertainment through the files of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Social Security Administration.

Veterans of US military service are a valuable resource for epidemiologic studies, and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) files provide an effective way to gather mortality information on veterans, so long as these files provide reasonably complete death reporting. To determine the completeness of VA death reporting, we assembled an independent sample of known veteran deaths among males born between 1936 and 1955 and assessed the performance of VA death reporting in this sample. We also compared VA death ascertainment to Social Security Administration (SSA) ascertainment. Based on the more than 4300 deaths in our study, we found VA death reporting to be approximately 90% complete by itself and 96% complete when used in conjunction with SSA death reporting. In addition, we found no evidence that VA death reporting changed substantially after passage of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, which limited eligibility for VA death benefits. Because veterans make up a large segment of the US population, our findings have particular relevance for studies in which mortality is a primary end point.

Mortality and morbidity among Army Chemical Corps Vietnam veterans: a preliminary report.

Nearly 1,000 men serving in Army Chemical Corps units in Vietnam between 1965 and 1971 were responsible for the mixing and application of herbicides, riot control substances, and burning agents. Information on Vietnam service was obtained from military records of 94% of this cohort. Follow-up for vital status on December 31, 1987, was conducted using Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), military, National Death Index, U.S. Internal Revenue Service, and Social Security Administration records. Cause-specific observed numbers of deaths among the 894 men included in the study group were compared with the numbers expected based on rates for U.S. men, adjusting for race, age, and calendar period. Fifty-three deaths from all causes were observed during the study period, compared to 48.8 expected (SMR = 1.09). There were statistically significant excesses of digestive disease deaths (SMR = 2.98), primarily due to cirrhosis, and from motor vehicle accidents (SMR = 2.00). Two deaths were observed from leukemia (0.5 expected) and two from brain cancer (0.4 expected). A total of 257 of the study subjects had received VA inpatient care or Agent Orange registry medical examinations during the study period. Two of these subjects had confirmed diagnoses of Hodgkin's disease (expected = 0.7) and one of hairy cell leukemia. Because of the small study group size and the lack of specificity of information regarding their exposures, these results cannot be attributed to any single chemical agent.