The impact of dietary Black Soldier Fly larvae oil and meal on laying hen performance and egg quality.

Recently, the US FDA and Association of American Feed Control Officials approved Black Soldier Fly larvae (BSFL) as a feed ingredient for poultry. The objectives of this work were 1) to evaluate the nutritional profile of BSFL oil and meal in laying hens, and 2) measure the impact of the BSFL treatments on hen performance and egg quality. In 2 experiments, BSFL oil and meal were fed to replicate hens from 43 to 47 wk and from 51 to 55 wk of age. The hens were fed isocaloric, isonitrogenous diets with 3 treatment levels of BSFL oil (1.5, 3, and 4.5%, Exp. 1) or BSFL meal (8, 16 and 24%, Exp. 2). Data were analyzed by one-factor ANOVA for the main effect of diet and Tukey's multiple comparison for mean separation when significant. Exp. 1 results suggest BSFL oil could readily substituted for soybean oil with commercial hens at inclusion levels up to 4.5%. ADFI, BW, egg production, FCR, and egg weight were not impacted by the oil treatments (P > 0.05). Yolk color among hens fed the BSFL oil was greater averaging 7.88 compared to 7.37 from Control hen eggs (P = 0.0001). Exp. 2 diet formulation replaced soybean oil and meal with BSFL meal, and some additional corn was used in the higher BSFL diets. Diet amino acid balance at the highest level of inclusion (24% BSFL meal) indicates arginine and tryptophan are limiting and ADFI, BW and egg production were reduced (P < 0.05). Egg production averaged 85.14% for the Control, 8 and 16% BSFL meal hens and was significantly greater than hens fed 24% meal at 77.01%. However, 8 and 16% BSFL meal levels had no negative impact on performance and were not significantly different than the Controls. Yolk color was again higher among the meal treatments compared to the control (P = 0.0351). These experiments indicate that BSFL oil and meal can be used as dietary energy, protein and amino acids for hen maintenance, egg production and yolk coloration, although there may be upper limits of dietary inclusion.

A modification of the pterygoid plate separation in low-level maxillary osteotomies.

The technical details of a modified procedure for separation of the pterygoid plates in low-level maxillary osteotomies is described. The cut is made through the tuberosity and ends at the posterior aspect of the hard palate, medial and anterior to the pterygomaxillary fissure. This technique provides several advantages over the more classically described posterior vertical cut through the pterygomaxillary suture. The major advantages are that it is anatomically less hazardous and allows greater mobility of the segments. It also permits a larger vascular pedicle to be maintained.

Acute suppurative arthritis of the temporomandibular joint in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis.

Septic arthritis of the temporomandibular joint is a rare condition. A case of acute staphylococcal suppurative arthritis of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) complicating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a 53 year old woman is reported. The aetiology of septic arthritis may be traced to several predisposing factors and many specific agents. It would appear that the case presented is the result of predisposition of patients known to have RA to the complication septic arthritis. Some treatment recommendations are given.